The World’s Reward

There was once a man who had a dog so old that the man wanted to be rid of him. The dog had served him faithfully while he was young, but ingratitude is the world’s reward, and now the man meant to get rid of him. The old creature, though he could not speak to his master, sniffed out what was planned, and made up his mind to leave of his own accord.

When he had gone a good way, he met an old bull out on the veld.

“Won’t you come with me?” asked the dog.

“Where to?” said the bull.

“To the land of the aged,” said the dog, “where troubles leave you in peace and nobody’s good deeds are spoiled by ingratitude.”

“Good,” said the bull. “I’ll come with you.”

The two walked on and came upon a ram. The dog explained the plan to him, and they all went on together, and afterward they met, one after another, a donkey, a cat, a cock and a goose. All of these joined the party, and the seven of them set off on their journey.

Late one night they reached a house, and through the open door they saw a table laden with all kinds of good food, where some robbers were eating their fill. There was no point in asking to be let in, and since they were hungry, they had to think of something else.

So the donkey climbed onto the bull, the ram onto the donkey, the dog onto the ram, the cat onto the dog, the goose onto the cat, and the cock onto the goose, and all together they let out the most frightful noises.

The bull bellowed, the donkey brayed, the dog barked, the ram bleated, the cat miaowed, the goose cackled and gaggled, and the cock crowed, all without a pause.

The men inside were frightened out of their wits. They peered out of the front door and gaped at the strange sight. Some of them escaped by the ropes over the low back door, some vanished through the window, and in a few moments the house was empty.

Then the seven old animals climbed down off one another, walked into the house, and ate their fill of the delicious food.

When they had finished, there was still a great deal left, far too much to carry with them on the rest of their journey. So together they worked out a plan to hold the house until the next day, after breakfast.

“Look,” said the dog, “I’m used to keeping watch at my master’s front door,” and he flopped down there to sleep. The bull said, “I’ll go behind the door,” and took his place there. The ram said, “I’ll go up into the loft.” The donkey said, “I’ll take the middle door.” The cat said, “I’ll go in the fireplace,” the goose said, “I’ll take the back door,” and the cock said, “I’m going to sleep on the bed.”

After a while the robber captain sent one of his men back to see whether those creatures had left the house yet.

The man crept up very carefully. He listened and listened but heard nothing. He peeped through the window and saw just two coals still glowing in the grate, and then he started in through the front door.

There the old dog grabbed him by the leg. He leapt into the house, but the bull was ready for him, scooped him up on his horns and tossed him into the loft. There the ram caught him and shoved him out of the loft again. When he hit the ground, he made for the middle door, but the donkey let out a terrible bray and gave him a kick that landed him in the fireplace, where the cat flew at him and nearly clawed him to ribbons. He dashed out through the back door, and there the goose caught him by the trousers. When he was some way off, the cock crowed, and he ran so hard that you could hear the stones rattling in the dark.

He reached his companions purple in the face and gasping for breath. At first all they could get out of him was “Terrible, terrible!” But after a while he told them what had happened.

“When I looked through the window, I saw two bright coals shining in the fireplace, and when I tried to go in by the front door to take a look, I stepped into an iron trap. I jumped into the house, and somebody grabbed me with a fork and threw me up into the loft. Somebody else was waiting there and flung me down on all fours. I tried to escape through the middle door, but there someone blew a trumpet and hit me with a sledgehammer, so that I didn’t know where I’d landed. I came round very quickly and found I was in the fireplace, and there another one flew at me and nearly scratched my eyes out of my head. So I ran out of the back door, and the sixth one caught me by the leg with a pair of fire-tongs. And as I was still running away, somebody shouted out of the house, ‘Stop him, stop h-i-i-m!’”

Where this tale comes from

“The World’s Reward” is from James A. Honey’s South-African Folk-Tales (1910). Readers who know the German tale of the Bremen Town Musicians will recognise the plan of old animals stacked one on another to scare off robbers; Honey’s South African telling has seven animals and a much longer list of hiding places.

The fun of the ending is the robber’s report, in which every animal becomes something scarier: the dog is an iron trap, the bull’s horns a fork, the donkey’s bray a trumpet, the goose’s beak a pair of fire-tongs and the cock’s crow a shout from the house. Honey’s text stops right there, in the middle of that shout.

Read the original: Honey, South-African Folk-Tales — read it free on Gutenberg

Best for ages 9–12 — a noisy, funny adventure with a long build-up and a comic final speech.

The land they seek becomes a place they make

The animals set out for a land where age will not lead to rejection. Without reaching it, they create a temporary refuge through cooperation. The dog’s old skill—guarding a doorway—still serves the group. Their worth does not begin with frightening robbers; the master’s ingratitude was already wrong when the dog could no longer serve him as before.

Map the night watch

Draw the house and place all seven animals where they sleep. Trace the robber’s route with arrows. Which positions turn his attempt to escape one animal into a meeting with the next?

Questions to ask

• Why did the old dog decide to leave home?
• How did the seven animals frighten the robbers away the first time?
• What did the robber think each animal was? Which mistake is the funniest?

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