Ape howling desperately. The Wolf had lately quarrelled with the Ape and still owed him a grudge, so it pleased him to hear the Ape howling, and he asked, "Why are you making such an outcry?"
The Ape, who was quick-witted, saw that if he failed to trick the Wolf, he had lost his last chance, so he replied, "I am not crying, I am singing."
"Why are you singing?" asked the Wolf.
"To help my digestion, while I am waiting for the Rabbit, who has gone to get some more meat. This morning he and I arranged for a feast together, and we are to continue it all night. We have so much food here that I can eat no more; my stomach is too small. There are heaps of leavings all around me."
The Wolf, who is a born glutton, asked coaxingly, "You wouldn't refuse an old friend like me a share in the feast, would you?"
"No, indeed," answered the Ape, "Come right on into the Rabbit's hole, there is plenty of food for one more. But for fear any others should see us feasting, be careful to make no noise in rolling away the stone that closes the doorway." The Wolf obeyed, and the moment he rolled aside the stone and started to enter the cave, the Ape slipped between his legs and shoved back the stone, leaving the Wolf a prisoner.
Meanwhile the Lion arrived accompanied by his hungry friend. "Well, well!" said he, "So the Ape got out of the cave, after all! Never mind, we will eat the Wolf instead." And while they made their dinner off the Wolf, the clever Ape was dancing and gambolling in the tree-top, overjoyed at his success in tricking both of his enemies.
(Senegambian Fable. From Contes Populaires de la Sénégambie, by I. J. B. Béranger-Ferard. )
