The Jackalope and the Jaguar

A fable about the mightiest animal in the forest and a mythical quest for power.

Original illustration by the Campbell family.

A long time ago when the world was not so old, the Jaguar was the lord of the forest. 

He hunted and ate all of the other animals. He ate sloths and capybaras and condors and caimans. And monkeys and anacondas and tapirs and toucans. The Jaguar ate piranhas, vultures, anteaters, ocelots, vipers, and iguanas, too. He ate everything he could find.

But the Jaguar grew tired of eating these jungle animals. He wanted something new and different. 

In search of knowledge, he went to see the wisest animal in the forest, the Howler Monkey. 

The Howler sat way up on a high tree branch. When he saw the Jaguar coming, he shouted down to him. 

“Have you come to climb this tree and eat me, Jaguar? For if you have, know that it is a long distance from the ground.”

“No, I have not come to eat you, Howler,” said the Jaguar. “I seek your wise counsel.”

The Howler raised an eyebrow. “What is it you wish to ask, Jaguar?”

The Jaguar answered. “As you know, I am the lord of this forest. No animal that crawls on the ground, swims in the river, or flies in the sky can escape my cravings. But my belly has grown restless, and I hunger for something more.”

“You should be careful, Jaguar,” said the Howler. “Your desires lead you down a dangerous path.”

The Jaguar became angry at this. “I have hunted and eaten every animal in the forest, and none have escaped my jaws. What dangers do I, the mighty Jaguar, have to fear?”

The monkey rubbed his chin whiskers. “Perhaps there is one creature you have yet to eat,” said the Howler. 

The Jaguar was curious. “Tell me of whom you speak, Howler, and I promise to never eat you.”

“It is said the rarest animal of the wilderness is the Jackalope.” The Howler’s face turned serious. “But be careful, Jaguar. The Jackalope is small but very clever. He will try to trick you.” 

The Jaguar did not listen. He was already sprinting into the jungle on the hunt for his new prey. 

He searched for many moons without seeing a trace of the mysterious Jackalope. Then one sunny afternoon he spotted the creature sitting in the shadow of a cliff holding up a large stone.

The Jaguar crept up on the Jackalope and prepared to pounce. 

Then the Jackalope spoke. 

“I would not do that if I were you,” said the Jackalope. “This stone holds up the sun. If you eat me, I will drop the stone and the sun will crash into the forest and kill us both.” 

The Jaguar was surprised and worried. “How can this be? If you get tired and drop the stone, it will be the end of the forest.”

“That is true,” said the Jackalope. “But I have a plan. You are very strong, Jaguar. You can help me. Come and hold this stone while I find a log we can use to prop it up. If you get tired, shake this banana tree. I have big ears and I will hear the leaves rustle and come running to you.”

The Jaguar took the stone and held it up with his paws. And the Jackalope hopped off into the forest. 

For a long time the Jaguar waited, holding the stone and thinking of all the ways to enjoy eating the Jackalope when he returned. After a while, he grew tired and the stone grew heavy. So he reached out with his paw and shook the banana tree.

But the shaking banana tree disturbed a nest of giant hornets, who came buzzing out of the tree, stinging the Jaguar in a hundred places. The Jaguar dropped the stone and ran into the bushes to escape. When he finally had a moment to rest, he realized that the sun did not fall to the earth. 

“The Jackalope has tricked me!” he shouted to no one in particular. Then he silently cursed the animal and made a vow to hunt him down and get his revenge. 

For many moons, the Jaguar searched the forest for the Jackalope until one day he found the creature alone standing by a lake, kicking small pebbles into the water. 

Once again, the Jaguar crept quietly up on the Jackalope, preparing to pounce with all his strength and eat the Jackalope for a snack. But the Jackalope spoke first. 

“Hello Jaguar!” said the Jackalope. “What are you doing here?” 

“You tricked me, Jackalope,” replied the Jaguar. “For that, I am going to enjoy eating you.” He took a few steps toward the Jackalope. 

“You know, I have always dreamed of swimming in this beautiful lake, Jaguar,” said the Jackalope. “But I cannot do it. There is nothing in this forest I fear more than drowning.”

