One day, a hungry jackal saw a little girl sitting up in a tree. “Come down, my child and I will carry you home on my back,” said the jackal. “I am a Sun child. I don’t ride on a jackal’s back,” said the girl. However, the jackal coaxed in such a sweet manner that at last she climbed down and sat on his back. Although she was small and light yet the jackal began to feel uncomfortable. This was due to the remarkable heat of the Sun child. “Jump down,” he said. However, she refused. “Jump down; jump down,” pleaded the jackal just as his fur was beginning to burn. Still, she refused. The jackal could stand no more, and with a howl leaped into a dense bush and the little Sun child was swept away from his back. Then, burned and sorry, the jackal ran away into the forest, carrying with him the mark of the Sun child.
The Jackal’s Mark
