The Beautiful Story of Leuk-le-Lièvre

The Beautiful Story of Leuk-le-Lièvre, published by Hachette in 1953, is a tale written jointly by Léopold Sédar Senghor and his Senegalese friend Abdoulaye Sadji, intended for children of West Africa.

Leuk, the hare — figure of the mischievous trickster of West Africa — leaves the bush for the great land of men. The initiatory journey mixes the hare’s cunning with moral trials: trickery, pride, redemption. Inspired by Wolof and Serer oral literature, the book became a classic of Francophone African schools.

The original edition is adorned with color lithographs; the text was reissued by Harrap as early as 1965 for school use.

Sources

• https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A9opold_S%C3%A9dar_Senghor (section Children’s Literature)
• Open Library data: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL1283557W
• https://www.ecoledeslettres.fr/la-belle-histoire-de-leuk-le-lievre-de-leopold-sedar-senghor-et-abdoulaye-sadji/