The hunter and the genie
There was a genie who stole the wife of newlyweds.
Anyone who got married found himself deprived of his new wife, taken away by the genie.
A brave and reckless hunter heard the news and announced that he would go looking for a woman in that country, to see if the men there are worthless.
After saying this, he prepared and left. When he arrived in the city, he was received with pomp. The king asked him the reason for his visit. The hunter told him that he came to take a wife.
The king said to him:
- Here you cannot obtain a woman, for to all those to whom a wife has been given, the genie has taken her away and all these wives have thus been lost forever.
The young man replied to the king:
- I am a hunter. The genie, the bravery he shows us,... if you give me your daughter in marriage and if he takes her from me, I will fight with him. You just watch me, only concern yourself with me.
The king said:
- What you say, is it certain?
The man replied:
- It is certain.
The king gave him a wife. The marriage was celebrated for three days.
When the guests had left, the young man returned with his wife to their room.
As soon as they lay down, the husband tried to touch her in the dark, but found nothing. He worried. He got up and went to see the father of the bride. He told him that indeed, he was right. The genie came to steal his wife!
In the morning, he went to find a marabout and told him:
- I married a woman and the genie came to take her.
The marabout looked at the signs and said to him: "The genie, all the people he has taken from here, he has carried them beyond the river. If you can cross the river, you can kill the genies. The genies are in a mare antelope. In this antelope, there is a kewel. In this small antelope, there is a raven. In this raven, there is an egg. If you crush this egg, the women stolen by the genie will appear to you."
The marabout said again:
- The Koba antelope leaves (her dwelling) around eleven o'clock to go drink at the rock that is in the river. Louti is her name.
The hunter left, took his game bag, put his food in it, and was accompanied by his dog. As soon as they left the city, a lion saw them, roared, and ran towards them.
The man knelt to shoot, the lion asked him:
- What are you going to do?
The hunter said to him:
- My wife has been stolen, I am searching for her; if you want to attack me, I will kill you!
The lion said to him:
- Let's go then, I will help you. What one or two can do, three will do better.
They walked for a long time; an eagle coming from who knows where hovered above the hunter. The man wanted to kill it, the eagle said:
- What are you going to do with me?
- My wife has been stolen, I am searching for her. If you attack me, I will kill you right away.
The eagle said to him:
- Let's go, I will help you. What two or three can do, four can do better.
The man, with the three animals, walked through the bush. When they reached the riverbank, the lion dug a deep hole, and they hid in it, well concealed.
Around eleven o'clock, the Koba antelope arrived to drink at the river rock. The lion pounced and fell on her; he ripped her open. The small antelope came out of the belly and began to run. The dog chased her. They ran for two lengths of a jump, the dog caught her and ripped her open. A raven came out and flew away. The eagle met it in the air and struck it, the raven fell, and the eagle ripped it open. An egg came out and rolled on the ground, the hunter crushed it.
Immediately, cries from many women were heard from the other bank of the river.
The man returned to the city to call the residents. When they came, each took their canoe, the hunter mounted on the lion, and they crossed the river. Over there he recognized his wife, took her back, and returned with her.
#Seydou_Nourou_Ndiaye ✍🏽