Many, many years ago there lived a Rabbit and a Duyker who were great friends. The Rabbit was cunning and wise beyond all animals; the Duyker was just an innocent little antelope, who was fond of men, and so never went far from a kraal.

One day the Rabbit said to the Duyker, “Why shouldn’t we have lands and grow our own mealies and calabashes, just like the men who live in yonder kraal? I know where there is good ground.”

The Duyker agreed at once, and the two friends had soon chosen their patch of land. They then hoed it well and set their mealies, their calabashes, and their ground-nuts, just as they had seen them done by the wives of the [44]neighbouring Chief. The Duyker had the biggest patch, and his mealies were wonderfully tall and fine. When autumn drew near the Rabbit took a bag every day and went to get corn and nuts. But he never got them from his own field, for that still remained untouched. One day the Duyker went to see how his crops were getting on, and found a great part of them gone. He instantly suspected the Rabbit, and accused him of stealing.

The Rabbit denied the accusation at once with great indignation, and said, “I have not touched your lands. The King of Kings has done it, and you will never catch the thief.”

“Then where do you get your mealies? They do not come from your own lands.”

“What do you suppose we live near a kraal for?” said the Rabbit cheerfully. “I eat the Chief’s mealies.”

The Duyker was much puzzled, especially when he found only a day later that his crops had been attacked again. “I shall soon have nothing left,” said he to the Rabbit. “Do think of something I can do.”

“Let us make a trap,” said the Rabbit. “Perhaps we may catch the thief after all.” [45]

He took some hairs out of a horse’s tail and tied the whole length in a succession of slip-knots. Then he laid it on the ground, fixed it with tiny sticks, and sprinkled earth all over, so that no one could see the line. Then a few mealies were scattered about lightly, so that birds might be tempted to scratch and entangle their feet in the knots, which would tighten at once when they struggled to free themselves.

Next morning the Rabbit and the Duyker went together to the mealie-patch to examine the trap. To their great joy they found a most beautiful bird held tight by the fine black threads. It had very long wings, and was beating them ineffectually in great distress. The Rabbit seized the knots with his teeth, while the Duyker held the bird; but it was too quick for them. As soon as it felt the knots were loose it slipped away from the Duyker with one stroke of its powerful wings, and soared high up into the clouds.

“Never mind,” said the Rabbit; “we will set the trap again to-night.”

The next day they found the beautiful bird again caught in the long line of knots. She was not alone, but had with her a great swarm of [46]birds as beautiful as herself. They circled round and round, watching the Rabbit and the Duyker as they took the culprit and began to untie the knots. This time they were more careful, and their prey had no chance of escape. They carried her to their hut before removing the slip-knots, and examined her very carefully. She was very handsome, but the most remarkable thing about her was a very long feather which was in one wing only. The wise Rabbit instantly guessed that this was the source of her strength. He pulled it out, but to his astonishment the bird at once disappeared, and a beautiful Princess stood before him. He instantly hid the feather, and asked the Princess to remain in the hut. He would treat her well and bring her food every day.

So the Princess stayed in the hut, for now that she had lost her feather she could no longer go back to her home in the clouds. The birds flew to the door of the hut every day and asked her when she was coming home again.

“Have patience,” said the Princess. “I will return in good time.”

“Where is your long feather?” asked the birds. “Have you lost it?” [47]

“It is quite safe,” said the Princess; “the Rabbit has put it away.”

The Princess lived thus for many days. The more she saw of the Rabbit the more she admired his wisdom and cunning. “What a pity,” thought she, “that he is only a Rabbit! No Chief can compare with him in the whole of my father’s dominions.” And as she was a Fairy and had magic power, she determined he should be a Rabbit no longer.

One day when the Princess and the Rabbit were alone he said to her, “Do you know who took your feather?”

“Yes,” said the Princess, “you took it.”

“You are quite right,” said the Rabbit; “do you know where I put it?”

“No,” said the Princess, “but I am quite sure it is safe with you. Please keep it, but just let me see it for one moment.”

The Rabbit could not resist her, she was so beautiful; so he fetched the feather. The Princess took it in her hand but did not attempt to fly away. She just laughed and threw it at the Rabbit.

