Goat and Jackal were very good friends. They were always to be seen eating together and telling one another stories. Goat would tell a story and jackal would howl with laughter. Then Jackal would reply with his own story and Goat would make a very strange sound that showed that he, too, thought this was very funny.

When Goat invited Jackal one day to come and have dinner with him, Jackal was very pleased. Goat had said that he would have some very fine meat for them to eat, and Jackal liked to eat fine meat.

Goat was a good cook.

'This meat is very tasty,' said Jackal, as he sat at Goat's table, the plate of meat before him. 'Is it the meat of a guinea fowl?'

'No,' said Goat. 'It is the meat of a rooster.'

'Then you must get me the chicks of this rooster so that I can eat them too,' said Jackal.

Goat laughed at this, and explained to Jackal that a rooster was a man and could not have chicks. Only women can have babies, he said.

Jackal was very cross at being corrected and told Goat that unless she fetched the chicks of this rooster he would have to eat him instead. This made Goat very frightened, as jackal had powerful jaws and could easily eat him up if he wanted to. He tried again to explain to Jackal that a rooster could not have chicks, but his friend just became angrier and angrier and started to snarl at him, as if he was preparing to eat him.

Then Hare came to Goat's house and saw the danger that his friend was facing. Without delay he turned to Jackal and said that he could not stay to talk to him as he had to go to go and cook for his father, who had a small baby.

Jackal turned to him angrily and said it was strange that he should say this as his father was a man and men did not have babies. 'You must be strange in the head to say such a thing,' said Jackal.

Hare looked at Goat and gave him a wink. Jackal did not see this wink.

'But you said exactly the same thing,' he pointed out. 'You said that a rooster could have chicks. You must be strange in the head too.'

When Jackal heard this he was so embarra.s.sed that he ran away. Goat turned to Hare and thanked him for saving his life. Then they both sat down and ate the last of the meat, which was very good.

BOOKS BY ALEXANDER MCCALL SMITH

In the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Tears of the Giraffe

Morality for Beautiful Girls

The Kalahari Typing School for Men

The Full Cupboard of Life

In the Company of Cheerful Ladies

Blue Shoes and Happiness

The Good Husband of Zebra Drive

The Miracle at Speedy Motors

Tea Time for the Traditionally Built

The Double Comfort Safari Club

In the Isabel Dalhousie Series

The Sunday Philosophy Club

Friends, Lovers, Chocolate

The Right Att.i.tude to Rain

The Careful Use of Compliments

The Comforts of a Muddy Sat.u.r.day

The Lost Art of Grat.i.tude

In the Portuguese Irregular Verb Series

Portuguese Irregular Verbs

The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs

At the Villa of Reduced Circ.u.mstances

In the 44 Scotland Street Series

44 Scotland Street

Espresso Tales

Love over Scotland

The World According to Bertie

The Unbearable Lightness of Scones

The Girl Who Married a Lion and Other Tales from Africa

La's Orchestra Saves the World

Corduroy Mansions