Tag: Morality Tale

Masa was a beggar who had no family or land, he begged food when he could, and when he could not he hired himself to labor in the fields of other men. One day when bearing a heavy bag of cassava to a distant town an overpowering weariness possessed him and he sat to rest beneath a tree. He fell asleep.

He slept for seven months, and since he was a poor and unimportant man no one came to look for him. As he slept he dreamed a dream in which he entered a great city, and here he met a fair maiden called Vona.

The two young people fell in love and Masa agreed to Marry Vona as soon as she had been accepted into the Sande Society. She was to be called to this important women’s society within two months.Now Masa faced a serious problem, for he had no presents to give the girl or her mother.

Since begging brought no wealth and animals abounded outside the city walls, he decided to turn trapper to secure both food for himself and skins for trade. He made fifty Traps and set them in the forest.

Near the first trap lay a large black rock, and when Masa came to collect the animals in his traps the spirit of black rock said:
“Every animal in you traps must be placed upon my head, or I will rise and swallow you!”

Masa was astonished to hear the rock talk thus, and being fearful of the threat, he placed his animals upon its head. The animals disappeared within the rock. He shifted his traps to another place, but next day the rock had moved there too, and again demanded and received all the animals in Masa’s traps. This went on for many days. No matter where he put his traps, the rock was sure to follow. Masa had no animals to take home, and Vona’s mother became angry.

“O worthless hunter!” she exclaimed one day. “Do you hunt animals, or do they hunt you? You ask to wed my daughter, yet you bring no gifts. You wish to have her as your wife, yet you cannot feed yourself. I will not have my daughter marry such a poor and worthless fool.

Masa and Vona grieved at this, for they loved each other dearly.
On the evening before the ceremonies of the Sande Society Masa went once more into the forest, though his hear was heavy inside him. His traps were empty, for he had angered all the animals in the forest and had been obliged to give them to the spirit of the black rock. In despair he sat down on the rock himself, hoping the spirit might devour him too.

But the black rock said to him:“O hunter for a month and more you have given me every animal you caught, and now I shall reward you for your labors. Beat me seven times with your stick.”

Masa took his stick and hit the black rock seven times. The rock opened, and out rolled seven heavy stones of gold — so heavy that he could scarcely lift the smallest. He was happy to see them, and thanked the spirit of the rock. He left his traps, hid six stones of gold and carried the seventh into the city.

Here he purchased the richest gowns and jewels, white horses and fine gifts, and attended by dancers and musicians he rode in glory through the streets to the dwelling of the maiden city. Here he purchased the richest gowns and jewels, white horses and fine gifts, and attended by dancers and musicians he rode in glory through the streets to the dwelling and her mother; and people marveled among themselves to see the lowly beggar riding like a king.

So Masa married his beloved and days of feasting followed. Two months of his dream had passed. He and his bride lived in a palace with honor and wealth and unaccustomed happiness, but as time passed and Masa learned the power of wealth he grew arrogant, as well as fat, and dealt harshly with his servants. Then he fell ill with a strange illness.

The most famous diviner in the city came, and after reading sands he said:

“A bag of cassava weighs heavily on your spirit. Eat no more cassava or your spirit’s strength will break.”

Masa ate no more cassava, and soon grew well, but he became so cruel and haughty that his servants came to hate him and one day they put cassava in his food. Masa ate the meal: and he completely disappeared. He who was rich and lived in a palace with the loveliest of wives was swallowed by air.
The dream had broken.

Masa woke up underneath the tree deep in the forest. His loincloth was rotten, pigs had long ago eaten his bagful of cassava, his body was dirty and his hair was the home of insects. He had returned to poverty and in poverty he remained, for he had destroyed his fortune with arrogance and pride.

The Chief Thief and the Prince of Liar lived together in a house, and neither could agree which possessed the greatest power for causing mischief. They decided they would have a competition and Thief set out to do his best, or worst.

He entered a prosperous town by night, a town where many rich men lived. He crept into homes, stole money and jewels, carried off chickens and clothes and food, drove off the cattle and goats and sheep, took all the totems and kidnapped the Chief’s favorite wife.

