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A young girl named Sokhna was known for her
sublime natural beauty. She recognized it and used to tell her friends,
"I'm going to marry a very rich young man." Whenever a suitor came
to ask for her hand, she refused on the pretext that he was poor.
Years passed and nothing changed. Then one day a young stranger, very handsome
and richly dressed, parked his sumptuous coach in front of her door. He introduced
himself as a prince and asked for beautiful Sokhna's hand in marriage, indicating
all the luxurious possessions of "ses jaam" as a dowry.
Without hesitating, Sokhna eagerly accepted the offer. The wedding festivites
lasted an entire week. Then came the day when Sokhna was to move to her husband's
house. Her entire family accompanied her to her new home, far away in the
middle of the forest.
When night fell, the family returned home, leaving the newlyweds alone in
their house.
As soon as they were alone, the husband took his true form, a superb lion
with a mane that reached the floor.
"As you see," he told Sokhna, "I am a lion spirit and not a
human being. We will live here and I will feed you with the spoils of my daily
hunts. Woe to you if I come back empty-handed, for that will be the day when
I eat you."
The next day, he went hunting and brought back a doe, which Sokhna quickly
prepared and cooked. They ate, Sokhna eating from a plate while her husband
gnawed on a still-bloody leg. When they had finished that meat, the lion went
hunting again, and so it continued.
One evening there was no trace of an animal in the forest. Our lion spirit returned empty-handed. While still far away, he roared,
"Sokhna, tonight I am going to eat you
because I don't have anything to bring back." The beautiful Sokhna heard
his roars and huddled under her bed, sobbing wildly. Ngortan, her family's
protector spirit, heard her cries, transformed himself into a bird, and burst
into the poor girl's room. She said,
Ngortan, walu ma !
Ngortan, walu ma !
Jëkkër moyy jël jabar diko seelo.
Ngortan, walu ma !
He told her, "I will save you, but before climbing on my back, you must
make seven circles around the house, spitting each time. The spittle will
allow us to escape without being caught, because it will have voices to answer
in your place. Know now that it's better to marry a poor man than a lion,
even if he is rich.
Alal du sey.
Money does not make the marriage.
