The jackal is an emblematic animal of the Kabylian mountains. The inhabitants of the region attribute to it qualities of cunning and malice. Many Kabyle tales recount the mis(adventures) of the jackal. The jackal is most often confronted by humans, from whom it tries its utmost to extract food. The Kabyle tale I’m telling you today is a succession of scams and lies aimed at getting more and more, bigger and bigger, from nothing at all.

Once upon a time there was a jackal wandering in the mountains of Kabylia with a thorn stuck in his paw. He met an old woman who was fetching water from the fountain. The jackal said to her: “Ayema, free me from this thorn”. The old woman removed the thorn and threw it into the bush. The jackal cried and asked her to give him back his thorn, but the old woman couldn’t: “Ayelli, I’ve thrown away your thorn, but I’ll give you an egg instead”. So she took him into her house and gave him an egg.

The jackal continued on his way to the nearest village where he asked the people to put him up: “Oh people of the village, put me up for the night”. Once inside the house, he asked where he could put his egg: “Put it next to the goat”, his hosts replied.
During the night, the jackal ate his egg and hung the shells on the goat’s horns to make him wear the hat.
Early in the morning, he called his hosts to account and they offered him another egg. But the jackal refused: “It was the goat that stole my egg, so I’m taking the goat with me”. And he took the billy goat with him.

At the next village, the jackal asked the people to put him up: “Oh people of the village, put me up for the night”. Once inside the house, he asked where he could leave his billy goat. “Leave it next to the horse”, his hosts replied.
During the night, the jackal ate the goat and hung its intestines around the horse’s ears.
Early in the morning, he called his hosts to account and they offered him another goat. The jackal refused: “It was the horse that stole my billy goat, so I’ll take the horse”. And so he took the horse.

At the next village, the jackal asked the people to put him up: “Oh people of the village, put me up for the night”. Once in the house, he asked where he could tie his horse. “Tie it next to the cow”, his hosts replied.
During the night, the jackal ate the horse and hung its intestines on the cow’s horns.
Early in the morning, he called his hosts to account and they offered him another horse. The jackal refused, “It was the cow that stole my horse, so I’ll take the cow”. And he took the cow.

At the next village, the jackal asked the people to put him up: “Oh people of the village, put me up for the night”. Once inside the house, he asked where he could tie up his cow. “Tie it to the young girl’s bed”, his hosts replied.
During the night, the jackal ate the cow and laid its intestines next to the girl.
Early in the morning, he called his hosts to account and they offered him another cow. The jackal refused, “It was the girl who stole my cow, so I’m taking the girl”. His hosts brought him the girl in a bag.

The jackal continued on his way to the hill where he opened his bag to eat the young girl. But instead of discovering his prey, two dogs came out of the bag. The jackal fled towards the forest, chased by the two dogs, who caught up with him and ate.

The moral of this Kabyle tale is that you always end up with someone more cunning than you. Lies and deceit only last for so long, and the jackal learnt this the hard way. If you enjoyed this Kabyle tale, you’ll be interested in other stories in the Folktales category.