Amanda Kom
ENGL 150-03
January 23, 2007
The Foolish Hyena
One day somewhere in Africa, a Hyena passed by a working Meerkat.
“What are you doing?” The Hyena asked.
The Meerkat replied, “Working.”
“Why work?” The Hyena scoffed. “The sun is bright and the season is young! Play! Play in the sun!”
“If I play, then nothing will be ready when the rainy season comes! While you are out in the wet weather, I will be having my own fun and I won’t be miserable. You will see.”
The Hyena rolled on his back laughing at what he just heard. He ignored the Meerkat’s warning and continued playing in the bright African sun. He chased butterflies, teased hedgehogs, and laid out for Hyena naps in the hottest part of the afternoons.
A month later, the Hyena saw the Meerkat working again. He boisterously pounced in the direction of a feeding hare, not to catch it, but to flaunt that he was having fun while the Meerkat worked. The Meerkat didn’t even glance in the Hyena’s direction and this irritated the Hyena. He tried again. This time, he got a little closer to the Meerkat and rolled in the grass and laughed very loudly. The Meerkat continued working.
“Do Meerkats ever have fun?” he inquired.
“You will see, Hyena.” And the Meerkat continued working.
One more month passed and every day brought with it a new grey cloud. The Meerkat had finished preparing for the rainy season and was enjoying the last bit of the sun. The Hyena returned a third time, tired from playing so much in the past months. He laid down near the Meerkat’s home while he watched the Meerkat play his Meerkat games.
He chuckled (since he was too tired to laugh) and mocked the Meerkat, “You only had a week to enjoy the sun, but I had months. Don’t you wish you would have played instead of worked?”
The Meerkat smiled, “I am not sorry that I worked. In a few days, I will still be having fun and you will be sad that you played so much. You will see.”
Three days later, the grey clouds started to rain. The first day, the Hyena stayed under a tree as he was still tired from playing. The Meerkat was dry in the water resistant home he had worked hard to build. He was smiling and enjoying the relaxing patter of the raindrops above him.
The days went on and it continued to rain. The Hyena had nowhere to go but under the few surrounding trees, and even then he was getting a little wet. He was miserable and starting to catch a cold. He sneezed and coughed and sniffled until one day the Meerkat peeked out of his hole.
“Are you sneezing, Hyena? Did you catch cold?”
The humiliated Hyena nodded and sniffled again.
“Wait just a moment.” And the Meerkat disappeared. He reappeared with some herbs and berries. He scampered over to the Hyena with the remedy. “Did you learn your lesson, Hyena?”
The Hyena nodded again.
“Well, I think you have too. Come with me. I made my home big enough to share.”

Moral: Working before playing will pay off.