A mother’s warning is often given out of love, especially when danger lies somewhere a child cannot easily recognise. In this tale, a beautiful young girl ignores her mother’s instruction and follows her friends to a pond. What begins as an ordinary afternoon of bathing soon becomes a frightening experience when a crocodile carries her away. As her mother searches for a way to bring her daughter home, an unexpected chain of animals becomes involved in the rescue. Their actions reveal how cooperation, cleverness and determination can overcome even a frightening challenge.
A Mother’s Warning
There once lived a woman who had a daughter admired for her beauty. The girl was cheerful and enjoyed spending time with her friends. Wherever she went, people noticed her, and her mother took great pride in her.
Although the woman loved her daughter dearly, she was also careful about her safety. She knew that not every place was suitable for children to visit without an adult. In particular, she worried about a nearby pond where dangerous animals could sometimes be found.
One day, before her daughter went outside, the mother called her close.
“My child,” she said, “there is something I want you to remember. Do not go to the pond. You may see other people going there, but that does not mean it is safe. Promise me that you will stay away.”
The girl listened as her mother spoke. She promised not to visit the pond and went out to join her friends.
Her mother watched her leave, hoping that she would remember the warning.
The Invitation to the Pond
Later that day, the girl met some of her friends. They were excited and wanted to spend the afternoon bathing in the pond.
“Come with us,” they said. “The water will be refreshing, and we can enjoy ourselves together.”
At first, the girl hesitated. She remembered her mother’s instruction and knew that she had been told not to go near the water.
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“My mother warned me not to visit the pond,” she replied.
Her friends laughed and tried to persuade her.
“Why are you afraid? We are all going together. Nothing will happen to you.”
They continued encouraging her until she began to reconsider. She did not want to be left out while the others enjoyed themselves. Eventually, she allowed their excitement to overcome her caution and followed them.
When they arrived, the girls placed their clothes near the water and entered the pond. They splashed and played, enjoying the cool water. For a while, everything seemed peaceful.
But danger was already close.
A crocodile had been watching from the water. It waited until the girls were distracted before moving towards their clothes. The girls did not immediately notice what was happening.
The crocodile took the beautiful daughter’s clothes and carried them away. When the girl realised that her clothes were missing, she became frightened. She searched around the water, hoping to find them, but they were nowhere to be seen.
Before she could understand what had happened, the crocodile seized her and dragged her beneath the water.
Her friends were terrified. They could not rescue her, and they did not know how to confront the dangerous animal. The girl disappeared into the pond, leaving the others helpless.
The Mother’s Grief
When the girl did not return home, her mother became worried. She waited for some time, expecting to hear her daughter’s footsteps or see her approaching.
But the afternoon passed, and the girl did not appear.
The woman began asking questions. When she learned that her daughter had gone to the pond with her friends, her fear increased. She knew that the girl had disobeyed her warning, and she suspected that something terrible might have happened.
She went in search of her daughter. The friends explained what they had witnessed and told her that a crocodile had taken the girl into the water.
The mother was heartbroken.
She could not accept that her daughter had disappeared without a chance of being brought home. She wanted to find a way to rescue her, but approaching the crocodile directly would be dangerous.
As she struggled with her fear and sorrow, a turtledove came to her.
The Turtledove’s Bargain
The turtledove listened to the mother’s distress and offered to help.
It understood that the crocodile would not willingly release the girl. A direct confrontation would be difficult, so the bird proposed a different approach.
It asked the mother to provide some milled grain. The woman agreed, hoping that the turtledove’s plan would succeed.
With the grain obtained, the turtledove went to the place where the crocodile kept the girl. It approached carefully and began singing.
The bird’s song attracted attention. It used the opportunity to distract the crocodile and create a chance to reach the captive girl.
However, the crocodile was not careless. It had already arranged for the girl to be watched so that she could not escape.
The crocodile appointed a monitor lizard to guard her.
The turtledove realised that rescuing the girl would require more than distracting the crocodile. The monitor lizard stood between the girl and freedom, and the bird needed to find a way around this obstacle.
