In a village where the morning sun painted the earth in shades of gold and amber, there lived a man and his wife who found their greatest joy in their young son, Mbaka. Their home was filled with laughter and the gentle rhythms of daily life, where love flowed as naturally as water from the village well. But fate, as it often does, brought sorrow to their doorstep when death claimed first the father, then the mother, leaving young Mbaka orphaned while still of tender years.
Mbaka’s aunt, a woman of kind heart and strong shoulders, took the boy into her care and ensured he continued his education at the local primary school. Despite the weight of loss that sometimes clouded his young eyes, Mbaka found solace and joy in one particular activity that made his spirit soar, playing football with his schoolmates.
The dusty school compound would come alive with the sound of bare feet chasing a worn leather ball, and Mbaka’s natural talent shone like a star among his peers. His school team had gained recognition throughout the surrounding villages, regularly participating in tournaments that drew excited crowds and fierce competition from neighboring schools.
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On one such occasion, when the team was scheduled to play an important match in a distant village, Mbaka experienced something that would change his life forever. The night before the crucial game, as he lay on his sleeping mat listening to the night sounds of crickets and distant drums, a vivid dream visited him like a messenger from another world.
In this dream, a mysterious voice spoke with the authority of ancient wisdom: “You are going to play a tough match tomorrow, young one. In the morning, before the sun climbs high, go to the stream. There you will find a piece of paper and a ring lying together. Pick up the paper and read carefully what is written upon it.”
When dawn broke across the sky in ribbons of pink and gold, Mbaka made his way to the stream that wound through the village like a silver snake. The morning air was cool and fresh, filled with the songs of awakening birds and the gentle murmur of flowing water. There, resting on a smooth stone beside the bank, he discovered exactly what the dream voice had promised: a simple ring catching the early light and a folded sheet of paper.
With trembling fingers, he unfolded the paper and read the words that would unlock powers beyond his wildest imagination: “You will have whatever you want with this ring.” The message was simple, yet it thrummed with supernatural possibility that made his heart race with excitement and wonder.
Mbaka slipped the ring onto his finger, feeling its strange warmth against his skin. But instead of hurrying to school as was his usual custom, he lingered at home, testing the ring’s power and marveling at its mysterious abilities. When concerned teammates came to check on their star player, he dismissed them with unusual irritation, claiming he needed time alone.
His teachers grew furious at their star player’s unexpected tantrum, but despite their anger and pleading, there was nothing they could do. The team was forced to depart without him, their hearts heavy with disappointment and confusion. After a long, dusty trek through winding paths and rolling hills, the players finally arrived at the distant village’s football field, only to be astonished when Mbaka appeared at exactly the same moment, as if he had materialized from thin air.
Though baffled by his mysterious arrival, his teammates’ relief and joy overwhelmed their curiosity. They quickly changed into their playing clothes and prepared for the match that would test their skills and determination.
The football field buzzed with excitement as spectators flanked the boundaries, their voices rising in a symphony of cheers, jeers, and encouraging whistles. Among the crowd, one young woman stood out for her keen observation of Mbaka’s extraordinary skills on the field. She watched his every move with growing admiration, and whenever the ball sailed beyond the field’s boundaries, she was always there to retrieve it, presenting it to Mbaka with shy smiles and sparkling eyes.
At half-time, when the players gathered to rest and strategize, she boldly invited Mbaka to her family’s compound for refreshments. Her attention was flattering but unexpected, and Mbaka found himself drawn to her genuine warmth and kindness. When the final whistle blew and victory was secured, she made a declaration that left him speechless with surprise.
“I want us to get married,” she announced with the confidence of someone who had already decided her heart’s desire. “Come, let me take you to meet my parents.”
Mbaka’s face flushed with embarrassment and confusion. “But I have just arrived here today,” he protested. “How can you see me for the first time and propose marriage? This seems impossible.”
“I like you very much,” she replied with unwavering certainty. “I want to marry you, and that is enough for me.”
“But you don’t truly know me,” Mbaka continued, his voice filled with bewilderment. “Marriage is never conducted this way. What about proper courtship? What about our families getting acquainted, learning about each other’s backgrounds and traditions?”
