The people from Africa have unique characteristics in their folklore, showing their way of life, the animals and plants that surround them. Some African stories include trickster animals and spirits; as this enhances the stories, it also depicts what the earliest men encountered.
Today on our folk tales, we present to you an African story, titled “The Man Who Never Lies.”
THE MAN WHO NEVER LIES
Once upon a time, there lived a wise man called Mamad. He never lied. All the people in the land, even the ones who lived very far away, knew about him.
The king heard about Mamad and ordered his subjects to bring him to the palace. He looked at the wise man and asked:
“Mamad, is it true, that you have never lied?” Asked the King.
“It’s true.” Answered Mamad.
The King asked again, “And you will never lie in your life?”
Mamad answered, ” I’m sure of that.”
“Okay, tell the truth, but be careful! The lie is cunning and it gets on your tongue easily,” the king advised.
MAMAD PROVES HIMSELF
Several days passed and the king called Mamad again. There was a big crowd: the king was about to go hunting. The king held his horse by the mane, his left foot was already on the stirrup. He ordered Mamad:
“Go to my summer palace and tell the queen I will be with her for lunch. Tell her to prepare a big feast. You will have lunch with me then.”
Mamad bowed down and went to the queen. Then the king laughed and said:
“We won’t go hunting and now Mamad will lie to the queen. Tomorrow we will laugh on his behalf.”
But the wise Mamad went to the palace and said:
“Maybe you should prepare a big feast for lunch tomorrow, and maybe you shouldn’t. Maybe the king will come by noon, and maybe he won’t.”
“Tell me will he come, or won’t he?” – asked the queen.
“I don’t know whether he put his right foot on the stirrup, or he put his left foot on the ground after I left.”
Everybody waited for the king. He came the next day and said to the queen:
“The wise Mamad, who never lies, lied to you yesterday.”
But the queen told him about the words of Mamad. And the king realized, that the wise man never lies, and says only that, which he saw with his own eyes.
Truly, Mamad is that man that never lies!
