Speak Bird Speak Again (45 page)

GROUP
IV

ENVIRONMENT

38.

TELLER:
Testify that Allah is One!

AUDIENCE:
There is no god but God.

Once
there was a she-goat who had three kids. She used to say to them,
"You stay here. I'm going to bring you some grass." Every
day she went grazing until she was full, then she came home with
grass for them and said:

"O
my kids! O my kids!

Open
the door for me!

The
grass is on my horns

And
the milk is in my teats."

They
would then open the door for her.

One
day the hyena saw her as she was leaving and discovered where her
kids were. "By Allah," he said to himself, "I'm going
to eat them." Now, the she-goat, before going out, would caution
her kids, "If anyone should come and say, 'Let me in,' be
careful not to open the door." Because the mother's tail had
been chopped off, she said to the kids, "If someone should come
and say to you, 'Open for me, I'm your mother,' check first if the
tail is chopped off or not. If not, then it can't be me. Don't open
the door!"

The
hyena went to the cave where the kids were and called out:

"O
my kids! O my kids!

Open
the door for me!

The
grass is on my horns

And
the milk is in my teats."

"Turn
around," they bleated, "and let us see your tail."

Turning
around, he displayed his tail, and lo! it was not chopped off.

"Go
away!" they said. "You're not our mother."

What
was he to do? He wanted to trick them so he could eat them. To the
ant he then went and said, "Chop off my tail so I can eat the
kids of the little she-goat."

"No,"
answered the ant, "I won't chop off your tail unless you go to
the threshing floor and bring me a measure of wheat."

So to
the threshing floor he went and said, "O threshing floor, give
me a measure of wheat so I can give it to the ant, and the ant will
then chop off my tail so I can eat the kids of the little she-goat."

"I
won't give it to you," replied the threshing floor, "unless
you bring a team of oxen to tread the wheat on me."

The
hyena then went to the oxen and said, "Yoked team, come tread
the wheat on the threshing floor, and the threshing floor will give
me a measure of wheat, and the measure of wheat I'll give to the ant,
and the ant will then chop off my tail so I can eat the kids of the
little she-goat."

"We
won't go treading," replied the oxen, "unless you tell the
spring to give us water to drink."

Going
to the pool by the spring, the hyena said, "O pool, let the team
of oxen come and drink so that they will tread the wheat on the
threshing floor, and the threshing floor will give me a measure of
wheat, and the measure of wheat I'll give to the ant, and the ant
will then chop off my tail so I can eat the kids of the little
she-goat."

"Let
the team come and drink," said the pool.

So the
team of oxen went and drank at the spring, then they trod the wheat
on the threshing floor, and the threshing floor gave a measure of
wheat to the ant, and the ant chopped off the hyena's tail.

Back
he went to the kids of the little she-goat and called out:

"O
my kids! O my kids!

Open
the door for me!

The
grass is on my horns

And
the milk is in my teats."

"Show
us your tail," they bleated again.

He
showed it to them, and, seeing that it was chopped off, they opened
the door for him. In he came and gobbled them all up.

When
the little she-goat came home, she discovered the hyena had eaten all
her kids. To the blacksmith she then went and said, "Make me
iron horns, and make them so sharp I can stab the hyena and get my
kids back from his stomach."

The
blacksmith made her a pair of iron horns as sharp as knives. The
little she-goat put them on, rushed to the house of the hyena, and
stomped on the roof.

"Who's
pounding on my roof?" roared the hyena. "You've shattered
my jars of oil."

"I'm
the little she-goat of the twisted horns," announced the goat.
"Come on out and let's fight!"

The
hyena came out. Piercing him this way and that with her horns, the
little she-goat ripped open his stomach and pulled her kids free.

This
is my tale, I've told it, and in your hands I leave it.

39.

Once
there was an old woman who had a cat. One day she brought some milk
home, and the cat came and lapped it up. Feeling angry, she cut off
his tail.

"Meow!
Meow!" he cried. "Give me back my tail."

"Give
me back my milk," demanded the old woman.

"And
how am I going to bring back the milk for you?" he asked.

"Go
bring it from that ewe over there," she answered.

Going
to the ewe, the cat said, "Ewe, give me some milk, and the milk
is for the old woman, and the old woman will then sew my tail back
on."

"Bring
me a branch from that tree over there," said the ewe, "and
I'll give you the milk."

So to
the tree he went and said, "O tree, give me a branch, and the
branch is for the ewe, and the ewe will give me some milk, and the
milk is for the old woman, and the old woman will then sew my tail
back on."

"Go
tell that plowman over there to come plow under me," replied the
tree.

To the
plowman then he went and said, "O plowman, come plow under the
tree, and the tree will give me a branch, and the branch is for the
ewe, and the ewe will give me some milk, and the milk is for the old
woman, and the old woman will then sew my tail back on."

"Bring
me a pair of shoes from the cobbler," said the plowman.

He
went to the cobbler and said, "O cobbler, give me some shoes,
and the shoes are for the plowman, and the plowman will plow under
the tree, and the tree will give me a branch, and the branch is for
the ewe, and the ewe will give me some milk, and the milk is for the
old woman, and the old woman will then sew my tail back on."

"Bring
me two loaves of bread from that bakerwoman over there,"
answered the cobbler.

