Extra Reading Diary: Stories from Congo Part 2

Stories From Congo Part 2

(Leopard)

The Antelope And The Leopard

This was a pretty cool origin story of how the leopard began to hunt the antelope. I was surprised that the reason was because of the Antelope's savagery and not the Leopards. What began as just a game between the two animals, quickly became much more. The antelope is horrible for what it did to the leopard, but the leopard is also stupid for cutting off his limbs and removing his teeth, claws, and eyes. By removing his eyes, he lost his sight and eliminated the ability to see the Damsel's beauty, which was the reason he wanted to marry her.

The Turtle And The Man

Like many of the stories in this unit, I thought this was a good example of greed, selfishness, and trickery. It was the turtle's idea to divide the traps with the man so they would each have their own despite knowing that he could not remove the dead animals from his trap. This comes from his greed and inability to share. If they had just decided to split the food from the traps, then none of this would have ever happened. Ultimately, the turtle meets his end from his selfishness.

The Rabbit And The Antelope

This is again another example of greed, selfishness, and trickery. The antelope senses something is weird about the rabbit, but ignores it and decides to trust him. After all of the food is gone, he realizes the rabbit has been secretly eating the food while he worked and decides to teach him a lesson. Upset that the rabbit took advantage of him, the antelope sets up a trap, captures him, and eats him. A tragic way to learn a lesson for the rabbit, but he should be nicer.

Why The Crocodile Does Not Eat The Hen

I thought this was funny because of the reason the crocodile does not eat the hen. The lizard says that they are brothers in a sense with all animals who lay eggs and live in the water with them. For this reason, the crocodile does not eat the hen. This reasoning does not hold up because crocodiles eat many animals that lay eggs. 

The Three Brothers

The forgiveness of the three brothers is admirable. They take in their old mother that abandoned them as infants. Really, the spirit should be considered their mother because it raised them and not the old woman. I am happy they take her in and forgive her though, since she is their birth mother.