The Jackal Who Stole the Ostrich's Young

A mother Ostrich had a clutch of young chicks. A Jackal saw them and desired them. He went to the Ostrich and said, "Sister, your children are beautiful, but they do not know how to dance. My children are wonderful dancers. Let me teach yours." The Ostrich agreed. The Jackal led the ostrich chicks away to a secluded place. There, he killed and ate all of them except one, who managed to hide. The Jackal went back to the mother Ostrich and said, "Your children are tired from all the dancing. They are resting now." Later, the lone surviving chick made its way back and told its mother what the Jackal had done. The mother Ostrich was filled with a burning rage. She found the Jackal and asked him to carry her across a river. The Jackal agreed. In the middle of the deep river, the Ostrich began to beat her powerful wings, creating a great storm and throwing the Jackal into the water, where he drowned. The story teaches that betrayal of trust, especially against the young, will be met with a powerful and inescapable vengeance.