Swahili Tales/Blessing or Property
BLESSING OR PROPERTY.
There was a man and his wife, and they prayed to God to get a child; and they got first a son and next a daughter. And their father's employment was to cut up firewood. And they remained till the children were grown up. And their father was seized by disease. And he called his children, and asked them, "Will you have blessing or property?" And the son said, "I will have property." And the daughter said, "I will have blessing." And her father gave her much blessing. And her father died.
And they kept the mourning, and when they arose their mother fell sick; and she called her children and said to them, "Will you have blessing or property?" and the son said, "I will have property." And the daughter said, "I will have blessing." And her mother gave her blessing. And their mother died.
And they kept their mourning, and when they arose the seventh day was come. And the son went and told the woman, his sister, "Put out all my father's and mother's things." And the woman put them out, without his leaving her anything. And he took them all away.
And people said to him, "Will you not leave even any little thing for this your sister?" And he said, "I shall not. I asked for the property, and she for a blessing." And be left her a cooking pot, and a mortar for cleaning corn; he did not leave her even a little food.
Her neighbours used to come and borrow the mortar, and clean their corn, and then they gave her a little grain, and she cooked and ate it. And others used to come and borrow her cooking pots, and cook with them, and then they gave her too a little food. And this was every day her employment.
And she searched about in her father and mother's house, without finding anything except a pumpkin seed. And she took it and went and planted it under the well. And a plant sprung up, and bore many pumpkins.
Her brother had no news of her, and he asked people, "Where does my sister get food?" And they told him, "People borrow her mortar, and they clean their corn, and give her too a little food; and people borrow her cooking pots, and cook with them, and give her too a little food."
And her brother arose and went and robbed her of the mortar and cooking pots. And then she awoke in the morning and sought for food, and could not get it. And she stayed till nine o'clock, and said, "I will go and look at my pumpkin, whether it has grown." And she went, and saw that many pumpkins had come. And she was comforted.
And she gathered the pumpkins, and went and sold them, and got food. And this was her employment every day, to gather and go and sell. And when the third day came, every one who ate those pumpkins found them exceedingly sweet. And everybody used to take grain and go to her place and buy. And many days passed, and she got property.
Her brother's wife heard that news, and sent her slave with grain to go and buy a pumpkin. And she said, "They are finished." And when she knew it was her brother's wife's slave, she told him, "Take this one, and take back your grain." And she went and cooked it, and found it very sweet. The next day she sent some one again. And she said, "There are none at all to-day." And he went and told his mistress, and she was exceedingly vexed.
When her husband came and asked her, "What is the matter with you, my wife?" She told him, "I sent some one to your sister with my grain, to go and ask for pumpkins. She did not send them, and told me, 'There are none;' and other people all buy of her." And he said to his wife, "Let us sleep till to-morrow. I will go and pull up her pumpkin plant."
When the morning dawned, he went to his sister and said to her, "When my wife sent grain, you refused to sell her a pumpkin." And she said, "They are finished; the day before yesterday she sent some one, and I gave to him for nothing." And he said, "Why are you selling to other people?" And she said, "They are finished, there are no more, they are not yet come." And her brother said to her, "I shall go and cut up your pumpkin." And she said, "You dare not, unless indeed you cut my hand off first; then you may cut up the pumpkin." And her brother took hold of her right hand and cut it off, and went and cut up her pumpkin plant, every bit of it.
The woman set on hot water, and put in her arm, and put medicine also, and bound on a cloth.
And he took away from her everything, and put her out of the house.
And his sister wandered about in the forest, and this her brother sold the house, and gathered much property, and remained spending it.
And she wandered in the forest, till on the seventh day she came out upon another town. And she climbed up into a great tree, and ate the fruit of the tree, and in the morning she slept there in the tree. On the next day the son of the king came out shooting birds, he and his people. About twelve o'clock he was tired, and said, "I will go there by the tree, that I may rest, and you shoot birds." And he sat under the tree, he and his slave.
And the young woman cried till her tears fell upon the king's son below. And he said to his slave, "Look outside; is it not raining?" And he said, "It is not, master." And he said, "Then climb up into the tree, and look what bird is casting its droppings upon me." And his slave climbed up, and he saw an exceedingly beautiful woman crying, and without saying a word, he got down. And he told his master, "There is a most beautiful young woman. I did not venture to say a word to her." And his master asked him, "Why?" And he said, "I found her crying; perhaps you should go yourself." And his master climbed up, and went and saw her, and said to her, "What is the matter with you, my mistress? Are you a person or a spirit?" And she said, "I am a person." And he said, "What are you crying about?" And she said, "I am thinking of things; I am a person as you are."
And he said, "Come down and let us go to our home." And she said to him, "Where is your home?" And he said, "With my father and mother: I am a king's son." And she said, "What did you come to do here?" And he said, "I come to shoot birds, month by month; this is our employment. I came with my companions." And she said, "I do not like to be seen by anybody." And that woman had told the king's son. And he said, "We shall not be seen by any one." And she came down.
And he sent his slave, "Go into the town quickly, and bring me a masheela. And his slave went at once and returned with a masheela and four people, and they carried him. And he put the woman into it, and told his slave, "Fire a gun, that all the company may know." And he fired a gun, and his companions came, and they said to him, "What is the matter with you, son of the king?" And he said, "I am cold, and I want to go my way into the town." And they carried the game they had got, and went away. And the king's son had got into the masheela, he and that young woman. And his companions knew nothing of it.
