Alina was a little girl who lived in a small village, in a big earthen hut, with her dad Akabanka, her mother Lily, her little brother Thomas and her grandfather Pakalapa. She was an ordinary girl, who did not like being told what she should or should not do. For example, his parents had told him to be wary of Master Lion, to avoid it if possible, and if it was not, not to disrespect him. However, the day her path crossed that of Master Lion, Alina, who did not like being told what she should not do, pulled her tongue out.
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- ROARRRRR, roared Lion Master. Little insolent! I would eat you well if I did not come to eat a zebra. But you do not lose anything to wait. Tomorrow night, I'll come back to devour you and all your family. It will teach you that you do not make fun of me!
Alina was very scared and started crying. Maybe after all his parents were right to tell him to be wary of Master Lion. But the damage was done.
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The old Baboon, who was passing by, heard him cry and approached this little girl who seemed so sad.
"Well, child, what is happening to you? Why these tears of crocodiles?
- Old Baboon, the Lion Master will come tomorrow night to eat with all my family!
The Old Baboon shook his head wisely.
- Why did not you stay away from him? Nobody had warned you?
- Yes, admitted Alina, but I did not listen.
- I see. Okay, so you have to find out how to fix that. Look at your feet.
Alina looked at his feet and saw that his tears had made a little pond, and that this little pond had made a stream that flowed towards the Grande Riviere, farther on.
"Follow the stream of your tears, for they are tears of crocodiles," said Old Baboon, "and he will bring you to the Four Crocodiles. They will know what to do, because they are the crocodiles of tears.
Then Alina set off. She walked until the sun was high in the sky, then she arrived where the brook of tears joined the Great River. And, basking in the water, there were four huge gray crocodiles with yellow eyes.
- Hello, said Alina.
- Hello ...
- ... child ...
- ... what do you want ...
- ... about us?
The Four Crocodiles spoke one after the other in the same sentence, so Alina had to turn her head often to look at the speaker. She told them about her meeting with Master Lion and the advice of Old Baboon.
- Hmm ...
- ... that's what happens ...
- ... to the children ...
- ... who do not listen to their parents.
- But ...
- ... we will ...
- ... still help you.
- Take us back ...
- ... an object ...
- ... belonging ...
- ... to each member of your family.
- We must ...
- ... that they all ...
- ... a meaning ...
- ... particular.
- Go ...
- ... and bring us all that ...
- ... as soon as possible!
Alina hastened to return home. She took in the hiding place of her little brother a stick of liquorice, her favorite delicacy. She found in the affairs of her mother the pretty multicolored pearls she put in her hair. She removed some wicker bits from her grandfather's fishing basket. She took from one of her father's hunting trophies. Then, the next morning, she followed the brook of tears again to the Four Crocodiles. She put all her discoveries before them.
- Very well ...
- ... we will ...
- ... be able to ...
- ... a gri-gri ...
- ... very powerful.
The first crocodile took the licorice stick and, with the wicker blades, he made arms and legs. The second crocodile made hair with the doll's hair. The third crocodile tied the pearls into the horsehair. The fourth crocodile, finally, took a few tears from the creek of Alina and poured them on the doll. Then all four said a magic formula.
- Here ...
- ... take this doll ...
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- ... and give the food ...
- ... to the Lion Master.
- She will defeat him ...
- ... because she represents ...
- ... the strength and the love ...
- ... of a united family.
- Go away ...
- ... now.
Alina did not have it said twice. She ran to her house as the sun set, terrified of arriving too late. She placed the doll in front of the door of her house and, hidden inside, she waited.
When Master Lion arrived, he went straight to the hut. He sniffed to the right, sniffed to the left, then saw the doll. He sniffed her too. She smelled of licorice, she could smell the sun, she could smell Alina too. So Master Lion opened his mouth wide and swallowed the doll. And suddenly, he began to change. Little by little, from his paws to his back, Lion Master turned into stone.
Since that day,Alina listens to what his parents tell him and no longer speaks to anyone. She learned that respect and obedience are not necessarily a chore, and she leads a very happy life with her dad, mom, little brother and grandfather.
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If you liked this then you can also read my previous story LOVE WITH STRANGER