What palaver there was in the morning! Women arose to light fires and raised the alarm instead: their husbands seized spears and rushed through the town seeking culprits and shouting excitedly; the Chief called for his wife, and his pipe, and his sword, but all had mysteriously disappeared. Thief laughed and laughed and went home to Liar.

“Is that all you can do?” asked Liar. “Can you only cause confusion in the town? Well, now I’ll show you what the Prince of Liars can do!

He went to a place where two great town lay close together; they were ruled by powerful chiefs called Saa and Numa. In one of these towns he befriended the wife of Chief Saa. This woman often quarreled with her husband, who was cruel, and Liar confided to her that he had magic powers which could make her husband respect and love, and cause him to agree with anything which she suggested. The woman was delighted to hear this.

“I know a certain medicine,” said Liar, “which will make your husband love you as he never love before. But to make this medicine I must have some hair from his belly.”

He urged the woman to take a knife cut hair from her husband while he slept, and she agreed to do this that very night.

Liar approached Chief Saa, the woman’s husband and to him he said:“O Chief, I heard the women talking, and I know your wife is planning to murder you tonight. Take care, and watch her closely lest you die!”

Chief Saa was surprised to hear this, and decided to wait and see if Liar’s words were true. Chief Saa’s wife was the sister of Chief Numa who ruled the neighboring town, and now Liar went and talked with the second Chief.

“Chief Numa,” he said, “your sister is married to Chief Saa, and Chief Saa intends to murder her tonight. Send guards in secret, after dark, so that your sister may have aid if she should need it.”
Chief Numa frowned in wonder when he heard this; for if his sister was thus murdered the two great towns would go to war. He sent guards secretly to hide by Chief Saa’s house.

That night Chief Saa and his wife lay down on their bed to sleep; and when she thought her husband slept she took a long sharp knife from underneath the bed. But the Chief was not asleep, and he saw the long blade gleaming.

She began to cut hair from his tender belly.

“Warrgh!” he cried. “Fiend!”

He swept her hand aside, and as the blade slashed her leg she shrilled in pain. Chief Numa’s guards became alarmed and beat upon the door. Chief Saa’s own soldiers came. Fighting broke our. A courier ran to Numa, and he assembled his men and rushed headlong into battle with the warriors of Saa.

A violent battle ensued and lasted for seven days and nights. Both of the towns were burned and the women and children killed. Other peoples entered the fight and heavy slaughter followed until all villages and towns were burned and the land was ravaged, dead and smelled of blood.

Thieves can steal and plunder, but the wickedness of liars know no end.

Near to a town there was a small area of bush land which, the people said, was the private property of the forest spirits. A man decided he would make his farm on this land, and only laughed when his friends begged him not to. He had no respect for either spirits or the opinions of other people.

On the first day he cut some bushes and went home. Next morning he found all the other bushes had been cut. He felled a tree and on the third day he discovered all the other trees had been felled.

“I am the happiest and luckiest of men,” he thought; “I won’t have to work hard this year, for the Forest spirits are my slaves.”

He lit a small fire and went home. During the night all the bushes, trees and stumps were burned.

In the morning he told his wife to plant one seed of rice, and leave a basket of rise grain there overnight. During the night the seed was planted throughout the field.

At harvest time he cut one stalk of rice, and then went home already counting the profits he would make.

But when he returned in the morning he found all the rice crop had been harvested…and taken away. His crop had disappeared.

Which proves the people as a group are wiser than any single man.

• “O Star, my pond is a small and unimportant pond. Why did you choose to come here?”

“No special reason,” said the star. “The water here is clear and sweet, and I am only a baby star.” An then, thinking the fish was a simpleton, he added: “Tell me, will the moon bathe in the sea tonight?”

“I will tell you,” answered the little fish, but first you must tell me why one of my crabs lives with a water-snail.”

The baby star laughed at such foolishness.

“How stupid you are,” he said. “I live up in the sky. What could I know of such things?”

“And you are two fools,” the little fish declared; “for I live in this pond, and what could I know of the sky, or the moon, or if she will bathe in the sea tonight?”

The little star blushed with shamed and flew away. Wise men treat strangers with respect, and save themselves much trouble.