The Duiker and the Hunter's Bell

A hunter was very successful because he had a small, magical bell that would ring whenever prey was near. One day, he cornered a mother Duiker and her fawn. He was about to shoot when the mother Duiker spoke. "Hunter," she said, "you are a great hunter because of your magic. But true skill does not come from a bell; it comes from the heart and the eye." The hunter laughed. "Then let us have a contest," the Duiker said. "Take the bell off, and we will have a race to that great baobab tree. If you catch me, you may have us both. If I win, you must throw the bell into the deep forest." The hunter, proud of his speed, agreed and took off the bell. The race began. The Duiker, filled with the desperate speed of a mother protecting her child, ran faster than the hunter had ever seen an animal run. She reached the tree with ease. The hunter, true to his word, was humbled. He threw the magic bell into the forest and from that day on, he hunted not with magic, but with the skill, patience, and respect he had learned from the mother Duiker.