The Chain of Watchers
The monitor lizard was not willing to abandon its responsibility. It sought another creature to help keep watch over the girl and approached a tortoise.
The tortoise agreed to take responsibility. But it also wanted assistance, so it passed the duty to a fish.
The fish, in turn, sought help from a frog. The frog passed the responsibility to a bullfrog, and the bullfrog eventually involved a toad.
Each creature became part of the arrangement, with one animal depending on another to maintain the watch.
The toad was left with the responsibility of guarding the girl. It was expected to make sure that she remained where the crocodile had placed her.
But the turtledove continued looking for an opportunity.
It knew that the girl could not remain under the crocodile’s control forever. The bird had to act before the chain of watchers could prevent every possible escape.
As the turtledove continued its efforts, the creatures involved in the arrangement became part of the challenge. Their different responsibilities created a complicated chain of supervision, but they could not make the girl completely unreachable.
The Girl’s Rescue
The turtledove eventually found an opportunity to reach the girl while the attention of the crocodile and the other creatures was diverted.
It used its song and the opportunity created by the animals’ arrangement to distract those responsible for keeping watch.
The girl recognised that the bird had come to help her. She understood that she had to act quickly if she wanted to return to her mother.
With the turtledove’s help, she escaped from the place where the crocodile had kept her.
The bird guided her away from danger, and together they made their way back towards safety.
For the mother, the return of her daughter was a moment of great relief. She had feared that she would never see the girl again, and she was grateful that the turtledove had not abandoned its promise to help.
The girl had survived the danger, but the crocodile soon discovered that its captive was missing.
The Crocodile’s Anger
When the crocodile realised that the girl had escaped, it became furious. It wanted to know how anyone could have removed the girl despite the arrangements it had made.
It summoned the creatures that had been involved in guarding her.
The monitor lizard, tortoise, fish, frog and bullfrog were all connected to the chain of responsibility. The crocodile demanded an explanation.
Each creature’s involvement led the crocodile back to the next one until the responsibility reached the toad.
The crocodile was especially angry with the toad because it had been left with the final duty of watching the girl. It believed that the toad had failed to carry out its responsibility.
In its anger, the crocodile seized the toad and threw it violently.
The toad was injured by the action. From then on, it moved by hopping rather than walking normally, according to the explanation given in the tale.
The crocodile’s anger did not bring the girl back. The rescue had already been completed, and the turtledove had succeeded where the crocodile’s chain of watchers had failed.
The mother was reunited with her daughter, while the creatures were left to face the consequences of their involvement in the failed arrangement.
The girl had learned a painful lesson about ignoring a warning, and her mother had experienced the fear of nearly losing the person she loved most.
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Moral of the Story
The story teaches the importance of listening to good advice and recognising danger before it is too late. The beautiful daughter ignored her mother’s warning because she wanted to follow her friends, and her decision exposed her to serious danger. It also shows that help can come from unexpected places. The turtledove used patience and cleverness to rescue the girl when a direct confrontation with the crocodile would have been difficult. Finally, the tale reminds us that accepting responsibility requires care and attention. Those who agree to protect others must take their duties seriously.
Knowledge Check
1. Why did the girl’s mother warn her not to visit the pond?
Her mother was concerned that the pond was dangerous and wanted to protect her from harm.
2. Why did the girl eventually follow her friends to the pond?
Her friends persuaded her to join them, and she did not want to miss the opportunity to enjoy herself with them.
3. What did the crocodile do while the girls were bathing?
It took the girls’ clothes and carried the beautiful daughter away into the water.
4. Which bird offered to help the girl’s mother?
A turtledove offered to help rescue the girl.
5. Which animals became involved in guarding the girl?
The monitor lizard, tortoise, fish, frog, bullfrog and toad became involved in the chain of watchers.
6. Why did the crocodile throw the toad?
The crocodile became angry because the girl had escaped while the toad was responsible for watching her.
Source
Adapted from a version of the Mossi folktale “The Beautiful Daughter”, attributed to Burkina Faso. The title also appears in Alain-Joseph Sissao’s Folktales from the Moose of Burkina Faso, translated by Nina Tanti and published by Langaa RPCIG in 2010.
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