A woman in Mauritius was expecting a child when she developed a strange craving.
One day, she told her husband that she desperately wanted to drink water from a river where there were no frogs.
Her husband set out to find such a place.
He reached a river and called out to ask whether there were frogs in the water.
The frogs answered with their familiar calls.
He continued his search and reached another river.
Again, he asked the same question.
Again, the frogs answered.
The man walked farther and farther until he finally reached a beautiful river.
He called out.
There was no answer.
He tasted the water and immediately noticed how sweet and refreshing it was. He filled his watering can and returned home.
When his wife tasted the water, she was delighted.
“Where did you find this water?” she asked.
Her husband warned her that the river belonged to a wolf and told her not to go there.
But the woman could not forget the taste.
She decided that she had to return.
She went to the river and drank until she became weak and fell down.
The wolf appeared.
He was furious that she had taken water from his river.
He threatened to eat her.
The frightened woman begged for her life and explained that she was pregnant and had been overcome by a craving.
The wolf eventually agreed to spare her.
But he demanded a terrible payment.
“When your child reaches four years old, you must give him to me.”
The woman was terrified and agreed.
She returned home.
Soon afterward, she gave birth to a beautiful little boy.
His name was Namcouticouti.
From the beginning, the boy was unusually clever.
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When he reached four years old, the wolf came to collect him.
He went to the boy’s mother and demanded to know where Namcouticouti was.
The mother told him that the boy was playing in the open plain.
The wolf went searching.
Namcouticouti saw him approaching and immediately understood the danger.
He gathered the other children and gave them an instruction.
“If the wolf asks which one of you is Namcouticouti, every one of you must say, ‘I am Namcouticouti.’”
The children agreed.
When the wolf reached them, he asked where Namcouticouti was.
Every child answered that he was Namcouticouti.
The wolf became confused.
He could not determine which child was the one he wanted.
Angry and embarrassed, he returned to Namcouticouti’s mother.
The woman pretended to be surprised.
She told him that the boy had been in the plain and suggested another plan.
The following day, she would send Namcouticouti to eat his breakfast in the attic.
The wolf could hide there and capture him.
The wolf agreed.
The next morning, Namcouticouti’s mother sent him to fetch water from the river.
While he was there, he met an old woman.
She asked him for some water to drink.
Namcouticouti immediately helped her.
“You are old and I am young,” he told her, “so I am happy to give you some water.”
The old woman was pleased by his kindness.
She told him that she did not want the wolf to eat him.
Then she gave him a magical wand.
The wand could change him into whatever form he wished.
Namcouticouti returned home.
His mother told him to eat his breakfast in the attic.
He agreed.
The wolf was already hiding there.
He waited and waited.
But instead of Namcouticouti, he noticed a small mouse near the plate of rice.
The mouse ate one grain.
Then another.
The wolf became irritated and ordered it to leave the food alone.
The mouse continued eating.
Eventually, the entire plate of rice was gone.
The wolf became furious.
He went downstairs and accused Namcouticouti’s mother of deceiving him again.
The woman insisted that the mouse had actually been Namcouticouti.
The wolf believed her and prepared another plan.
The next day, Namcouticouti was given a red cap.
The wolf was told that the cap would make him easy to recognise among the other children.
But Namcouticouti was already thinking ahead.
When he reached the plain, he cut the cap into pieces and gave one piece to each of his friends.
When the wolf arrived, he saw many children wearing red.
Once again, he could not identify Namcouticouti.
The wolf returned to the boy’s mother in a rage.
He threatened to eat her and accused her of continually deceiving him.
The frightened woman admitted that Namcouticouti had outsmarted him.
She then devised another plan.
She told the wolf that Namcouticouti would have his hair cut very short.
At night, she would pretend to close the bedroom door.
The wolf could enter in darkness and feel the heads of the people sleeping inside.
Namcouticouti would be easy to recognise because of his freshly cut hair.
But Namcouticouti was suspicious.
He wondered why his mother wanted to cut his hair so closely.
He consulted the magical wand.
The wand revealed the danger.
Namcouticouti then noticed his mother’s scissors.
He quietly took them and hid them.
That night, after his father fell asleep, Namcouticouti carefully cut his father’s hair.
He placed the hair beneath the bed.
Then he lay down near the wall and pretended to sleep.
When the wolf entered the room, it was dark.
He felt the head of the sleeping man and believed he had finally found Namcouticouti.
The wolf carried the man away.
Namcouticouti remained safely behind.
The next morning, his mother discovered what had happened.
She realised that her husband was missing.
She understood that Namcouticouti had once again deceived the wolf.
But this time she became furious with her son.
She wanted to punish him.
Namcouticouti ran for his life.
His mother chased him until they reached a great river.
He looked at the wide water and wondered how he could escape.
Then he remembered his magical wand.
He used it to transform himself into a small stone.
His mother searched everywhere.
She could not find him.
Then she noticed leaves moving on the opposite bank.
Believing that Namcouticouti had escaped there, she bent down, picked up the stone, and threw it across the river.
The moment the stone landed, Namcouticouti changed back into his human form.
He laughed.
“Thank you, Mother. You have saved my life yourself.”
Then Namcouticouti continued on his way.
He disappeared from the story, leaving behind the memory of a child whose intelligence repeatedly rescued him from danger.
His journey had begun with a promise made before he was even born.
He survived because he refused to surrender to the fate others had chosen for him.
He used his intelligence when strength could not help him.
He accepted help when a kind old woman offered it.
And when danger appeared, he remained alert enough to find another way forward.
That is how the extraordinary journey of Namcouticouti became a story remembered in the folklore of Mauritius.
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Moral Lesson
Namcouticouti’s story teaches that courage does not always mean confronting danger with strength. Sometimes courage means thinking carefully, recognising danger early, and finding a clever way to escape it.
The story also shows the value of kindness. Namcouticouti helped an old woman when she asked him for water, expecting nothing in return. Her gratitude later gave him the magical wand that helped him survive.
Most importantly, the story celebrates perseverance. Although the wolf repeatedly tried to capture him, Namcouticouti continued searching for ways to protect himself.
Knowledge Check
1. Why did the wolf demand Namcouticouti when he was four years old?
Answer: Namcouticouti’s mother had promised the wolf that she would give him the child in exchange for sparing her life when she drank from the wolf’s river.
2. How did Namcouticouti trick the wolf in the plain?
Answer: He instructed all the children to claim that they were Namcouticouti, confusing the wolf.
3. Who gave Namcouticouti the magical wand?
Answer: An old woman gave him the magical wand after he kindly gave her water to drink.
4. How did Namcouticouti prevent the wolf from recognising him by his red cap?
Answer: He cut the cap into pieces and gave a piece to each of his friends, so many children appeared to be wearing red.
5. How did Namcouticouti escape from his mother at the river?
Answer: He used the magical wand to turn himself into a stone. His mother picked up the stone and threw it across the river, allowing him to escape.
6. What qualities helped Namcouticouti survive?
Answer: His intelligence, courage, alertness, kindness, and perseverance helped him overcome repeated dangers.
Source
Adapted from “Histoire de Namcouticouti”, story IX in Le Folk-lore de l’Île-Maurice by Charles Baissac, published in 1888.
