A boy who lived with his mother felt hungry one day. He said to his mother: "Bake me some cassava bread, because tomorrow I want to go into town."

His mother asked him: "What do you want there?"

The boy replied, "I want to sell my goods," and he caught a huge old cockroach, put it in a sack, added some cassava bread and left.

On the way he slept in a village and the next morning he continued on his way. He came to another village. There he became thirsty and asked for water. They gave him water. Then the woman who had given him water asked him: "Where are you going?"

The boy replied: "I'm going to sell my cockroach in the town."

The woman was surprised and asked: "How can you sell a cockroach?"

The boy replied, "You sell it and buy it."

While he was drinking water, a rooster came and ate his cockroach. When the boy saw this, he cried and sobbed: "Oh dear! Oh dear! My mother gave me the cockroach, I was supposed to sell it for her; she needs the money, and now this disgusting rooster has eaten my cockroach!"

The people then caught him another cockroach, but he didn't want it: "I want my cockroach back, the one my mum gave me to sell!"

"But", the villagers replied, "now that it's in the rooster!"

"Then you'll just have to give me the rooster!"

After much toing and froing, the villagers got fed up and gave the boy the rooster. He took it with him to the next village. There, a large dog pounced on him and devoured the rooster in one gulp.

"Oh dear! Oh dear!" howled the boy, "my mum gave me the rooster to sell, what am I supposed to do now?"

The villagers took pity on him and brought him another rooster. He refused: "I only want the one I got from my mum."

"But it's in this dog's belly!"

"Then I want to take the dog with me!"

"Fine, then take him with you; he should be yours."

And he took the dog with him.

They walked a long way to the next village. There they came across a goat that had just given birth and wanted to protect it. She pounced on the dog and thrust her horns so hard into his skull that the poor dog collapsed dead.

And the boy began to wail: "What a misfortune! The poor dog! My mum entrusted him to me! How am I supposed to explain to her that he's dead now! Give me my dog back!"

The villagers couldn't give him a replacement dog, so they paid him compensation and gave him the goat and her kids as a present. He went to sell the goat and kids, and with all the money he now had, he bought household appliances and fabrics, a sewing machine and a bicycle.

He brought it all to his mother. She was completely taken aback and marvelled at his sudden wealth. She asked him how he had done this when he had only taken a cockroach from home and had now come home with so many treasures.

"You see," the boy explained, "the cockroach has had babies. You shouldn't have made fun of the supposedly unsaleable goods!"

He started a beautiful family, became a respected figure in his village and completed his life there in undisputed prosperity and prestige, loved by his mother, honoured by all. That's the end of the story.

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