When the rainy season began, the chief asked each animal what they would plant. The rabbit, Kalulu, requested a bag of money to sow. The chief, intrigued, gave it to him.
Kalulu spent the money on clothes, fish, and beads. At harvest time, he told the chief the money crop was "just in the blade." For two more years, he repeated this lie, saying it was "in flower" and then "in the ear."
In the fourth year, the suspicious chief sent animals to inspect the crop. First, the wild pig went with Kalulu. The rabbit tricked him by pretending hunters were near, causing the pig to flee. Kalulu told the chief the pig got scared and ran away.
The chief then sent the lion, and Kalulu used the same trick. Next, he sent the buffalo, and Kalulu tricked him too.
Finally, the wise tortoise was sent. He brought a bag with everything they might need: pillow, axe, knife, and arrows. Each time Kalulu tried to run back for an item, the tortoise had one ready. Trapped, Kalulu ran home in fright.
He begged his wife to disguise him as her hairless baby by pulling out his fur and covering him in red clay. When the chief's soldiers came, they took the "baby" hostage in a basket.
That night, Kalulu's wife told him to pretend to be dead the next day. She went to the chief, untied the basket, and found Kalulu stiff. She accused the chief of killing her baby. The animals held a trial and made the chief pay her a large bag of money.
Back home, Kalulu jumped out, vowing never to lie again. After his fur grew back, he took the money to the chief, claiming it was the harvest from the long journey. The chief, ashamed about the "dead baby," thanked him. Kalulu went home, glad to have escaped and vowed it was his last lie.