The young woman’s eyes sparkled with determination. “Marriage is for life, and you’ll get to know my family after we’re married. Time will teach us everything we need to learn.”
“But that’s not the way marriage is traditionally conducted in my village,” Mbaka insisted, though her confidence was beginning to influence his uncertainty.
“Maybe not where you come from,” she replied with a knowing smile, “but customs can be different in different places.”
When they approached her father, a man whose weathered face spoke of years of wisdom and authority, Mbaka addressed him with respectful confusion. “Your daughter wishes for us to be married, respected elder. What am I supposed to do in such an unusual situation?”
The father’s response was immediate and practical: “You shall bring seven bags of blah as bride price.”
To everyone’s amazement, Mbaka produced the seven bags of cowries without delay, the ring’s power making the impossible suddenly simple. He took his new wife home, and as days turned into weeks, genuine love began to bloom between them. His initial apprehensions slowly faded like morning mist, replaced by deep affection and growing trust.
In a moment of intimate confidence, Mbaka shared his most precious secret with his beloved wife. “What helped me obtain all the money I gave your father was this ring,” he confided, holding up the magical band that caught the lamplight like captured starfire. “Whenever I need anything, I simply strike this ring, and my wish is automatically fulfilled.”
Upon learning of Mbaka’s supernatural secret, his wife announced her desire to visit her parents. When Mbaka offered to accompany her, she gently convinced him to wait and join her on the next visit after the football competition season ended. He gave her precious gifts for his new in-laws and wished her a safe journey, his heart full of love and trust.
But when his bride reached her father’s compound, she betrayed that trust completely, revealing her husband’s secret to her greedy parent.
“Can you take the ring and bring it to me?” her father asked, his eyes gleaming with avarice.
“Yes, but how can I accomplish such a theft?”
“That presents no problem,” her father assured her with calculated cruelty. “I can provide you with herbs that will put him into the deepest sleep.”
She returned to her husband before nightfall, carrying both loving gifts and treacherous medicine. They shared a lavish meal together, laughing and talking as loving couples do, while betrayal lurked in her heart like a poisonous snake.
When bedtime arrived, Mbaka removed the ring as was his nightly habit and placed it on the cane chair beside their bed. After he fell into natural sleep, his wife waited with the patience of a predator before blowing the magical medicine into her husband’s nostrils. Mbaka sank into such a profound slumber that the Beba say it resembled the sleep that gets people lost in the land of the living-dead.
Under cover of darkness, she stole the ring and fled to her father’s compound, leaving behind the husband who had trusted her completely. Mbaka’s faithful servants, a clever cat and a loyal dog, witnessed their master’s wife commit this terrible theft. They barked and meowed desperately around their sleeping master, but the supernatural sleep could not be broken by ordinary means.
When Mbaka finally awoke the next day, the shock of his wife’s betrayal hit him like a physical blow. Immediately, he enlisted the help of his faithful cat and dog to recover his stolen ring.
“If we retrieve it and Dog carries it back, he might see something interesting along the way and bark, causing us to lose it forever,” Cat complained with practical wisdom.
“If you take it and give it to me, I promise I will not bark,” Dog assured his feline companion earnestly.
“I will give you both whatever you desire,” Mbaka pleaded desperately. “Please ensure you don’t lose it along the way.”
The faithful animals set off toward the in-laws’ compound, guided by the sound of drumming and drunken singing that echoed through the night air. As they approached the houses, Cat instructed Dog to wait safely in the bushes while he crept into the celebration.
Cat’s sharp eyes surveyed the bloated feast the girl’s father had thrown for neighbors, friends, and relatives, celebrating his acquisition of the magical ring. The precious object was prominently displayed on a chair beside the greedy father, glinting in the firelight like a trophy of successful theft.
With the stealth that only cats possess, he slithered quietly under chairs, slipped between dancing legs, grasped the ring in his teeth, and dashed from the house like a shadow fleeing from light. Mbaka’s wife was first to notice the ring’s disappearance, immediately suspecting her husband’s clever feline, but knowing the cat was already long gone into the darkness.
