The Jackal and the Otters

Characters:                           Themes:  Trust in yourself.
Jackal                                               
Jackal’s Wife
Otter 1
Otter 2
Narrator 1
Narrator 2

Narrator 1:  One day Jackal’s wife asked him to get some fish for his family, so he went to the river.

Wife:  Please get us some fish.

Jackal:  How will I catch a fish?

Narrator 2:  Just then he saw two otters dragging along a huge fish.  The jackal hid behind a tree to listen.

Otter 1:  This fish should last us a long time.

Otter 2:  Yes, but how shall we divide it?

Otter 1:  If I divide it, I’ll have to give him the larger share.   You divide it.

Otter 2:  If I divide it, I’ll have to give him the best bits.   No, you divide it!

Narrator 1:  The otters began to argue. 

Otter 1: No, you divide it!

Otter 2:  You divide it!

Jackal:  Here’s my chance.  They will ask me to divide it for them.
What’s the matter friends? 

Otter 2: The fish was caught by both of us.  We can’t decide how to divide it.

Otter 1: Will you divide it for us?

Jackal:  Certainly! 

Narrator 2:  Jackal then cut off the head and the tail of the fish.  He gave one to each of the otters.

Jackal: (to Otter 1) Here, you take the head…

Jackal:  (to Otter 2) and you take the tail.

Otter 2:  How fair he is!

Otter 1:  Let’s see how he will divide the rest.

Jackal:  I will take the rest as my fee. 

Narrator 1:  Before their eyes, the jackal ran off with the best part of the fish.

Otter 1:  There goes our delicious fish!  If only we had trusted one another.

Otter 2: Yes, we shouldn’t have argued.