Once the ear, mouth, eye, foot and hand went hunting. The ear heard a man in the bush. Soon after, the eye saw the strange hunter and the mouth told the others. The feet crept after the stranger and the hand grabbed him.

"Thanks to me, we were able to catch the strange hunter, he shall belong to me and become my servant," said the ear. But the eye and mouth shouted the same and the hand and foot also shouted: "Without us, he could not have been caught".

They began to argue and finally said: "Let's go to the judge, let him decide who is right."

So they went to the judge. At that time, the mosquito was the judge in the land. He listened to everything and then said: "Thanks to the hand you were able to catch the foreign hunter, he shall be his."

Ear, mouth, eye and foot were disappointed when they heard the judge's verdict. Yes, even all the people in the village were dissatisfied and they said: "The mosquito is not fair, he can no longer be a judge."

The mosquito was driven out of the village and flew into the bush. There he thought: "My judgment was really not fair. Because the ear heard the strange hunter first, that was the only way they could catch the strange man, he should be his."

He quickly flew back to the village, but no one wanted to listen to him. So he waited until night fell. Then he flew to his ear and hummed: "You were right. You heard the hunter first, so he's yours."

But the ear said: "Go away, I don't want to hear any more from you. Sometimes you talk one way, then another, fly away!"

But the mosquito kept coming back and buzzing in his ear. Then the ear called the hand to help and it drove the mosquito away and that's how it is to this day.

Fassung Djamila Jaenike , nach. J. Schönhärl, Volkskundliches aus Togo Märchen und Fabeln, Dresden/Leipzig 1909, unter dem Titel: Auge, Ohr, Mund, Hand und Fuss, englische Fassung Lysander Jaenike © Mutabor Märchenstiftung