Cat made his way back to meet Dog, but as soon as his canine companion saw him, Dog began barking excitedly, demanding the ring as promised. Despite Dog’s earlier assurances, Cat hesitated to hand over such a precious object. Only after Dog’s repeated promises not to bark did Cat reluctantly surrender the ring.
They began their journey home with high spirits, but disaster struck when they reached a river crossing. A fisherman was hauling in nets full of silver fish, and Dog spontaneously barked in excitement at the sight. The ring flew from his mouth, splashed into the water, and was immediately swallowed by a large fish.
Cat’s anger blazed like fire, but instead of wasting time with recriminations, he approached the fisherman with desperate politeness. “Kind father, could you please catch that fish for us? It has swallowed something very precious.”
The generous fisherman cast another net and successfully captured the guilty fish. “Father, since this fish is so large and beautiful, we would like you to keep it as a gift,” Cat and Dog begged together. “But please clean it and give us only the intestines.”
The kind fisherman gutted the fish and handed over the internal organs. Cat, learning from experience, insisted on carrying the intestines himself despite Dog’s hungry gaze.
When they finally reached home, Cat narrated the entire adventure to their master and presented him with the fish intestines. Mbaka carefully cleaned them and discovered his precious ring intact within. Overwhelmed with gratitude, he threw a magnificent feast in honor of his faithful cat and dog, celebrating their loyalty and cleverness.
When his treacherous wife eventually returned, expecting to continue their marriage as if nothing had happened, Mbaka banished her from their home with words that carried the finality of absolute judgment.
“Go back the way you came,” he declared firmly. “It’s true that a person’s speed is best measured when they are pressed to go to the toilet. Return to your father! Tell him I don’t want my bridewealth returned, for you have already paid the price of your betrayal.”
Moral Lesson
This powerful folktale teaches us about the importance of loyalty, trust, and the consequences of betrayal. While Mbaka’s magical ring brought him material success, it was the faithful loyalty of his cat and dog that truly saved him when human relationships failed. The story reminds us that true wealth lies not in magical objects or material possessions, but in the trustworthy relationships we build with those who remain loyal even in difficult times. Greed and betrayal ultimately lead to loss and exile, while faithfulness is rewarded.
Knowledge Check
Q1: Who is Mbaka and how does he acquire the magical ring? A: Mbaka is an orphaned schoolboy who loves playing football. He acquires the magical ring after receiving instructions in a dream to go to the stream, where he finds the ring and a paper explaining its power to grant any wish.
Q2: What role does football play in Mbaka’s meeting with his future wife? A: Football serves as the setting where Mbaka meets his wife during a tournament in another village. She observes his skills, helps retrieve the ball, and immediately proposes marriage after the match, impressed by his abilities.
Q3: How do the cat and dog demonstrate loyalty to Mbaka in the story? A: The cat and dog show loyalty by witnessing their master’s betrayal, attempting to wake him, and then undertaking a dangerous mission to retrieve the stolen ring, ultimately succeeding despite obstacles and Dog’s momentary mistake.
Q4: What is the significance of the wife’s betrayal and her father’s greed? A: The wife’s betrayal represents how greed can corrupt relationships and trust. Her father’s demand for the ring shows how material desire can drive people to manipulate their own children into committing theft against their spouses.
Q5: What cultural lesson about loyalty and trust does this African folktale convey? A: The story teaches that genuine loyalty (shown by the animals) is more valuable than human relationships based on deception. It emphasizes that trust, once broken through greed, cannot be easily restored, and that faithful friends are life’s greatest treasures.
Q6: How does the phrase about “a person’s speed being measured when pressed to go to the toilet” function in the story’s conclusion? A: This traditional saying suggests that people reveal their true nature under pressure. Mbaka uses it to indicate that his wife’s betrayal revealed her true character, and there’s no point in trying to maintain the relationship.
Source: The sacred door and other stories: Cameroon folktales of the Beba (1st ed.). Ohio University Press.