Instantly he became a handsome Prince, to the Princess’s great joy. The Rabbit Prince [48]himself saw that this made a great change in his prospects. He could now woo the Princess as an equal, but he had no lands to give her. Suddenly he remembered the beautiful plot of ground which belonged to the Duyker. “I am a man now,” said the Rabbit. “I will kill the Duyker and give his lands to the Princess.” He lay in wait, slew the little antelope, and brought it home to the hut. They had buck that night for supper, and as they sat eating he said to the Princess, “Come, will you marry me?”

The Princess said, “Yes, I will indeed. But let us keep it secret. These birds who come from my home must never hear of it, for my parents would never allow me to marry a man from the earth.”

In the meantime the birds got tired of waiting for the Princess, and said to one another, “It is all the fault of the Rabbit Prince. We must kill him or the Princess will never see home again.” They sought counsel with the Mouse and the Woodpecker, who were reckoned the wisest magicians in the country, and lived near at hand. They told of a safe poison to put in the Prince’s food. But the Princess knew her people well, and warned the Prince in good time. [49]He ate nothing, and escaped in safety. The Mouse and the Woodpecker in the meantime became so fond of him they soon refused to do him any harm, and made their home close to his hut, so that they might see him every day.

But there came a time when the Princess longed to go home again. She said to the Prince, “Would you like to see my father and mother?”

“Very much,” said the Prince. “Where are they?”

“They live in the sky,” said the Princess. “Go and fetch me the feather once more.”

The Rabbit Prince brought the feather again, and gave it to the Princess. She set the feather on the ground. It instantly began to grow and became taller and taller, till at last it reached the very clouds.

Then they began to climb up. The Prince and Princess went first, and the Mouse and the Woodpecker followed, for they said they must be with the Prince, to protect him in case of harm. They climbed and climbed till they were above the clouds. There they came to the mouth of an enormous cave, but it was shut by a great [50]big stone. The Princess was in despair. “How ever can we roll this aside?” she cried.

“There is nothing I cannot nibble through,” said the Mouse. “Let me try for a few minutes.”

He nibbled hard at the corner of the stone, but had to come back, for he had made no impression whatever.

Then the Woodpecker stepped forward. “Let me try,” said she. “I make my little nest in wood; the crevice my beak cannot enter has yet to be made.” She tapped carefully all round the edge of the great stone, and suddenly cried: “This is the way to do it.” She had found a tiny swivel on one side of the stone, no longer than your finger. This she pulled, and the stone rolled back and the cave stood open.

The Prince was just about to lead his bride in when a huge monster appeared. On his head were two horns, and on each horn was the head of a human being. He had eyes all over his body from head to foot, and every eye glared at the Prince with a green light. But the Princess just drew out the long feather once more and dug it right into his face; and he vanished away like smoke. [51]

“Now,” said she, “we can go forward safely.” They walked through the cave and at the other end found an opening, which looked out on just such another world as ours. There were wide green valleys and flowing streams, and in front was a big kraal with beautifully woven huts. This was the Princess’s home, and she ran towards it joyfully. Her father and mother appeared in human form to greet her, and all her friends, whom the Prince had only seen as birds, crowded round her as men and women, each more full of rejoicing than the other.

“But where did you get this man you have brought with you?” asked her father when the first greetings were over.

“I have stolen him from below,” said the Princess, laughing merrily.

Her father frowned; he had never had anything to do with the inhabitants of earth, and was very angry at the idea of any intercourse with them. When the Princess explained that the Rabbit Prince was her chosen husband, her parents and all her friends were much annoyed, and said that they could never hear of any such marriage. The Princess still pleaded hard for her lover; she told her parents of his wisdom [52]and power, and said that no girl ever had so clever or so noble a husband; but the old Chief simply replied that no daughter of the clouds had ever married a man from the earth. The Prince must be sent back home.

But as the Princess still clung to the Prince and refused to dismiss him, her people decided that he must be killed. A big feast of welcome was arranged, and many days were spent in preparation. The Mouse was never far from the cooking-pots, and ran in and out all day, picking up savoury morsels. No one saw him, but nothing escaped his little black eyes. On the morning of the feast-day he saw all the food set out in dishes ready for the guests. The Prince’s portion was placed in two little black pots and decorated with green leaves. When no one was looking, a strangely-dressed old woman came up, a witch for certain, and powdered it with some curious stuff, but touched no other pot.

Just as the feast was about to open the Mouse crept up to the Prince, ran up his back and whispered in his ear: “Eat none of the food prepared for you; drink the beer—that is the only safe thing.”

