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50. The Hyena and The Badger
- The University of Alabama Press
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50 the hyena and the badger MEN CAME INTO THE forest one day and began cutting the trees. The animals were alarmed and sent the badger to investigate and make a report. He came back in a day or two and said, "The men are not here to harm us. They are building a sawmill." [ 94 ] The fox, feeling the meeting had been too short, called on the hyena for a few additional words. The hyena explained that actually he had nothing to say, since he had not seen the workmen or the sawmill they were building. He apologized for his lack of precise information , but he promised to do the best he could under the circumstances. He began to talk rapidly. He recapitulated the history of man and his invention, paying particular attention to the part sawmills had played in his development; he discussed the nature of man, contrasting it with the nature of other animals; he worked out formulas for a better understanding between the two; and at the end of two hours he was still talking, while his audience one by one slipped down from their seats and went home. Those with nothing to say need many words to say it. [ 95 ] ...