Mama Antelope’s House

Summary

This story is about a playful hare who decides to play a trick on Mama Antelope by sneaking into her house and causing a ruckus. Mama Antelope and the other animals in the village, including hyena, giraffe, zebra, and elephant, attempt to figure out who is inside the house, but no one can open the door. The animals become sad and discouraged as their attempts to open the door fail. Eventually, Baby Antelope returns home and kindly asks whoever is inside to open the door. The door opens to reveal Hare smiling, revealing that the prankster inside was indeed Hare all along. The story concludes with happiness as the door is finally open, and everyone is relieved and delighted. This tale highlights themes of curiosity, mischief, and the power of kind communication.

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Long ago, all the animals lived in a village.
Mama Antelope had a big house.

One day, Hare wanted to play a trick.
He thought and thought and thought…
He crept into Mama Antelope’s house.
He closed the door and made a lot of noise.

Mama Antelope came home.
“Who is in my house?” she cried.

“Hyena, please help!
Someone is in my house.”

Knock, knock, knock!
“Open the door!” howled Hyena.
But the door did not open.

Hyena called Giraffe.
“Open the door!”
shouted Giraffe.

But the door did not open.

Giraffe called Zebra.
“Open the door!” yelled Zebra.
But the door did not open.

Zebra called Elephant.
He was big and strong.
“Open the door!”
commanded Elephant.
But the door
did not open.

Mama Antelope was sad.
All the animals were sad.

Who was in Mama Antelope’s house?

The birds sang.
The butterflies flapped.
The bees buzzed.
“Open the door!” they all cried.

Baby Antelope came home.
“Who is in our house?”

“Please open the door,” she asked sweetly.

The door opened.
It was Hare!
Hare was smiling.
He loved tricks.

Hurrah! Hurrah!
Mama Antelope and
Baby Antelope are happy.
The animals are happy.
Mama Antelope’s house is open at last.

Credits

Originally published by Book Dash under a Creative Commons Licensed BY 4.0. This book can be read for free on https://bookdash.org/books/mama-antelopes-house and was created by: Nabeela Kalla (Editor), Lauren Bird (Designer), Florence Marundu (Writer), Barbara Nascimbeni (Illustrator) Book Dash logo