The Prince obeyed, and thus escaped the first [53]danger. But the people of the clouds, much disappointed, assembled all their greatest magicians and made fresh plans. “We will arrange a hailstorm,” said these wise men. “Let the Prince go out on the great plains to-morrow. We will see he does not come back alive.”

Next morning the King of the Sky sent the Rabbit Prince on a journey to another kraal across a wide plain. When he had travelled some three hours and was many miles from any shelter, great clouds appeared on the horizon. They were of the deepest blue-black, and every minute they spread farther, till the sun was blotted out. And then far away came a distant continuous rumble of thunder. It never ceased for a moment; the sound was ever sharper and more threatening, and grew closer and closer. “That is not thunder,” said the Prince; “it is hail, and there is no shelter for miles. I shall never see the Princess again.”

“Do not fear,” said a voice at his ear, and he turned and saw the Woodpecker. “Lie down on the ground. I will protect your head, for I also am a magician.”

So the Prince lay down, and the little Woodpecker spread out her wings and hovered over [54]his head. One great hailstone came as if shot from a gun, then another and another, and then they came in hundreds and thousands, large as fowls’ eggs, jagged and icy-cold, with a sound like the roar of many torrents over endless precipices. Such a storm had never been known in cloudland.

When the Prince returned unhurt and cheerful his enemies were dumbfounded and more enraged than ever. But they still persevered. They held a big indaba1 under a shady tree, attended by their chief men and all their magicians. A royal hunt was arranged to last for many days. During their absence from the kraal the Prince was to be killed by an assegai, as it were by an accident, for none wanted the Princess to think her husband had been murdered. This time they thought they could not fail, for they would be sure to have numberless opportunities in the heat of the chase. But the Woodpecker sat unseen in the boughs of the tree and heard everything. She was a wise bird and a great magician, and the instant she understood she flew to the empty hut of the first wizard of cloudland and there made a charm. She took [55]the fat of the mamba, the most deadly of all snakes, the fat of the python, who is the biggest of snakes, and the skin round the lungs of the tiger. These she mixed together and placed in three little bags of python-skin, such as could easily be hidden. Then she flew straight to the Rabbit Prince with the bags in her mouth.

“Take these,” said she, “and wear them always. New dangers threaten you.”

The Prince obeyed and went gaily to the hunt. He was away for many days, and every day some Chief attempted his life, but all the assegais fell back powerless. The charms had rendered him invulnerable.

He returned home safe and sound, but that evening he told the Princess it was useless to struggle any longer. Her people would never rest till they had killed him.

The Princess listened in sorrow. Then she said, “You are quite right. I had hoped they would see in time how clever and brave you are, but it is no use. We must steal away quickly to earth to-night, and seek our fortune below. Call the Mouse and the Woodpecker while I make the ladder ready.”

The Princess drew out the magic feather and [56]held it point downwards towards the earth. It at once began to grow, and in a few minutes the point rested close to the Rabbit Prince’s hut. Then the four friends climbed down and left the land of clouds for ever.

Next morning they held a council. “Something must be done to find men to serve under us,” said the Prince. “I want a kingdom and cattle for the Princess; she cannot live in a hut alone.”

“Those three little bags will do all you want,” said the Woodpecker. “You have only to wish and everything will be given you.”

“Then,” said the Prince, “let me have beautiful huts, strong willing maids to wait on the Princess, and a wise woman to advise her.”

Straightway there appeared the most perfect huts you can imagine, filled with everything they could want. Thirty strong cheerful girls stood before them, and a dear old Queen, who knew everything a wise woman should, and had the kindest heart in the world.

Then the Rabbit Prince felt his wife would be safe and well cared for, so he left her under the special protection of the Woodpecker, and he [57]and the Mouse went forth to seek soldiers and cattle.

Nor did they seek in vain. They soon heard of a mighty King who possessed warriors and cattle in thousands. By the power of the little bags the Prince overcame him and took all his warriors and cattle back to the Princess.

Then he established a great kingdom, and to reward his two friends he made the Mouse a Prince and the Woodpecker a Princess. He gave the Mouse soldiers and sent him forth to conquer. I am afraid I have forgotten the adventures of the Mouse. All I know is that he became a great Chief, and that to this day both he and his wife are devoted to the Rabbit Prince. [58]