Ga ta, ga ta nan - see and hear the fairy tale!

Ta zo,mu ji ta - let it come, let us hear it!

Once upon a time there lived a woman who was unhappy because her husband was often rude to her and loud words filled the hut. In despair, the woman went to Malam, the scholar of the village. She sat down in front of him and said: "Malam, please give me a magic remedy so that I can rule over my husband and he can no longer rule over me."

The malam thought for a while. Then he said, "All right, I will help you. But first you have to bring me the milk of a buffalo cow."

The woman was startled and asked: "Where can I get the milk? The buffalo cows are wild and can't be milked!"

"Well, you'll think of something," said the malam.

The woman went home and thought about it for a long time. Then she took some bran, mixed it with beans and put it in a bowl. She went into the forest and searched until she found the herd of buffalo. Soon one of the buffalo cows had spotted her. It snorted, scratched its hooves and prepared to attack. The woman quickly placed the bowl of bran and beans on the ground and jumped away. The buffalo cow ran wildly after the woman, but then she smelled the bran, went to the bowl, ate it all and ran back to the herd.

The woman quietly picked up the empty bowl and took it home.

The next day, she filled the bowl with bran and beans again and took it into the forest. She placed the bowl on the path where the herd passed. The buffalo cow soon spotted the woman, but she also smelled the bran and instead of attacking the woman, she went to the bowl and ate the food.

Every day the woman now brought bran and beans to the forest. Each day she was able to get a little closer to the buffalo cow. Finally, the buffalo cow had become so accustomed to the woman that she was able to milk her while she ate the bran.

Happy, the woman went to the malam with the buffalo milk and said: "Here, malam, look, I've brought you the buffalo milk!"

The malam smiled and asked: "How did you manage that?"

"With a lot of calm, patience and good food," replied the woman.

Then the malam said: "If you behave the same way towards your husband, then you have the magic cure you were looking for."

The woman went home smiling. She cooked her husband the finest food, remained patient and calm when he wanted to argue and, lo and behold, peace and happiness soon returned to the hut. That is why there is a saying: With patience you can pull an ox by a thin thread.

Kungurus kan kusu - the mouse is gone, the story is over.

Fassung Djamila Jaenike, nach: R. Arnold/I.Herms, Osanyin überlistet die Schildkröte. Märchen aus Nigeria. Leipzig und Weimar 1984. Unter dem Titel: Die Frau, der Malam und der Büffel, englische Fassung Lysander Jaenike ©Mutabor Märchenstiftung

Eingelesen von der Mutabor Märchenstiftung auf www.maerchenstiftung.ch