The Dying Boy and His Mother

"I'll die soon," a sick boy told his mother.

"I pray death take me first!" she said to soothe him.

Wanting to test her, the boy waited till she went outside. Then he plucked a live chicken and hid it under an inverted bowl. He returned to bed and called out, "Mother! O Mother! Death has come to our house."

She ran to see. "Where, my son? Where?"

"Death is there, under the bowl," he said.

She lifted the bowl and the naked chicken leaped out. "You're here for my son," the terrified mother shouted. "Not me, but my son!"

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Inspired by: "The Boy and Death"  in Tashelhiyt Berber Folktales by Harry Stroomer, 2001.
Notes: You can read the original story online.

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