2 – Tsingory the dancer

 

A tale from the highlands

 

Text by Eric Ravalisoa, illustrations by Max Hariman

 

 

(4) Once upon a time, children, according to a tale of the Imerina [region of the  high plateau], God gave out talents to all the people.  The one that Tsingory received was to know how to dance. It was wonderful to watch him dance. Everyone who could play an instrument and could sing was delighted to play for him for dancing.

 

(6) One day Tsingory said to his mother:  « I need a singer with a perfect voice, an exceptional voice to dance to » « And where will you find such a voice? » asked his mother. Tsingory thought for a long time and then came up with an idea.

 

(8) The king’s bird popped into his head - a bird which sang such an enchanting melody.  All the king’s subjects, every one of them, dreamed of owning this bird.  Tsingory was no exception.

 

(10) In the middle of the night, when everyone else was asleep, he said to himself: « If I could catch the king’s bird, I would make it sing so that I could dance». He was so excited by this idea that he could not sleep.

 

(11) Our young boy crept out of his house and made his way to the king’s palace. He could hear the bird who was singing while flying around. Tsingory took his aim and threw a stone which brought the bird down to earth in a dead faint. Frightened, Tsingory ran away.

 

(14) The stone he threw had woken up the guards who were hot on the heels of the boy.  But they couldn’t catch him.  When Tsingory got home, his mother hid him in their house, rolled up in a mat.

 

(16) The following day, the news that Tsingory had thrown a stone at the king’s bird spread like wildfire.  The king decided to have him arrested and a crowd gathered outside Tsingory’s house.

 

(18) There were musicians who played various instruments : flutes, valiha [a plucking instrument made from bamboo], drums etc….And the people sang : « Tsingory, is that you inside? Tsingory who has killed the king’s bird »

 

(20) Tsingory’s feet started to itch.  The singing of the crowd in the courtyard really made him want to dance. But his mother forbade him to make a single movement. «Those  people will kill you the minute you leave the house » she said.

 

(22) Outside, the crowd was still singing: « Tsingory is that you inside? The king wants to see you right away. » Tsingory couldn’t resist any longer, he went out and started to dance before the crowd.

(24) When the king found out how well Tsingory danced, he summoned him. On the spot he invited the young man to be the dancer at the at the king’s court.

 

(26) As for the bird, he came back to life.  He sang and burbled so well that he helped Tsingory dance even better.  And the king spent many happy moments of relaxation watching him dance to the bird’s song.

 

A tale, a tale, stories, stories

I’m the one who tells them, you’re the ones who listen!

 

(515) CFpfw II/15