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Why Chameleons and Snakes Are Hated by Men · African Jungle Tales

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  Section seventeen of African Jungle Tales by Carl Bender. This LibriVox recording is in
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  the public domain. Why camellons and snakes are hated by men? Long long
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  ago, God sent the chameleon upon the earth, saying, go and tell
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  all men that they shall live again after death. And the chameleon went to
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  do as he had been told. On his way, he met a woman
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  who was braiding a beautiful hat, and he thought to himself, I'll stop
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  just long enough to have this woman make me a head dress, then I'll
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  pass on again. So he told the woman to get busy at once and
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  brayed a hat for him. The woman did as she was told, but
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  it took her fully two weeks to finish the hat, and all this time
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  the chameleon delayed in making known the message of God. In the meantime,
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  the snake had heard about the wonderful message which the chameleon was to make known
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  among men, and he started out at once and told the people God has
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  sent me with a message for you. After many people had gathered to hear,
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  the snake said, now listen to the message I bring. All men
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  who die shall not come to life again. Death has them in his grip
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  and will not permit them to return. When Death heard this, he was
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  very much elated and said, what great power God has given me to Sleep.
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  The snake said, whenever you have people in your power, you must
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  not hold them, but release them again. Sleep did as he was told,
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  and Death acted in accordance with what he had heard. On the following
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  day, the chameleon arrived. He at once called the people together and cried,
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  everybody, come and listen to the message I bring. God has sent
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  me to you with some wonderful news. It is this, all men who
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  die shall rise and come to life again. When the people heard this,
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  they answered and said, we hold that you are a liar and telling us
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  a falsehood. You have been giving us a story of your own invention.
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  The snake has told us. Otherwise, the snake has deceived you, said
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  the chameleon. On the following day, many people met in the house of
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  the chameleon, and the chameleon asked them where is the snake in his hut?
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  They answered, then go and tell him to come here, said the
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  chameleon. When the snake arrived, the chamellon asked him who has sent you?
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  Who else, But God answered the snake, that's a lie. I
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  am God's messenger. The chameleon cried, and they began to fight. Finally,
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  they went to God to have him settle the matter, and the chameleon
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  asked, God, did you send the snake with a message. No,
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  God answered, I did not send him. Then the chameleon told how the
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  snake had lied to the people and betrayed them, and how Death had heard
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  about it and killed many people. Thereupon, God said, from now on,
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  people shall kill the snake wherever they find him, because he has shown
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  himself to be their enemy and has done them great harm. Furthermore, God
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  said the chameleon too should be punished, because he was slothful in proclaiming my
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  message and has thereby brought great sorrow upon the people. Men shall abpoor and
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  persecute him wherever they find him. Author's note WUTA and of section seventeen,
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  read by Laura Gibbs