The
cat then went to the bakerwoman.

"Bakerwoman,"
he said, "give me two loaves of bread for the cobbler, and the
cobbler will give me some shoes, and the shoes are for the plowman,
and the plowman will plow under the tree, and the tree will give me a
branch, and the branch is for the ewe, and the ewe will give me some
milk, and the milk is for the old woman, and the old woman will then
sew my tail back on."

"Bring
me a bucketful of manure from that pile over there," said the
bakerwoman.

So,
bringing a bucket full of manure, the cat gave it to the bakerwoman,
and she gave him two loaves of bread. Taking the bread, he gave it to
the cobbler, and the cobbler gave him the shoes, which he gave to the
plowman, who plowed under the tree. The tree then gave him a branch,
which he gave to the ewe, who gave him the milk. Taking the milk with
him, he went running back to the old woman.

"Meow!
Meow!" he cried. "Why don't you sew my tail back on?"

The
old woman took the milk and sewed the cat's tail back on, and they
became friends again.

The
bird of this tale has flown; are you ready for the next one?

40.

Once
there was a woman who had no children. Her husband was a plowman, and
every day they had a hard time finding someone to take food out to
him. They had a few sheep, and one day, as the wife was sweeping out
their pen, she cried out, "O seeker, your wish be granted! May I
become pregnant and have a boy, even if it is a piece of dung!"

It was
as if Allah Himself had spoken with her tongue. When she gave birth,
she delivered a pile of dung. All those present at the birth gathered

up the
dung and threw it outside, but lo! a piece of it rolled under the
wardrobe. The woman became very, very sad.

One
day, while kneading the dough, the wife called out, "O Lord, if
only you had given me a son, he would have taken the food out to his
father!" And behold! the piece of dung jumped out from under the
wardrobe and said, "Mother, I'll take the food to my father."

The
woman set to preparing the food, bringing together some yogurt and
seven loaves of bread, and she gave it to Dunglet, who carried it to
his father.

"Welcome!"
said the father when he saw him in the distance. "Welcome,
Dunglet, and the path that led Dunglet, who's bringing his father the
yogurt and the seven loaves!" And behold! Dunglet answered,
"Death to Dunglet and the path that brought Dunglet, who ate the
yogurt and the seven loaves and has come to follow them up with his
father and the yoked oxen!" He then devoured his father and the
oxen.

Going
back home, he found his mother kneading dough.

"Welcome!"
she said. "Welcome, Dunglet, and the path that led Dunglet,
who's coming to help his mother with the kneading!"

"Death
to Dunglet," he answered, "and the path that brought
Dunglet, who ate the yogurt and the seven loaves, finished off his
father and the oxen, and has now come to follow them up with his
mother and her dough!" He then devoured his mother.

The
next day he went to visit his father's sister, and found her patching
her roof.

"Welcome!"
she said. "Welcome, Dunglet, and the path that led Dung-let,
who's coming to help his aunt with the patching."

"Death
to Dunglet," he answered, "and the path that brought
Dunglet, who ate the yogurt and the seven loaves, finished off his
father and the oxen, his mother and her dough, and has now come to
follow them up with his aunt and her day!" He then devoured his
aunt.

The
following day he went to visit his mother's sister, and found her
doing the laundry.

"Welcome!"
she said. "Welcome, Dunglet, and the path that led Dunglet,
who's coming to help his aunt with the washing."

"Death
to Dunglet," he answered, "and the path that brought
Dunglet, who ate the yogurt and the seven loaves, finished off his
father and the oxen, his mother and her dough, his aunt and her day,
and has now come to follow them up with his second aunt and her
laundry!" He then devoured his second aunt.

The
next day he went to visit his grandmother, and found her spinning.

"Welcome!"
she said. "Welcome, Dunglet, and the path that led Dung-let,
who's coming to help his grandmother with the spinning!"

"Death
to Dunglet," he answered, "and the path that brought
Dunglet, who ate the yogurt and the seven loaves, finished off his
father and the oxen, his mother and her dough, his aunt and her day,
his second aunt and her laundry, and has now come to follow them up
with his grandmother and her spinning!" He then devoured his
grandmother.

On his
way home he ran into a wedding procession.

"Welcome!"
people said. "Welcome, Dunglet, and the path that led Dunglet,
who's coming to help us celebrate the wedding!"

"Death
to Dunglet," he answered, "and the path that brought
Dunglet, who ate the yogurt and the seven loaves, finished off his
father and the oxen, his mother and her dough, his aunt and her day,
his second aunt and her laundry, his grandmother and her spinning,
and has now come to follow them up with the bride and groom!" He
then devoured the bride and groom.

As he
was walking down the street, he met two blind men who were trying to
cross it.

"Welcome!"
they said. "Welcome, Dunglet, and the path that led Dunglet,
who's coming to help us with the crossing!"

"Death
to Dunglet," he answered, "and the path that brought
Dunglet, who ate the yogurt and the seven loaves, finished off his
father and the oxen, his mother and her dough, his aunt and her clay,
his second aunt and her laundry, his grandmother and her spinning,
the bride and the groom, and has now come to follow them up with the
blind men!"

One of
them pulled a little knife out of his pocket and gashed Dung-

let's
belly. All the people he had devoured came tumbling out, and
everything went back as it had been.