DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49272#0354
338
HARVARD AFRICAN STUDIES
rowed a sovereign and thence home. Saying nothing about the money, he left his house
the following morning and bought a goat. Waiting in the bush till dark, he killed it and
then bound up the carcass in some grass and carried it to his hut. Arrived there, he excitedly
told his wife he had killed a man and wanted to bury the corpse which he had brought with
him, under the floor of the hut. So the woman brought a hoe and together they dug a hole
in the middle of the floor and having deposited the body in it, the earth was filled in and
the woman replastered the floor with mud, and made her cooking fire over the spot. “ Now,”
said the young man to himself, “ my father told me not to tell my wife any of my private
affairs and not to borrow money from a poor man. Both these I have done. One thing
remains; I must find a policeman to make friends with.” Going out, he met two policemen,
so he said to one of them, “ I should like to be friends with you, come to my house and
the policeman agreed and went with the man to his house and a fowl was killed for them
to eat. He introduced the policeman to his wife as his friend and she started cooking
porridge. When it was ready, she brought it outside to the two men who were sitting on
the veranda of the house with water to wash their hands and they commenced eating.
Then the man called his wife back, saying the porridge was not well cooked — “It is
only fit for dogs! ” — and struck his wife a blow. The woman immediately appealed to the
policeman to protect her, saying her husband would kill her as he had killed a man, a short
time before. So the policeman arrested the man and took him away to the magistrate. The
magistrate sent the police back with the man to the village to find the body of the murdered
man. Its resting place was pointed out by the woman and after digging, they found the
body tied up in the grass. All said, “ It is just as the woman stated! ” and they began
striking the man and made him carry the body back to the magistrate. On the way, they
met the poor man, who on seeing his debtor cried out, “ Where are you going, where is my
sixpence? ” “ I am going to the magistrate. I am supposed to have murdered a man,”
he replied. “ Where is my sixpence? You will get hanged and I shall be the loser! ”
yelled the poor man. “ Wait a bit, I may not be killed,” said the man, “ I may be able
to pay you back presently.” “No you won’t, you will be hanged,” was the reply and the
poor man hit him as he passed. Later, the party met the rich man and the accused called
to him, “ I am in trouble and don’t know when I may be able to repay you your loan
but the rich man answered, saying, “ Never mind about that now. I am sorry you are in
trouble.” When they came before the magistrate and the man put down his load, it was
opened and the body of the goat disclosed. Then the magistrate asked the man what it
was all about. So the man related his story, telling the magistrate how he had wanted to
test his father’s advice, and how it had all proved to be good advice.
Note: The story as given here is doubtless an adaptation of an older story to present
day conditions. I have not been able to get any more original form.
HARVARD AFRICAN STUDIES
rowed a sovereign and thence home. Saying nothing about the money, he left his house
the following morning and bought a goat. Waiting in the bush till dark, he killed it and
then bound up the carcass in some grass and carried it to his hut. Arrived there, he excitedly
told his wife he had killed a man and wanted to bury the corpse which he had brought with
him, under the floor of the hut. So the woman brought a hoe and together they dug a hole
in the middle of the floor and having deposited the body in it, the earth was filled in and
the woman replastered the floor with mud, and made her cooking fire over the spot. “ Now,”
said the young man to himself, “ my father told me not to tell my wife any of my private
affairs and not to borrow money from a poor man. Both these I have done. One thing
remains; I must find a policeman to make friends with.” Going out, he met two policemen,
so he said to one of them, “ I should like to be friends with you, come to my house and
the policeman agreed and went with the man to his house and a fowl was killed for them
to eat. He introduced the policeman to his wife as his friend and she started cooking
porridge. When it was ready, she brought it outside to the two men who were sitting on
the veranda of the house with water to wash their hands and they commenced eating.
Then the man called his wife back, saying the porridge was not well cooked — “It is
only fit for dogs! ” — and struck his wife a blow. The woman immediately appealed to the
policeman to protect her, saying her husband would kill her as he had killed a man, a short
time before. So the policeman arrested the man and took him away to the magistrate. The
magistrate sent the police back with the man to the village to find the body of the murdered
man. Its resting place was pointed out by the woman and after digging, they found the
body tied up in the grass. All said, “ It is just as the woman stated! ” and they began
striking the man and made him carry the body back to the magistrate. On the way, they
met the poor man, who on seeing his debtor cried out, “ Where are you going, where is my
sixpence? ” “ I am going to the magistrate. I am supposed to have murdered a man,”
he replied. “ Where is my sixpence? You will get hanged and I shall be the loser! ”
yelled the poor man. “ Wait a bit, I may not be killed,” said the man, “ I may be able
to pay you back presently.” “No you won’t, you will be hanged,” was the reply and the
poor man hit him as he passed. Later, the party met the rich man and the accused called
to him, “ I am in trouble and don’t know when I may be able to repay you your loan
but the rich man answered, saying, “ Never mind about that now. I am sorry you are in
trouble.” When they came before the magistrate and the man put down his load, it was
opened and the body of the goat disclosed. Then the magistrate asked the man what it
was all about. So the man related his story, telling the magistrate how he had wanted to
test his father’s advice, and how it had all proved to be good advice.
Note: The story as given here is doubtless an adaptation of an older story to present
day conditions. I have not been able to get any more original form.