How the Leopard Got His Spots: the full story
Part One · The Open Plain
Long, long ago, the Leopard lived on a high, wide plain. There were no trees on it, and no bushes, and no shade at all. There was only sand and rock and tall yellow grass, and the hot sun beat down on everything.
In those days, the Leopard was the color of sand, from his nose to the tip of his tail. When he lay down in the dry grass, he simply disappeared. Nobody could say where the grass ended and the Leopard began.
The Giraffe, the Zebra and the Gnu lived on the plain too, and they were as plain as the Leopard. The Giraffe was plain, the Zebra was plain, and the Gnu was plain. Back then, everybody started out that way.
The Leopard had a friend, a Hunter who carried a bow and arrows. The two of them hunted together all day. The Leopard hid in the grass, and the Hunter watched from a rock. The poor animals could not get away from either of them.
The Giraffe, the Zebra and the Gnu soon grew tired of it. "There is nowhere to hide on this plain," they said. So they talked it over, and one fine morning they all packed up and left for the forest.
Part Two · The Forest
The forest was a very different place. It was full of tall trees and thick bushes, and the sun shone through the leaves in bits and pieces. All over the ground lay stripy, speckly, patchy-spatchy shadows. It was a good place for hiding.
The animals stayed in the forest for a long, long time. They stood in the shade and they lay in the shade, and the stripes and patches of the shadows fell on them day after day. Slowly, slowly, the shadows began to stick.
The Giraffe grew big brown patches all over his coat. The Zebra grew black and white stripes, up and down his sides. The Gnu grew darker and darker, and he got a shaggy mane. Soon each one blended in so well that you could have walked right past.
Back on the plain, the Leopard and the Hunter were hungry. They looked up and down and all around, but they could not find a single animal anywhere. "Where did everybody go?" asked the Leopard. "I don't know," said the Hunter. "Let's ask the old Baboon."
The old Baboon sat on a rock, scratching his head. He knew everything, and he liked to wink. "The animals have gone to the forest," he said. "They have changed their coats to match the shadows. If I were you, Leopard, I would do the same. Go and get a coat that is hard to see among the trees."
Part Three · Spots
"But what kind of coat?" asked the Leopard. "I cannot grow stripes, and I do not want patches." The Baboon winked. "Spots," he said. "Spots are just the thing for a cat who wants to hide in the shade." So the Leopard and the Hunter set off for the forest.
In the forest, the Hunter pulled on a cloak of leaves and green twigs. Then he dipped his fingers in the dark ashes of a dead campfire. "Hold still," he said to the Leopard, and he pressed his fingertips all over the Leopard's yellow coat. Dab, dab, dab! Five little marks at a time.
When the Hunter was finished, the Leopard looked at himself in a puddle. He was covered in round black spots, from his head to his tail. "My, you are handsome," said the Hunter. "Now go and lie in the leaves, and see what happens."
The Leopard lay down in the shade. The sun came through the leaves in small bright spots, and the spots on the Leopard looked just like them. Then, all at once, he disappeared. The Hunter, in his cloak of leaves, disappeared too. If you had walked by, you would never have known they were there.
And that is how the Leopard got his spots. To this day, a leopard can lie perfectly still in the dappled shade of a tree. You will not see him until he wants you to. So if you ever go to the forest, look carefully, and look twice.