3 - The fisherman who became rich

(Ilay mpanjono nanan‐karena)

 

A tale from the region of Mahajanga (Majunga)

Text by Marthe Rasoa, illustrations by Roddy

 

(p.4) Once upon a time, dear children, according to a story told by the Sakalava near Ambongo, there was a very poor man. In order to feed his family, he fished with a line and a net. He had nothing in the world but his fishing rod and his pirogue [dugout canoe].

 

(6) He could be seen every day on the beach from the first light of day, when the rooster crows, until night fell. He didn’t know that deep down at the bottom of the sea, there were people living, whose king had an only child.

(8) One day, the king’s little daughter fell ill and the witch doctor said that the only way to heal the girl was to give her rice.

But where would they find it to cure her ?

One of the king’s servants agreed to go in search of it. He left the sea and came ashore.

 

(10) The poor fisherman and his family usually ate manioc [cassava], but from time to time he ate rice which he cooked himself.

The king’s messenger saw him and asked if he could have some rice. The fisherman gave him all the rice he had left. And with these grains the witch doctor treated the little girl. It only took four days for her to fully recover from her illness.

 

(12) The king and his people were overcome with joy. He decided to celebrate her recovery and to slaughter a chicken.

You must know that the poor chickens always get their throats cut, when humans want to celebrate  a stroke of luck!

And on top of that, the king gave the order that the fisherman should be well rewarded.

 

(14) The king’s messenger left once again, and soon he saw the hook of the fisherman’s fishing rod and he grabbed the line. The fisherman started to draw in his fishing rod thinking he had caught a big fish. So the messenger was dragged out of the water and came face to face with the fisherman.

« How are you, my good friend ? » he said. « The king wants to return the good deed you did for him. I used the grains of rice you gave me to treat the king’s daughter, and now she is well again. »

 

(16) At first the fisherman was baffled, and so he refused the offer.

But the messenger did not relent: « Make sure you do not accept the money the king will offer you, but choose the gift of understanding the languages of the creatures God has made.”

Having said that, the messenger turned round his pirogue, took the fisherman by the hand and dragged him deep down to the bottom of the sea.

 

(18) The king was astonished to see that the fisherman looked just like him: he had two eyes, two ears and a nose with two holes. What made them look a little different was that the fisherman was a human who lived on dry land and his posture was upright, while the people at the bottom of the sea were a little bent over and waved their hands.

 

(20) The king offered the fisherman a large sum of money, but he refused it.

« In that case, would you like to live in harmony with all living creatures and know all their languages? » asked the king.

« Yes, I would, » replied the fisherman. Then he left and went back to his village. Feeling rather tired, he stretched out to rest under a mango tree.

 

(22) It was just at that moment that he was spotted by two thieving crows who had been stealing maize. They were having a discussion.

The good fisherman under the mango tree pretended to be asleep so that he could eavesdrop on the two birds. Baring his teeth, he even pretended to snore.

One of the crows said: « Look, have you seen how sound asleep that fellow is ?»

 

(24) The second crow replied: « I know that he’s an ‘Antendrovolo’, one of God’s most cunning creations. Watch, I’m going to land on his belly and scratch at his eyes. »

But the fisherman grabbed the crow by surprise.

The crow said to his friend: « I know that humans really love money. I’m going to show him where there is some money hidden in clay urns under the tamarind tree that is growing to the north of his village.

 

(26) As soon as he heard that, the fisherman smiled and he let go of the crow. He hurried to the village and his family. At the crack of dawn the following day he went  to find the place described at Ambodimadiro. Indeed, under the tamarind tree he found seven jars of clay filled with golden coins. He took three of them which he gave to his wife. He was lucky and felt very happy, not only for having so much gold, but also for being able to understand the languages of all the living beings created by God.

 

Tales, tales stories, stories,

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

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