The Hare and the Lion (or the Well in the Drought)
Sesotho folktale · ditšomo
Kwesukasukela... In a great drought all the animals gathered and agreed to dig a deep well together so they would have water. Every animal laboured at the digging except the Hare, who declared the work beneath him and lay in the shade. When the well was finished and filled with sweet water, the animals ruled that the Hare, who had not dug, should not drink. But each night the cunning Hare crept to the well and drank his fill, fouling the water as he left. The animals set a guard, but the Hare tricked or slipped past each one in turn, sometimes smearing himself with something sticky and bribing the watchman with sweetness, or lulling the guard with talk. At last they fashioned a figure smeared with sticky gum or birdlime and set it by the water. The Hare, finding the silent figure unfriendly, struck it, and stuck fast, hand after hand, foot after foot, until he was held completely. The animals caught him at dawn. He talked his way toward escape even then, but the tale teaches that the lazy cheat is found out in the end. Cosu cosu iyaphela.
The lesson: Those who refuse to share in the work should not share in the reward; cunning cannot forever hide a cheat.