There was once a Yoruba boy who was born with a piece of magic yam in his hand. The piece of root was so small that it fitted exactly into his tiny palm. The boy grew bigger and stronger, but he always carried the magic root with him. Once his mother sent him into the bush to fetch wood. He diligently collected dry branches. There were so many that he wanted to bind them together. But to do so, he had to put down the magic root. He carefully placed the tiny piece of yam on a tree trunk close to him. Then he lifted the finished bundle of wood onto his head and made his way home. But he had forgotten the piece of yam in his eagerness.

Meanwhile, the animals had hidden in the bush and seen the boy collecting wood. As soon as he had gone, they came out and sniffed the yam he had left behind. "There must be some powerful magic in this root," said the leopard. "He's lucky who owns it." The other animals thought so too and soon they were arguing about who the piece of yam should belong to.  

Meanwhile, the boy remembered that his magic yam was missing. He put the bundle of wood down by the side of the path and ran as fast as he could back to the tree trunk where he had put it. He was quite surprised when he saw that there were so many animals there. Wild and dangerous animals too! He didn't know what to do. It was too late to run away. In his distress, he decided to sing a song:

"My little yam, my little yam

I forgot in the bush

My little yam, my little yam

I'm coming to get you now

Otherwise there will be nothing to eat today."

The boy sang his song again and again and he sang so beautifully that the animals were completely enchanted. "Sing again, sing again!" they shouted and soon they began to sing along. Others drummed and danced around the tree trunk. The boy had been waiting for this. With every step, he got a little closer to the yam and when no one was looking, he grabbed the root and quickly tucked it into his clothes. Then he quietly slipped away.

The animals danced and sang for quite a while, when suddenly the leopard asked: "Where is the boy and where is the yam?" All of a sudden it fell silent. "Who took the magic yam and where is the boy?" he growled angrily.

"The boy has taken the yam!" shouted the elephant.

"We have to catch up with him and take the root away from him!" shouted the leopard. "Who wants to go?" he asked, but the animals all shook their heads. "All right then," said the leopard, "I'll go myself. But then the magic root is mine." Before anyone could say anything, the leopard ran off.

In the meantime, the boy had run home as fast as he could. He had even left his bundle of wood on the path. His mother was sitting outside the hut. She had a pot of dark dye on the fire, which she was going to use to dye clothes. Panting, the boy reached her and told her the story of the dancing animals. "Soon the animals will come and it will be dangerous. Go into the house quickly and hide," she said.  Then she called the other women from the village together. They took sticks in their hands, dipped them in the dark paint and waited.

It wasn't long before the leopard rushed into the courtyard with a loud roar. The women took their sticks and beat him until he jumped away. But his fur was full of dark spots from the colored sticks and he still has them to this day. When the animals heard what had happened to the leopard, they no longer dared to go near the village.

To this day, people tell each other the story of the boy with the magic yam. And if you ever see a leopard, you will know why it has so many spots on its fur.

Aus: Pflanzenmärchen aus aller Welt ©Mutabor Verlag, englische Fassung Lysander Jaenike ©Mutabor Märchenstiftung

Eingelesen von der Mutabor Märchenstiftung auf www.maerchenstiftung.ch.