Once upon a time there was a wise man. He traveled throughout the vast land of Tibet, stopping at villages and towns wherever his services were required. He could foretell the future, he could tell a family the most auspicious days for traveling or trading, he could even change the weather! The wise man was much admired, and people paid well for his services.From his appearences one could be forgiven for thinking him poor, but the people who were acquainted with him certainly knew better. To hear him talk one could easily mistake him for a man with a crazed mind, but the people who called on him for help certainly knew better. This strange man, in his ragged robe, with a large double-sided drum and a skull cap hanging from his belt, was neither poor nor stupid. He was, some said, possessed of magical powers. These magical powers he used for the good of all beings, but, and this was the crux of the matter, if anyone dared to cross his path he could turn his magical powers to other uses, and so destroy all opposition. He was known to everyone as the Weathermaker.
If anyone could by chance see what was contained inside the Weathermaker's chuba and bag, one would see many treasures, for he had no permanent home, carrying his belongings with him from village to village. To see him perform a ceremony was very awe-inspiring, and people would gather to watch, as the Weathermaker appeared to go into a trance-like state, banging his drum in ever-changing rhythms and making gestures with his free hand, summoning the power of the gods. He would sit for many hours, chanting in a low, deep voice that seemed to come from the very bowels of the earth, inviting the gods to shower their power and blessings upon the gathering. The Weathermaker's smile was like the sun, his whole face would light up, and his eyes reflected a warmth that one could not help but feel.
One day, after finishing a ceremony of blessing upon a household, the Weathermaker took the gifts of food that the family bestowed upon him, and proceeded to make his way to a village several days journey away. He was watched by a very large Hare, who with eyes full of greed and belly grumbling with hunger, gaved on the Weathermaker and his food with envy. "I will think of a way," he thought, "to rob the ragged rouge of his food," and so, with his mind busy on a plan, the Hare followed the Weathermaker as he journeyed.
Before they had gone very far, the Hare heard a fluttering of wings and felt the light touch of feet upon his back. It was a Magpie. "Hello, Hare," the Magpie said. "Have you been able to find food?" "No," replied the Hare, "I am weak and hungry; food is very scarce." "I know, my friend," the Magpie said, "let us travel together, maybe we will fare better." So the Magpie flew into the air, and followed the Hare on his travels.
Next day, the Hare and Magpie came upon a Fox. The Magpie became excited, dipping and soaring in the air. "The Fox looks very weak," said the Magpie to the Hare. "If he dies we will be able to feast on Fox meat." "Hello, Fox," the Hare said. "Where are you going?" The Fox lifted his head and spoke to the Hare, "I am very hungry," he said, "and so are my children. I am looking for food." "Come with us," invited the Hare, "we may do better if we travel together." And so, the Hare, the Magpie, and the Fox walked on together, but only the Hare knew that they were trailing the Weathermaker.
Eventually they reached a forest where the shade of the trees was soothing to the animals. The Magpie stopped to pick some berries from a small bush, but these did not appeal to the Hare and Fox, who turned up their noses in disgust. Then, from behind a large tree, they spied the massive form of a Wolf. Petrified with fear, the Hare and the Fox froze where they stood, while the Magpie, screaming in terror, flew high into the sky and perched upon the topmost branch of a tall tree. The Wolf, disturbed by the noise of the Magpie, turned, to be confronted with the frightened gaze of the other two animals. "Do not be frightened," he groweled, "I am too old to kill." The Hare edged forward. "How do you eat if you cannot kill?" he asked. "That is a problem," the Wolf answered, "for I have children to feed." He looked sadly down at the ground. "I am not as swift and powerful as I used to be." "Come with us," invited the Hare, his huge brown eyes glinting with excitement. "I have a plan that might help us all." "And what is your plan?" said the Magpie, having left his place of security to join the conversation.
