A boy’s journey begins with a thorn in his foot and escalates into a chain of exchanges: thorn for egg, egg for hen, hen for goat, and so on, culminating in a young girl. Through cunning swaps and demands, he repeatedly takes back his possessions until he proposes marriage to the girl, connecting each trade in a whimsical tale of persistence and barter.
Source
Moorish Literature
romantic ballads, tales of the Berbers,
stories of the Kabyles, folk-lore,
and national traditions
The Colonial Press,
London, New York, 1901
► Themes of the story
Cunning and Deception: The narrative centers on the boy’s use of deceitful tactics to reclaim his possessions and advance his position.
Quest: The boy embarks on a journey with a specific goal, encountering various challenges and exchanges along the way.
Moral Lessons: The tale imparts lessons on the consequences of deceit and the complexities of human interactions.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about the Berber peoples
Translated by J. Rivière
and Chauncey C. Starkweather
A child had a thorn in his foot. He went to an old woman and said to her:
“Take out this thorn for me.”
The old woman took out the thorn and threw it away.
“Give me my thorn,” and he began to cry.
“Take an egg.”
He went to another old woman, “Hide me this egg.”
“Put it in the hen’s nest.”
► Continue reading…
In the night he took his egg and ate it. The next day he said to the old woman: “Give me my egg.”
“Take the hen,” she answered.
He went to another old woman, “Hide my hen for me.”
“Put her on the stake to which I tie my he-goat.”
At night he took away the hen. The next morning he demanded his hen.
“Look for her where you hid her.”
“Give me my hen.”
“Take the he-goat.”
He went to another old woman, “O old woman, hide this goat for me.”
“Tie him to the sheep’s crib.”
During the night he took away the buck. The next day he claimed the buck.
“Take the sheep.”
He went to another old woman, “O old woman, keep my sheep for me.”
“Tie him to the foot of the calf.”
During the night he took away the sheep. Next morning he demanded his sheep.
“Take the calf.”
He went to another old woman, “Keep my calf for me.”
“Tie him to the cow’s manger.”
In the night he took away the calf. The next morning he asked for his calf.
“Take the cow.”
He went to another old woman, “Keep my cow for me.”
“Tie her to the foot of the old woman’s bed.”
In the night he took away the cow. The next morning he demanded his cow.
“Take the old woman.”
He went to another old woman and left the old dame, whom he killed during the night. The next morning he demanded his old woman.
“There she is by the young girl.”
He found her dead.
“Give me my old woman.”
“Take the young girl.”
He said to her: “From the thorn to the egg, from the egg to the hen, from the hen to the buck, from the buck to the sheep, from the sheep to the calf, from the calf to the cow, from the cow to the old woman, from the old woman to the young girl, and now come and marry me.”
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Dreamtime Whispers 