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Overview
In the first version of The Hyena’s Revenge, a male hyena resents the lion’s unwillingness to share quagga meat. He invites the lion into his own household and prepares ostrich meat in a pot. Offering to pour soup into his guest’s mouth, he places the hot pot over the lion’s head. The soup burns the lion’s eyes, mouth and throat, and the lion dies with his head inside it. The hyena also beats him with a stick and breaks the pot. The narrative frames this as planned revenge for an earlier failure of generosity, rather than an accidental injury during hospitality.
The second telling makes the invitation and assurance more explicit: the hyena says he pours soup into the mouths of his children and wife too. Both animals speak and converse; the lion’s agreement is attributed to his foolishness. Again the hyena traps his head in the pot and beats him while he dies. This version describes both lion and hyena as people-killers and people-eaters, and briefly alludes to the hyena carrying off an old woman. An editorial note links that allusion to another story, rather than supplying the missing episode here.
The first version also identifies male and female animal spouses and uses the expression Decayed Arm. The edition explains that expression as a designation for someone ungenerous with food. These household and social details accompany the speaking animal forms. The two tellings are retained together as versions of one revenge character and episode, without creating separate counted beings from small differences in wording.
Origins & earliest records
Bleek and Lloyd, Specimens of Bushman Folklore (1911), IV.—27, The Hyena’s Revenge, first and second versions, complete pp. 122–127. Preface p. xi states that pieces without prefixed contributor names are ||kabbo’s; both version headings follow that convention.
Records & interpretation
Both complete versions and notes read through the second version’s final death on p. 127. The old-woman allusion refers to another collection item, not a complete narrative reproduced here. The explanatory expression is retained as a food-generosity gloss, rather than a bodily deformity.
In the literature
“he died, while his head was inside the pot.”
IV.—27, The Hyena’s Revenge; complete first and second versions pp.122–127/all notes; brief narrative excerpt p.123 · Bleek–Lloyd original English translation; Lucy C. Lloyd, editor; B. identifies the earlier report listing
Resenting the lion’s grudging treatment over quagga meat, the hyena invites him to eat ostrich soup. The lion accepts; the hyena traps his head in the hot pot. The lion dies from the hot soup, and the hyena strikes the pot with a stick until it breaks. Closing marriage comparisons and the Decayed Arm gloss are source-specific explanatory material.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Specimens of Bushman Folklore
IV.—27, complete first and second versions pp. 122–127; contributor convention Preface p. xi; explanatory and cross-reference notes.
- 02
Specimens of Bushman Folklore — IV.—27, The Hyena’s Revenge; complete first and second versions pp.122–127/all notes
London: George Allen & Company,1911; original bilingual edition. Complete selected English account(s) and all notes read; original contributor/heading, excerpt and ending pages visually checked.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Located primary passages
Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.
Specimens of Bushman Folklore
London: George Allen & Company,1911; original bilingual edition. Complete selected English account(s) and all notes read; original contributor/heading, excerpt and ending pages visually checked.
- Resenting the lion’s grudging treatment over quagga meat, the hyena invites him to eat ostrich soup. The lion accepts; the hyena traps his head in the hot pot. The lion dies from the hot soup, and the hyena strikes the pot with a stick until it breaks. Closing marriage comparisons and the Decayed Arm gloss are source-specific explanatory material.
- After the lion’s grudging hospitality, the angry hyena claims that he feeds his children and wife in the same manner to induce acceptance of the soup. The lion assents; the hot pot encloses his head and the hyena beats him, ending in the lion’s death. An old-woman abduction is only an allusion to another story, not a complete independently read episode here.
No entire volume, original manuscript/performance or independent translation of facing |Xam claimed. Referenced other versions and reports not independently read; adjacent tales not treated as complete new coverage. Practical food/performance instructions omitted.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary collected animal fables and editorial notesOriginal 1911 bilingual edition: The Hyena’s RevengeResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
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