"Well," said the Hare, "walking just ahead of us is a Weathermaker." "A Weathermaker!" the animals chorused. "How can he help us?" The Hare continued, "The Weathermaker is not a poor man," he said, "I have seen him put much food into his bags." At this the other animals suddenly became interested. "Now, what I suggest, is that you my friend," he said, pointing to the Fox, "lie in a ditch and pretend to be dead. The Magpie here will make noise to bring the Weathermaker to you." The animals listened intently. "When he leaves his belongings to look at you, the Wolf and I, being the strongest, will steal his goods and run away." "What if he catches me and kills me?" the Fox asked, much preferring not to be the one left in the ditch. "He will not catch you," chirped in the Magpie. "You can jump over his back and run away." Reluctantly, the Fox agreed to the plan. "But first," he said, "we must overtake the Weathermaker and none of us can run fast enough because we've had so little food."
The Hare thought for awhile, then he said, "The Weathermaker is going to the next village. Now, if we travel by river we will overtake him befroe he gets there." The animals made their way down to the river, and luckily for them, there was a large log floating near the bank. The Hare, Fox, and Wolf climbed onto the log, and were soon slicing through the water with increasing speed, while the Magpie flew overhead ready to signal them as soon as they had overtaken the Weathermaker.
When the Magpie saw that they had passed far enough in front of the Weathermaker, he gave the sign for the animals to land. This proved to be no easy task, and they were forced to abandon the log and swim for the shore, an experience that the Hare could well have done without! Just as the Hare had planned, the Weathermaker, on hearing the cries of the Magpie, and seeing the bird hover over a ditch, left his belongings and went to investigate. When he saw the Fox prone in the ditch, he thought it must be dead. "He has a fine coat," the Weathermaker thought, "I will skin him." Just as he reached into his chuba to bring out his knife, the Fox, unable to lie still a moment longer, leaped out of the ditch and was away.
When the Weathermaker, astonished, turned to watch the Fox in flight, he caught a glimpse of the Wolf and Hare as they disappeared into the distance carrying his belongings, being hotly pursued by the Fox and Magpie. When the animals felt that they were safe, they stopped to share the Weathermaker's belongings. The crafty Hare took charge of the proceedings, and to the Magpie he gave the Weathermaker's hat. To the Wolf he gave the Weathermaker's boots, and to the Fox he gave the large ritual drum, keeping all the food for himself. The animals were so pleased with their new possessions that they did not realize they had been deceived by the cunning Hare, and they all went happily on their way, each clutching his ill-gotten gains.
All did not go so well for the animals, however. Thw Wolf, in his brand new boots, went hunting for sheep. Being unable to run fast in his heavy footwear, he tripped, and was nearly killed as the sheep trampled him.
The Magpie, in the big new hat that nearly covered his body, sat under a yak. The yak let drop a huge yak-chip onto the hat, trapping the Magpie and nearly causing him to die of suffocation.
The Fox went home to meet his family, who were anxiously awaiting his return. On a bridge that crossed a racing river, the Fox's wife and children stood, waiting to greet him. As he approached the bridge and saw his family waiting there, the Fox began to beat his ritual drum so loudly that his children threw themselves into the river in fright and were drowned.
Sonn, the animals all met again. The Fox, the Wolf, and Magpie all related to each other their tales of woe, but the Hare sat silently in the shade of a huge tree. After the animals had told their stories they all looked expectantly at the Hare. The Hare spoke, "Friends," he said, "we made a grave mistake. The Weathermaker has magical powers, and by stealing his belongings we have brought misfortune upon ourselves. You all think that you have suffered, but look at me." So saying, the Hare moved from the shadow of the tree that had hitherto kept him hidden. "I too have suffered," he said. "for while eating the Weathermaker's food I split my lip." The animals gasped as they saw the split in the Hare's lip that reached right up to his nose! The Hare continued. "All beings," he said, "human or animals, who look on me, should be warned, that to do evil, brings only suffering upon oneself."
And to this day, after many generations, the Hare still bears the mark of his cunning ancestor.
