Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (Kirikou et les bêtes sauvages)

The story of

Kirikou and the Sorceress

was too short.

We didn't have time to tell you

all that the child Kirikou

had accomplished.

And

he did accomplish some fine good deeds

that should not be forgotten.

So,

I'll tell you about them.

My first story tells

how my grandson Kirikou

risked his life

to bring water to the village.

We even thought he'd drowned

in that water he'd brought us.

Kirikou is mocking

But he's kind-hearted

Kirikou is so small

But he is our friend

Kirikou isn't big

But he is our child

Kirikou is...

I won!

He won!

Kirikou is so small

But he does a lot!

Kirikou sets us free

From the sorceress

What's that?

The villagers dancing in the spring water!

What?

The spring water?

The water's back?

Yes, mighty mistress.

And is Kirikou dead

I don't think so.

He's wetting his friends.

The water!

It's here!

The water!

It's come back to the village!

The water's returned!

We'll plant the finest garden!

We'll grow the finest vegetables!

The water's here!

The water! The water's here!

Kirikou...

Everyone's sleeping. Come to bed.

You can work tomorrow.

Yes, Mother!

No!

You're tamping it down too hard.

I'm doing it right.

Our garden's growing well.

We've worked well.

We'll soon be able to harvest it all.

I like gardening, but it's too slow.

Careful! Don't pick it now.

It's not ready yet.

I know!

No!

What happened?

More misfortune!

Our vegetable garden!

Our garden's been destroyed!

What'll become of us?

Who could have done such a crime?

It has her name on it:

Karaba the Sorceress!

She took all our warriors and now,

she starves us!

Will we ever destroy that monster?

Last night, she sent

an army of fetishes

to crush our efforts.

Why at night?

Fetishes don't usually hide.

Maybe it was a wild beast?

I say it's Karaba!

We must do something.

We'll replant what can be saved.

No!

Not like that!

You're not hitting it straight.

- The fence is flimsy. - Better than nothing.

And we'll keep watch.

We'll take turns

in groups of four all night.

Will they come back?

Disaster!

The village!

Mom, I'm scared.

I gotta go!

This filthy beast can run fast.

I can't keep this up for long.

I need to find a hole to hide in

or I'm done for.

There!

How horrible!

I can't move! It stinks, too!

I'm stuck!

The sky! The trunk's hollow!

I'm going to climb up!

I feel better!

A hive! The bees will wake up!

If the hyena keeps that up,

the hive might even fall on me.

I must do something!

Hey, you big beast!

Goodbye!

The mystery's solved. It wasn't Karaba.

It was the Black Hyena.

Maybe Karaba

just turned into the hyena...

No, the Black Hyena existed

long before Karaba came to this region.

Well, the mystery's now over.

It's not. What was a carnivorous animal

doing in a vegetable garden?

That's true.

There's still that little mystery.

But it's not important. The beast's gone.

It is important.

If we don't find out what attracted it,

the hyena will come back.

There's no way I'll lose

all this lovely honey!

It's good.

Now I must repair all the damage.

How terrible

to destroy a beehive!

But I had no choice.

As long as it holds...

The bees will do the real repair work.

My mother said

that bees tend to come back,

even after an accident.

I hope they do come back,

but not right now.

I don't want to be stung all over.

I feel very vulnerable.

Oh, no!

The bees!

Easy...

Easy now...

No stings so far...

It's a very bad idea to be naked

when you're dealing with bees.

Easy now...

As long as I stay calm,

they won't hurt me.

I got stung! Ow!

That hurts!

It hurts,

but my finger still has sugar on it.

The other bees aren't rushing

at me.

I touched the one which stung me.

It was my fault. That hurts.

But I'm not dead, so I'll carry on.

But what was that hyena doing

in our vegetables?

You won't convince me

Karaba wasn't behind all this.

I've brought some honey.

Thank you, Kirikou.

Good boy, but go play elsewhere.

We're talking.

There's no such thing

as a hyena eating millet.

But that hyena devastated our garden!

What must we do to stop

that horrid beast coming back?

We must understand

what it was doing here.

I wonder

if we'll ever solve the mystery.

What mystery are you talking about?

It was Karaba, that's all!

It wasn't!

Here's what the hyena wanted.

This ground squirrel is injured,

but we can treat him.

So, it's this injured animal

that the hyena was looking for

in our vegetables

to devour it?

The hyena pursued it to here,

but the little animal

managed to escape and hide.

We'll keep it safe at our house

until it's recovered.

The hyena won't be interested

in our garden anymore.

Kirikou is so small

But he sure does think!

Kirikou is so small

But he sure does think!