There was once a large rock with a very long beard that stood in the bush at the foot of a high mountain, not far from a village.
One day when the spider had gone to cut palm veins, she saw this rock and exclaimed:
THE SPIDER: “But what is this bearded stone? »
THE ROCK: Hey, I’m not a bearded stone! My name is the rock with the very long beard.
SPIDER: “The rock with the very long beard?” »
No sooner had the spider uttered this sentence than it was thrown violently to the ground. She could only get up after struggling for a long time and untangling her legs.
But, as she was very intelligent, the spider saw in this adventure a way to feed her family: when her supply of meat would run out, she would ask an animal to accompany her into the bush to look for palm ribs. . She would manage to pass close to this rock, her companion would not fail to pronounce the phrase that must not be pronounced and then he would fall, he would struggle, die and, she, the spider, she could seize of his corpse and feed his own.
For a long time, this trick worked wonders.
One day, it was the monkey’s turn to accompany the spider into the bush under the pretext of looking for palm veins. As they approached the rock, the spider said to the monkey.
SPIDER: “My friend, let’s go this way. Look, there are a lot of ribs there. »
The monkey moved forward warily because he knew the spider’s deceitful character. When they arrived in front of the rock, the spider pretended to be surprised.
THE SPIDER: “But what is that? »
THE MONKEY mischievously: “It looks like a termite mound”
SPIDER: “Are you sure? Look well “
THE MONKEY: “A pile of sand? »
SPIDER: “No, I thought monkeys were smarter than that!” »
THE MONKEY: “Ah, it’s a hill, a very big hill. »
THE SPIDER: “No”
THE MONKEY: “Wait, wait, it’s a giant mustachioed anthill.” Take a good look, that’s it! »
THE SPIDER: “Nonsense! Can’t you see it’s a rock? »
THE MONKEY: Hmmm… Do you think so? »
THE SPIDER: “Well yes, it’s the rock with the…”
THE MONKEY: “La la, la la rock, is that it? »
THE SPIDER: “The rock with the very…”
THE MONKEY: “Hmmm, the rock with the braid! »
THE SPIDER: “Are you stupid or what? Can’t you see it’s the rock with the very long beard! »
Immediately, the spider was thrown to the ground. But this time, she didn’t have time to untangle her legs and get up, the monkey threw himself on her and avenged all those who had passed before him.
As we say at home, there are always more cunning than oneself.
Performers: Koami Vignon, Queen Azi, Yacouba Karamoko, Charles Kohoury.
Music : Ange Bouely, Boussou Roland, Souleymane Diabaté, Daniel Opoh and Jean Sempé Ake Olloé.
Africa in story is a series created by the NGO Des Livres Pour Tous – Côte d’Ivoire and the collective Making Waves, in partnership with RFI. This project has received support from the “Access Culture” scheme of the French Institute in Paris and the French Development Agency (AFD), the “ACP-EU Culture for West Africa – Awa” program from the French Institute and the Kôrè Cultural Centre, the “Agir” system of the Department of Seine-Saint-Denis and the Île-de-France Region.
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