Home Contact Advertise
Tuesday, 9 June, 2015, 7:35 ( 5:35 GMT )




 
Bo Yenan
A Retelling of a Libyan Folktale (6)
8/3/2008 13:13:00
 
By Tasnim Elgatit
 

One day Bo Yenan the frog and his wife Difda'a had a terrible row which ended with Difda'a packing her things and leaving. She went to her family and refused to come back. The frog was saddened by this. Every day, all day, he sat alone by the water. After a few days of this, the donkey came along and asked him:
What is wrong with you, Bo Yenan?
Why have you blackened your face?
Why are you sitting in the sun?
The frog answered:
The queen of all women,
Left unhappy.
Then the donkey brayed and said: "Don't worry; I'll bring her back." So he went to Difda'a's family home, and knocked on the door. Difda'a opened the door a crack, and speaking from behind it, she said:
Who knocked so loudly on our door,
And set the daughters of our thoughts to flight?
We'll roast his intestines in our fire,
And give our neighbor some to taste.
The donkey answered:
I am the donkey
And my eyes are like the dinar.
Difda'a did not open the door. She laughed and said:
If you were a donkey,
With eyes like the dinar,
They would not use you to carry
The dung and the dust.
The donkey could find nothing to say to that, so he left. The next say, the frog was still sitting alone by the water, when the hen came by.
What is wrong with you, Bo Yenan?
Why have you blackened your face?
Why are you sitting in the sun?
The frog answered:
The queen of all women,
Left unhappy.
The hen said: "Don't worry; I'll bring her back." So she went to Difda'a's family home, and knocked on the door. Difda'a spoke from behind the door, and she said:
Who knocked so loudly on our door,
And set the daughters of our thoughts to flight?
We'll roast his intestines in our fire,
And give our neighbor some to taste.
The hen answered:
I am the hen,
And on top of my head is my comb,
My eggs are piles upon piles,
No one eats from them but the sultan and the bride.

Difda'a did not open the door. She laughed and said:
If you were the hen
With a comb on top of your head,
Your eggs piles upon piles,
No one eating them but the sultan and the bride,
Your beak would not be buried in every dirt pile.
The hen did not know what to say to this, so she went home. The next day the rooster came by.
What is wrong with you, Bo Yenan?
Why have you blackened your face?
Why are you sitting in the sun?
The frog answered:
The queen of all women,
Left unhappy.
The rooster said: "Don't worry; I'll bring her back." I will do better than the hen. So he went to the Difda'a's home, and knocked on the door. Difda'a spoke from behind the door, and she said:
Who knocked so loudly on our door,
And set the daughters of our thoughts to flight?
We'll roast his intestines in our fire,
And give our neighbor some to taste.
The rooster said:
I am the rooster
Over my head is my crown,
And I wear the wide trousers.
Difda'a did not open the door. She laughed and said:
If you were the rooster
Over your head your crown
With your wide trousers
You would not crow standing on rubbish.
The rooster did not know what to say to that, so he went home. Now the eagle came by. And he too, asked the frog:
What is wrong with you, Bo Yenan?
Why have you blackened your face?
Why are you sitting in the sun?
The frog answered:
The queen of all women,
Left unhappy.
The eagle said: "Don't worry; I'll bring her back." So he went to Difda'a's family home, and knocked on the door. Difda'a spoke from behind the door, and she said:
Who knocked so loudly on our door,
And set the daughters of our thoughts to flight?
We'll roast his intestines in our fire,
And give our neighbor some to taste.
The eagle answered proudly:
I am the eagle,
And my turban is like a castle.
Difda'a did not open the door. She laughed and said:
If you were the eagle
With a turban like the castle,
You would not, scenting dead remains in Egypt,
Fly there between the noon and afternoon.
The eagle did not know what to say to this, so he went home. The next day, a grey horse came by.
What is wrong with you, Bo Yenan?
Why have you blackened your face?
Why are you sitting in the sun?
The frog answered:
The queen of all women,
Left unhappy.
The horse said nothing, but went to the Difda'a's family home, and knocked on the door. Difda'a spoke from behind the door:
Who knocked so loudly on our door,
And set the daughters of our thoughts to flight?
We'll roast his intestines in our fire,
And give our neighbor some to taste.
The horse neighed loudly and said:
I am the horse.
On me ride the prince and the sultan.
Difda'a opened her door, hopped onto the horse's back, and went home.

Other Parts:
Part 1: Sabe'a Sabaya
Part 2: Hedaidan
Part 3: The Fifty-first Wife
Part 4: Patience-Stone and Patience-Knife
Part 5: The Bedouin and the Jiniya
Part 6: Bo Yenan
Part 7: Prince Ali and the Bride of the Sea - Episode One
Part 7: Prince Ali and the Bride of the Sea - Episode Two
Part 8: Buying Wisdom
 

Home | News | Business | Arts - Culture | Sports | Tourism | Editorial OP-ED | Classifieds | Advertising
To the Editor | Reader Opinion | Contact Us | About Us
© 2015 - All Rights Reserved