[center][h1]The Tales of Baboon[/h1]

[h2]How Baboon Stole Corpse’s Wisdom[/h2][/center]


Corpse was lying in his hut, where he slept with Song and Rage, and chewing on a bit of [i]jibaga[/i]-root. He liked the [i]jibaga[/i]-root, because chewing it helped him think of clever things. He said, “When you cook antelope meat over the fire, it tastes better because it takes in the smoke. But the fire makes smoke from above, and ash from below. Perhaps we should coat the meat in ash so we don’t lose half its taste.”

Song, who was outside by the firepit, took a bit of cooked meat from a jar and rolled it in the ash, then buried it in the embers so it would take in all their taste. She asked, “Here we have some tubers, which we did not cook. Should I coat them in the ash also?”

Corpse chewed on the [i]jibaga[/i]-root a little, and answered, “Cover them in ash and lay them with the meat, but set some aside, so we might taste both and see which way is better.” Song did so, then she stood up and took a bucket carved from the rough-bark tree, and went to take water from the well she had dug because her throats were parched from her humming.

Now Baboon, who had been hidden behind the hut and listened to what Corpse said, came out and went to the firepit. He thought to himself that if Corpse was right and the food coated in ashes tasted well, he could steal the ash from the Rakshasas’ firepit and coat his own food also, because he did not know how to make fire. So he took out one of the pieces of meat that Song had buried in the pit and tasted it, but it was not to his liking and he spat it out. The tubers he liked much more, and he ate several; but he left some in place, so Song would not miss them and know that they had been stolen.

Then he went to hide behind the hut again, because he knew that Song would be coming back soon. And it was not long before she did, and having drank her fill she sat by the firepit.

Hearing her there, Corpse spoke again, and having chewed on the [i]jibaga[/i]-root he said, “The wood of the steppe trees is hard and heavy, and the huts we make with it are hard to build also. But if we take the reeds that Rage found by the stream in the jungle, we can easily build a hut with them, because they are soft and pliant. Then if we cover it with dirt and let the reeds dry, it will still be as hard as a hut made of wood.”

Baboon listened and was envious of the things that Corpse said, because he could not think of anything so clever. He went to the jungle, dug up a [i]jibaga[/i]-root and tried to chew it, but it tasted earthy and crunched under his teeth, so that nothing came of it. Then Baboon thought that if he couldn’t be clever like Corpse, he would steal the wisdom from him, and smiled to himself.

In the night, when the Rakshasas were sleeping, Baboon crept quietly between their huts, and with a sharp stone he made a hole in the bottom of Song’s bucket. Then he hid again and waited for the dawn.

The sun rose and smirked in the sky, and Rage stomped out towards the jungle. Then Song came out humming, took up the bucket and went off to the well. Corpse lay in the hut and chewed the [i]jibaga[/i]-root.

Song came to the well, which was quite far from the huts, and dipped her bucket inside. Because the hole Baboon had made was not very large, the water did not all come out from it straight away, but dripped out little by little. So it was that Song took her bucket and started on the way back to the huts, and did not see how the water spilled out from the bottom until it was empty. Only then she felt that the bucket had become lighter, and looking in saw that there was no water inside.

“[i]Wai![/i] The sun is thirsty today, if it has already drunk all the water!” she said, and went back to the well to fill it again.

Meanwhile Baboon came out from his hiding place and sat by the firepit in a spot where Corpse could not see him from inside the hut. He patted the ground, and hummed like he had heard Song do.

“Are you already back, Song?” Corpse asked, “Why is your voice so rough today?”

“The sun was thirsty and drank much of the water, so my throats are still a little parched,” answered Baboon, and went on humming.

Corpse did not think much more of it, but chewed the [i]jibaga[/i]-root, and said, “When we catch something and kill it, we either drink the blood straight away or throw it out if we’re sated. But if we keep the meat under the ash to eat later, we could do it with the blood also. We could gather the fat and mix them, then leave it to dry with herbs.”

“That’s a fine thought,” said Baboon, “What else could we do?”

Corpse chewed some more and said, “If we want a herb of some kind, we have to go and look for it. If we take their seeds and bury them in the ground by your well, they will grow there, and we will always know where to pick them.”

“You think of so many clever things!” exclaimed Baboon, “I sing to myself all day, but I can never come up with something like this.”

“It’s because I chew the [i]jibaga[/i]-root,” Corpse answered, “You can try a little of it if your throats are parched from singing.”

“I would like that, but I have so many mouths,” Baboon said, “A little would not be enough for all of them.”

“You can take what you want from the bundle I put under the right-hand corner of my sleeping mat,” said Corpse, “But don’t take it all, it takes so very long to dry it and smoke it over the fire.”

Then Baboon jumped up, and as quick as the wind he ran through the hut and snatched all the [i]jibaga[/i]-root from under Corpse’s sleeping mat. He jumped and danced and ran off cackling, and he was so fast that Corpse was still blinking in surprise when Song came back from the well after finding the hole in her bucket.

Since then Baboon has had the [i]jibaga[/i]-root, and he keeps it hidden inside a tree. If he is sitting still and chewing, it means he is thinking of something clever and devious.

[hider=The Magnificent Indias]

In Hot India, Corpse has discovered a root that helps him think when he chews it dried and smoked, and with its help comes up with various practical ideas. The Baboon once flicked by the Rakshasaraja spies on him and is envious. Coming up with a plan to steal the root, he masquerades as Song and succeeds in nabbing Corpse’s stash. From that day on, by the power and virtue of Cyclone, Baboon is that much more cunning and tricky.

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