This gave the Jaguar an idea about how to get back at the Jackalope. He smiled as he stalked closer and closer to the small animal. 

The Jackalope held up his paws in defense. “I am sorry for tricking you, Jaguar. You are right to eat me. As a matter of fact, you can skin me and roast me over an open flame, or boil me in a big pot of stew. Just as long as you do not throw me in that water. I am so afraid of drowning.”

The Jaguar laughed. “I will teach you a lesson for crossing the lord of the forest,” he said. Then the Jaguar leapt. He picked up the Jackalope in his giant paws and threw him as far as he could way out into the lake. 

There was a terrible thrashing and splashing as the Jackalope screamed for help. Then he sank below the surface, and the water was still. The Jaguar watched in silence before turning back toward the forest. 

Suddenly, there was a splashing sound and the Jackalope appeared in the middle of the lake, floating on his back and swimming with ease. He shouted back to the shore. “Jaguar, I never said I did not know how to swim. I said I was scared of drowning. But everyone knows that Jackalopes are excellent swimmers.” In a few strokes, the Jackalope reached the other side of the lake and disappeared into the trees. 

The Jaguar was furious. This was the second time he had been fooled by the Jackalope. He swore he would get his revenge even if it was the last thing he ever did. 

For many moons, the Jaguar searched long and hard for the Jackalope, but without any luck. Then, in the late dry season, he came upon the creature in a small clearing. The Jackalope was whistling a tune and making a huge pile of sticks. 

Failing to contain his excitement, the Jaguar charged directly into the clearing. The Jackalope heard him coming and spoke. 

“Jaguar, what a relief it is to see you here!” he shouted. 

The Jaguar stopped and stared in anger. “You have fooled me twice, Jackalope. Now it is time for me to satisfy my desires.”

“I understand,” said the Jackalope. “I was wrong to trick you, and you are right to want to eat me. But before you do, I have a deal to offer you. I am collecting these sticks to build a nest for the Yacumama, the famous serpent of the river. If you help me, I will lead you to her lair.”

“What trickery is this?” said the Jaguar. “The Yacumama does not exist! It is but a myth.”

“And you did not think Jackalopes existed, either, my friend,” said the Jackalope. “How can you be the true lord of the forest if you have not defeated the great Yacumama?”

The Jaguar scratched his jaw in thought. “Why do you need my help?” he asked.

“I am just a small Jackalope and you are very big and strong. You can carry many more sticks to the Yacumama’s lair. When we arrive, the Yacumama will be happy to receive this gift. Then you can surprise her, and eat us both!”

The Jaguar thought about it for a moment and accepted the deal. He wanted to prove once and for all that he was indeed the mightiest animal in all the forest. 

So the Jackalope piled the sticks on the Jaguar’s back and then picked up a pile for himself. The two of them walked together through the forest for a time. A few moments later, the Jackalope grew very tired. 

“Jaguar, I am very tired from all this walking, and you are strong. Let me ride on your back for a while and rest.” The Jaguar nodded his head and the Jackalope jumped on his back. 

“How much further do we have to go?” asked the Jaguar. 

“It is just up ahead where you see the smoke coming from the trees,” said the Jackalope. He pointed to a cloud of smoke in the distance. 

After a while, they realized the forest around them was on fire. Terrified, the Jaguar began to run to escape the fire but the weight of the sticks and the Jackalope slowed him down. 

“After all the trouble you have put me through, I am going to enjoy eating you, Jackalope,” growled the Jaguar. 

At that very moment, the Jackalope grabbed a burning tree branch and dropped it onto the pile of sticks on the Jaguar’s back. When the sticks ignited into a fire, the Jackalope jumped off the Jaguar’s back. But just as he did this, the Jaguar stumbled on a root and flipped over, landing in a flaming pile of sticks on top of the Jackalope. 

The fire grew larger and the little Jackalope burned to a crisp. Escaping from the blaze, the Jaguar ran yelping and screaming into the woods, with the fire still smoldering on his back. 

To this very day, the Jaguar is still the lord of the forest. When you see him, the Jaguar is covered in black fur the color of burned ashes. But as long as you live, you will never ever see another Jackalope. 

The End.