And they went to their city, and reached his house. And he said to a man, "Go and tell my mother and father, I have fever to-day, I want gruel quickly; let them send it to me." And his mother and father were troubled, and gruel was cooked for him, and sent to him.
And his father went with his vizirs and went to see him. And at night his mother went with her people to see him.
The next day he went out, and went and told his mother and father, "I have picked up a young woman, I want you to marry me to her, but she has lost one hand?" And they said, "Why?" And he said, "I wish it just as it is." And the Sultan loved his only son much, and he made a wedding and married him.
And the people heard in the town, "The Sultan's son has married a young woman, she has lost one hand."
And they remained until his wife became pregnant, and bore a son, and his parents rejoiced exceedingly.
And the Sultan's son went on a journey, and went to travel about in the towns of his father.
There behind her brother came out; he had nothing to spend, and was going begging. Till one day he heard people conversing, "The Sultan's son has married a woman who has lost one hand." And her brother asked, "Where did he get the girl, this child of the Sultan?" And they told him, "He picked her up in the forest." And he knew she was his sister.
And he went to the king. And he went and said, "Your child has married a woman who has lost a hand. She was put out of their town because she was a witch; every husband who marries her, she kills."
And the king went and told his wife, and they said, "What plan can we act on?" And they loved much their only child, and they said, "Let us put her out of the town." And her brother said to them, "Kill her, for there at home she had her hand cut off, and here kill her." And they said, "We cannot kill her, we will put her out of the town." And they went and put her out of the town, her and her son. And she was comforted.
And she went out, and carried a little earthen pot, and went her way into the forest; she knew not where she was going or whence she came. And she sat down, and showed her child, and casting her eyes, she saw a snake come fast towards her, and she said, "To-day I am dead."
And the snake said to her, "Child of Adam, open your earthern pot that I may go in. Save me from sun, and I will save you from rain." And she opened the pot, and it went in, and she covered it. And she looked and saw another snake coming fast, and it said to her, "Has not my companion passed?" And she said, "It is going." And it passed quickly.
The snake which was in the pot said to her, "Uncover me." And she uncovered it, and it was comforted, and said to that child of Adam, "Where are you going?" And she said, "I know not where I am going, I am wandering in the wood." And the snake said to her, "Follow me, and let us go home." And they went together till on the road they saw a great lake. And the snake said to her, "Child of Adam, let us sit and rest, the sun is fierce; go and bathe in the lake with your child." And she carried her boy, and went to wash him, and he fell in and she lost him in the lake. And it asked her, "What is the matter with you there, child of Adam?" And she said, "My child is lost in the water." And it said, "Look for him well." And she sought for him for a whole hour without finding him. And it said, "Put in the other hand." And she said, "You snake are making game of me." And it asked "How?" And she said, "I have put in this sound one, and I have not found him; what is the use of this spoilt one?" And the snake said to her, "Only you put in both." And the child of Adam put them in, and went and found her son and laid hold of him, and drew out her hand sound again. And it said, "Have you found him?" And she said, "I have found him, and have got my hand sound again." And she rejoiced much.
And the snake said, "Now let us go away to my elders, and let me repay your kindness." And she said, "This is enough, getting my hand." And it said, "Not yet; let us go to my elders." And they went till they arrived, and they rejoiced much, and loved that young woman. And she remained, eating and drinking many days.
And her husband returned from his journey. And his elders had caused two tombs to be made, one of his wife and one of his child. And her brother had become a great man with the king.
And her husband, the king's son, came. And he asked, "Where is my wife?" And they said to him, "She is dead." "And where is my child?" And they answered him, "He is dead." And he asked, "Where are their graves?" And they took him to go and see them. And when he saw them he wept much. And he made a mourning. And he was comforted.
Many days had passed. And the young woman in the forest said to her friend the snake, "I want to go away, home." And it said, "Take leave of my mother and father. When they give you leave to go, if they give you a present, accept only the father's ring and the mother's casket."
And she went and took leave of them, and they gave her much wealth, and she refused and said, "I, one person, how shall I carry this wealth?" And they said, "What will you have?" And she said, "You, father, I want your ring; and you, mother, I want your casket." And they were very sorry, and asked her, "Who told you about this?" And she said, "I know it myself." And they said, "Not so; it is this your brother who told you."
And he took the ring and gave her, and said to her, "I give you this ring. If you want food, if you want clothes, if you want a house for sleeping, tell the ring; it will produce it for you by the blessing of God and of me your father." And her mother gave her the casket, and told her such and such things. And they gave her their blessing.
And she went out and went away, till there by the town of her husband, without reaching her husband's house. When she reached the outskirts, she told the ring, "I want you to produce for me a great house." And it produced a house, and the furniture of the house and slaves. And she stayed, she and her son. And her son had become a great lad.
And the king got news of there being a large house in the outskirts, and he sent people to go and look, and they answered him, "It is true." And the sultan arose with his vizirs and his son.
And they went and drew near, and the woman looked through a telescope and saw her husband, and her husband's father, and many people, and her brother among them. And she told the people, "Prepare food quickly." And they prepared, and laid the table. And they arrived and were invited in, and went inside, and they asked her the news. And she said, "Good." And she said to them, "Eat of the food. I come from a distance; when you have done with the food let me give you my news."
And they ate the food, till when they had finished she told them, from the beginning when she was born, she and her brother, till all were finished, as they had been. And the king's son went to embrace his wife, and they wept much, and all who were there wept, and they knew her brother was not good.
And the king asked her, "What shall we do to your brother?" And she said, "Only put him out of the town." And she dwelt with her husband till the end in joy.