According to African legend, there once was an arrogant Babboon,
a self-appointed "Lord of the Water". He guarded one of the only
sources of water that remained during times of drought, a small
pool, and forbid any of the other animals from drinking there.
Legend has it that one day a Zebra and his son arrived at the
pool. The weather had been very dry and hot, and there was little
water to be found anywhere. They went to have a drink when suddenly
a voice boomed "Go Away!, I am the Lord of the Water, and this is
my pool"! The Zebras looked up, startled, and saw the angry Babboon
sitting by his fire.
"Water belongs to everyone, not just to you", shouted the young
Zebra. "Then you must fight me for it if you want to drink"
challenged the babboon, and attacked the young Zebra. The two
fought savagely for what seemed an eternity until with a furious
kick, the Zebra sent the Babboon flying through the air until he
landed amongst the rocks.
Till this day, the Babboon has a patch on his bottom where he
landed. The tired Zebra staggered, and fell through the Babboons
fire, scorching his white coat and leaving him with black stripes
across it. The terrified Zebras dashed away back to the plains
where they forever remained.
The arrogant Babboon and his family still live among the rocks
and spend their days challenging intruders, holding their tails
aloft to ease the pain of the sore patch of skin where they landed.
So goes the legend of how the Zebra got his stripes.