Doctor Who_ The Also People - Ben Aaronovitch [2]
'Whatever you want,' replied the Leopard, 'only let me out of this trap.'
'You must promise that you will not harm me once I release you,' said the woman. 'You are a powerful animal. Your sharp claws could tear me to pieces.'
'I will not harm you,' promised the Leopard. 'I want only my freedom.'
The woman pulled away the branches which covered the trap and bent down to help the Leopard out.
'Aha!' roared the Leopard as she stretched her powerful body. The woman watched fearfully as strong muscles rippled under the Leopard's fur. 'How hungry I feel now that I am out of that dreadful place. Soon I must eat my supper.' She looked at the woman. 'You, my friend, will be my supper.'
When the woman heard those words she trembled with fear. 'You promised that you would not harm me. Let me go. It is late in the day and my friends have brewed beer for me. Tonight we are giving thanks to our ancestors and the village relies on me to talk to the dead for them.'
The Leopard laughed. 'You fool,' she snarled, 'you should not have believed me. Now that I am outside the trap there is no reason why I should keep my promise. Now, however, I am going to have a short rest. Do not worry about your ancestors, for once I have finished my sleep I shall send you to meet them directly.'
The woman looked round desperately for help. A short distance away she saw a small Musasa Tree.
'Musasa Tree,' she called, 'help me to escape this ungrateful Leopard. I let her out of the trap and now she wants to eat me for her supper.'
The Musasa Tree grew angry at the woman's words. 'Why should I help you?' she replied.
'You've never done anything to help me. Every day I shade you from the hot sun and keep your house cool and pleasant. Yet all you want to do is cut me down and use me as firewood.'
The woman sighed unhappily. She knew that what the Musasa Tree had said was true. Sadly the woman turned away, searching the veldt for something that might help her.
Her gaze fell upon the Path, along which she had walked.
'Nzira,' she called the path by name, 'help me to escape from this horrible Leopard.'
But Nzira was even angrier than Musasa Tree. 'I will not help you. What have you ever done to help me? I give you safe passage through the forest, but all you ever do is kick me with your heavy feet and press me further into the ground.'
The woman sighed again because she knew that Nzira was speaking the truth. Then she remembered the River who was called Rwizi.
'Rwizi,' she called, 'help me escape from this evil Leopard who promises to eat me for her supper.'
But Rwizi would not help her. 'Think of everything I do for you,' said Rwizi. 'I give you water to grow your crops. I bring water for your cattle to drink in the evening. Yet all you do is use me to wash your dirty body and your soiled clothes.'
The woman sighed for the third time for she knew that Rwizi was speaking the truth.
Finally, in desperation she called upon the spirit of her Grandmother.
'Mbuya,' she called to the heavens, 'save me from this wicked Leopard.'
'I cannot save you,' replied the spirit of her grandmother. 'You should have listened more carefully to the stories I told you as a child. The Leopard is not wicked, she is only being what she is. It is in her nature to eat when she is hungry, to kill when she is threatened. You should have remembered this before you released her.'
On hearing this the woman fell to her knees and covered her face with her hands. Bitter tears fell from between her fingers and watered the earth.
Just then a small sprightly animal came hurrying through the forest. He had long narrow ears and a small bushy tail. It was Tsuro the Hare.
'Whatever is the problem?' asked Tsuro when she saw the woman weeping. 'Why are you looking so miserable on this lovely day?'
The woman told him about the Leopard whom she had released from the trap and how it was planning to eat her for supper.
'Hmm,'