The Dog, the Leopard, and the Great Famine

During a great famine, a Dog and a Leopard were starving. They came upon a single, fat goat that belonged to a poor widow. The Leopard said, "Let us take it. Might makes right." But the Dog, who was a more thoughtful creature, said, "No. This goat is all the woman has. To steal it would be a great evil." The Leopard scoffed and killed the goat for himself. The Dog, in protest, refused to share in the meal. That night, the spirit of the widow's husband, an ancestor, came. The spirit did not punish the Leopard directly. Instead, it placed a curse upon him: "Because you took the last thing from the helpless, you will forever be a solitary hunter, and every man's hand will be against you. You will live in fear and shadow." Then the spirit spoke to the Dog: "Because you showed compassion, you will find a new home. You will live by the hearth of Man, and you will never be hungry again, for you will be his loyal companion." The next day, the Dog left the wild and went to the village, where he was welcomed. The Leopard remained in the bush, a powerful but lonely outcast.