Once upon a time there lived a woman and a man. They had exactly one hundred cattle and no more calves. One day they had a son. He grew older and older. When he was fifteen years old, his father died and only a few years later his mother died. When the mourning period was over, he realized that he felt lonely and wanted a wife. So he went to his neighbors and told them about his wish. They were understanding and sent a man to find him a wife. After some time had passed, the man came back: "I have found you a wife. But she is not from our village. It's about eight hours away from here." The young man asked: "Who is this girl? Whose daughter is she?"

"She is the only child of Abdallah. Her family is very rich. They have six thousand cattle." Now that he knew more about this girl, he wanted to have her as his wife. So he sent the neighbor out again to break the news to Abdallah. After the negotiations, he came back and told the young man about the conditions for a wedding: "He has heard your words. But he wants a hundred cattle as a bridewealth."

"A hundred cattle? I have nothing but a hundred cattle. What are we supposed to live on if I give them all away?"

The mediator replied: "I don't know. But tell me now whether you want her or not." The young man thought about it and then said: "I agree. Go and say that I will give him my hundred cattle." The mediator set off again and everything necessary was discussed. Shortly afterwards, the young man set off for his bride with his hundred head of cattle. After the wedding feast, they went back to the man's house. It only took ten days at home before all the provisions were used up. The young man said: "Dear wife, now we have nothing left to eat. Before the wedding I had cattle, but I gave them all away for you. I will therefore go to our neighbors and ask them for some milk." And so it went every day from then on.

One day, the young woman was standing outside the door. A handsome young man came by. When he saw the woman there, he wished he could seduce her. So he sent a messenger to her shortly afterwards and conveyed his desire. The woman replied: "I have heard the message. Tell him to wait. I can't do it yet."

After three months, Abdallah wanted to visit his daughter. She was surprised by his visit and they sat down together in front of the house. After they had exchanged a few words, the woman went into the house and cried. She had nothing in the whole house that she could cook for her father. Desperate, she ran out of the back door. In the yard, she saw the man who had tried to seduce her. He came up to her and said: "Why are you keeping me waiting? I've hardly been able to sleep since I saw you back then."

The woman thought about it and then replied: "Well, I don't want to torture you any longer. If you call for me, I will come. But first I need a piece of meat so that I can cook something for my father to eat." The man immediately set off and shortly afterwards brought a quarter of beef. "Here, take this. But don't keep me waiting any longer." The woman went into the house with the meat. But the seducer waited by the back door for her to fulfill her promise.

For her part, the woman cut up the meat, put it in a pot and began to cook. Her husband came home. When he saw his father-in-law, he was startled. He went to his wife and asked her what she was cooking. "I'm cooking meat." The man was astonished and asked her where she got the meat. "I got it from the neighbors." The man was sad that he had so little. But grateful for his neighbors. He washed his hands and went outside the door to Abdallah.

The seducer could no longer stand it behind the house, so he ran to the front door. There he met the man and his father-in-law, who invited him in. The three of them sat together and talked. Then the woman came out of the house. She placed the bowl of meat between the three men and said: "Here, you fools! Eat." Her father was horrified and asked: "Why are you calling me a fool? Explain my stupidity to me."

She looked at him and replied: "You sold an expensive thing too cheaply."

"What did I sell too cheaply?"

"Me. You only have me, no other child. But you have six thousand cattle. Yet you gave me away for only a hundred cattle. The hundred cattle were obviously more valuable to you than me. You gave away something expensive for something cheap."

The father said, "You're right, I was a fool."

Now the man also wanted to know what stupid thing he had done.

"You're an even bigger fool. You inherited a hundred cattle from your parents and no more calves. But you gave them all to marry me. Yet there are many women in your village whom you could have had for a smaller bride wealth. Then you would still have cattle left and something to eat."

He also nodded and said: "You're right, I was a fool."

Of course, the seducer also asked about his stupidity. "You are the stupidest of all. You wanted to get something that cost a hundred head of cattle for a single quarter of cattle." The seducer jumped up and ran away in a rage.

Abdallah stayed with his daughter and son-in-law for a few more days. When he returned home, he got rid of his son-in-law's cattle and sent them back. He also gave them two hundred of his own animals. Now his daughter and her husband could lead a good life without being in debt to the neighbors any longer.

Märchen aus Somalia, Fassung Anina Meile, nach: Carl Meinhof,  Afrikanische Märchen, Jena 1917, englische Fassung Lysander Jaenike ©Mutabor Märchenstiftung