Niger




Once there was a handsome young prince who refused to marry. Although his parents, the king and queen, searched throughout the land for the most beautiful women for him to meet, the prince was unmoved by their charms.

The prince was also indifferent to the affairs of the kingdom. Rather than attend a royal ceremony or entertain nobles at a feast, he would take long walks in the forest. There, he would spend many hours lying in a grassy clearing and staring up at the trees and sky. One morning, as the prince was wandering in the forest, he noticed a vine wrapped around a tree. The vine held the most beautiful calabash he had ever seen. The skin of the calabash was smooth and clear, the color of fine, fresh butter. "This would be a fine calabash to drink hura from," he thought, as he plucked the calabash from the vine. The instant the prince touched the calabash, it hit the ground and split in two. Out popped a beautiful young woman wearing a shiny indigo dress and silver jewelry. Immediately, the woman threw herself at the prince's feet. "Do not tell anyone you have seen me!" she cried. She then told the prince of her miserable past. Her father was a king, and her sisters, jealous of their father's love for her, had threatened to kill her. Rather than lose her life, she chose to live out her days inside a calabash. The prince held the calabash princess in his arms and dried her tears. He promised to keep their meeting a secret. But suddenly the princess sprang from his arms. She had forgotten that her calabash was split in two and, frantically, began searching for a place to hide.

Off in the distance, the prince spotted another calabash in a tree beside a waterfall. But before the princess could climb into the gourd, the prince took her hand and led her to a clearing near the stream. There, the two talked about clouds and trees and stars until long after the sun had set. Near midnight, the princess crawled into her calabash and the prince returned home. But neither one could sleep very well. They were in love. Every day thereafter, the prince returned to the spot near the waterfall, carrying a basket of food for himself and his love. Each time he would call out, "Here I am," and the princess would pop out of her calabash to greet him. The king and queen had not failed to notice that each day their son was disappearing into the forest carrying a large basket of food. As he was heading out one morning, they confronted him. Much to their relief, however, the prince announced that he was in love and wished to be married. "I would like to bring her home with me tonight," said the prince. That night, the king and queen anxiously waited to meet their son's bride. A sumptuous feast was prepared, and a special seat of honor was set aside for the woman who would one day be queen. At dusk, the prince arrived at the feast with the calabash in hand. "I am going to marry the calabash!" he exclaimed with great joy. "My son has lost his mind!" the queen cried out before she fainted. Although his parents pleaded with him to be reasonable, the prince was adamant. He ordered all the wedding arrangements to be completed within three days. Then he asked that two dinners be sent to his tent. "We prefer to dine alone," he said as he left the dining area, carrying his calabash. The king and queen had no other recourse. Sadly, they agreed to their son's wishes. On the appointed day, several stately camels were led from the royal tent: the first two carried the king and queen; the third carried the prince; and the fourth carried the calabash. When they finally reached the tent where the marriage contract was to be signed, the prince proudly lifted the calabash from the camel and held it tightly in his arms.

From that day forward, the prince and calabash princess lived very happily together. While the prince was away during the day, the princess would hide in the calabash. At night, the prince would return to his tent and, there, away from all prying eyes, she would step out from the calabash and lie beside him. When dawn would break, she would slip back into the calabash. The king was puzzled. What kind of satisfaction could the boy possibly obtain from being married to a calabash? One night, he decided to find out for himself. Hiding outside the prince's tent, he watched as the princess climbed out of the calabash. The king was greatly smitten by the young woman's beauty. "I see that my son is no fool after all," he said to himself. For weeks, the king could think of nothing else but the sweet face of the calabash princess. His passion for her became so great that he could not eat or drink or carry out his royal duties. "I must have her as my second wife," he thought. He would allow no one to stand in his way.

One night, just as the prince was about to enter his tent, the king approached his son, saying, "My son, I hear there is an evil spirit out in the forest who has been terrifying our people. I need your help. Let us go and chase it away tomorrow at dawn." The calabash princess overheard the king's words and shivered with fright. "Something is wrong," she warned her husband. Before the prince left his tent the next morning, she wove into his hair a string of dates and pleaded with him, "Be careful." The king and the prince rode their camels many miles into the forest until they reached an old, abandoned well. The king handed a rope to his son and said, "Fasten this rope to your waist. I will lower you into the well. See if there is an evil spirit at the bottom." The prince did as he was told. When he got to the bottom of the deep, dark well, however, the king dropped the rope in after him and left. Although the prince tried desperately to scale the walls of the well, they were too smooth. Every time he tried, he fell back into the pit, where snakes and scorpions gnawed upon his hands and feet. Meanwhile, the king returned to the prince's tent. Walking into the prince's tent, he split open the calabash with his sword. The frightened princess stepped out. "Your husband fell down a well and died while we were out in the forest. But do not worry. Marry me and become my second wife. I will take care of you." The poor princess was inconsolable. Although the king tried to soothe her, she wrestled herself from his arms.

Every day the king asked her to marry him. Every day the princess refused. She cried until her eyes were red and her face was chapped. Her beauty had all but faded. For many years, the prince remained in the well, surviving on water and the dates that his wife had woven into his hair. Luckily, the date pits had taken root in the bottom of the well and, as time passed, a tree began to grow. When its branches had grown to the edge of the well, the prince climbed out. Immediately, the prince ran back to the king's tent. Once there, he found the calabash princess weeping in his father's chambers. As soon as she saw him, the princess rushed into his arms. She was overjoyed! The queen, too, was very happy to see her son after so many years. The king pretended to be pleased. "Allah is great!" said the king. "My son, I thought you were dead when you fell in the well, but Allah has restored you to us!"

"I am happy to see you again, too, father," replied the prince. "So happy, in fact, that I would like to have a feast. I will roast a sheep in your honor." The king accepted. To prepare for the feast, the son killed a fat sheep and roasted it on a spit. Then he dug a very deep pit. Over the pit, he laid a rug and comfortable cushions. When the king arrived, he smelled the crisp, tender meat, and his mouth began to water. "Please, father," said the prince. "Sit on this rug I have prepared for you." The king stepped onto the rug and fell down deep into the Earth. And there he stayed until the day he died.

Source: Here