"Kirikou and the Wild Beasts" "The story of" "Kirikou and the Sorceress was too short." "We didn't have time to tell you all that the child Kirikou had accomplished." "And he did accomplish some fine good deeds that should not be forgotten." "So, I'll tell you about them." "My first story tells how my grandson Kirikou risked his life to bring water to the village." "We even thought he'd drowned in that water he'd brought us." "Kirikou is mocking" "But he's kind-hearted" "Kirikou is so small" "But he is our friend" "Kirikou isn't big" "But he is our child" "Kirikou is... I won!" "He won!" "Kirikou is so small" "But he does a lot!" "Kirikou sets us free" "From the sorceress" "What's that?" "The villagers dancing in the spring water!" "What?" "The spring water?" "The water's back?" "Yes, mighty mistress." "And is Kirikou dead I don't think so." "He's wetting his friends." "The water!" "It's here!" "The water!" "It's come back to the village!" "The water's returned!" "We'll plant the finest garden!" "We'll grow the finest vegetables!" "The water's here!" "The water!" "The water's here!" "Kirikou..." "Everyone's sleeping." "Come to bed." "You can work tomorrow." "Yes, Mother!" "No!" "You're tamping it down too hard." "I'm doing it right." "Our garden's growing well." "We've worked well." "We'll soon be able to harvest it all." "I like gardening, but it's too slow." "Careful!" "Don't pick it now." "It's not ready yet." "I know!" "No!" "What happened?" "More misfortune!" "Our vegetable garden!" "Our garden's been destroyed!" "What'll become of us?" "Who could have done such a crime?" "It has her name on it:" "Karaba the Sorceress!" "She took all our warriors and now, she starves us!" "Will we ever destroy that monster?" "Last night, she sent an army of fetishes to crush our efforts." "Why at night?" "Fetishes don't usually hide." "Maybe it was a wild beast?" "I say it's Karaba!" "We must do something." "We'll replant what can be saved." "No!" "Not like that!" "You're not hitting it straight." " The fence is flimsy." " Better than nothing." "And we'll keep watch." "We'll take turns in groups of four all night." "Will they come back?" "Disaster!" "The village!" "Mom, I'm scared." "I gotta go!" "This filthy beast can run fast." "I can't keep this up for long." "I need to find a hole to hide in or I'm done for." "There!" "How horrible!" "I can't move!" "It stinks, too!" "I'm stuck!" "The sky!" "The trunk's hollow!" "I'm going to climb up!" "I feel better!" "A hive!" "The bees will wake up!" "If the hyena keeps that up, the hive might even fall on me." "I must do something!" "Hey, you big beast!" "Goodbye!" "The mystery's solved." "It wasn't Karaba." "It was the Black Hyena." "Maybe Karaba just turned into the hyena..." "No, the Black Hyena existed long before Karaba came to this region." "Well, the mystery's now over." "It's not." "What was a carnivorous animal doing in a vegetable garden?" "That's true." "There's still that little mystery." "But it's not important." "The beast's gone." "It is important." "If we don't find out what attracted it, the hyena will come back." "There's no way I'll lose all this lovely honey!" "It's good." "Now I must repair all the damage." "How terrible to destroy a beehive!" "But I had no choice." "As long as it holds..." "The bees will do the real repair work." "My mother said that bees tend to come back, even after an accident." "I hope they do come back, but not right now." "I don't want to be stung all over." "I feel very vulnerable." "Oh, no!" "The bees!" "Easy..." "Easy now..." "No stings so far... lt's a very bad idea to be naked when you're dealing with bees." "Easy now..." "As long as I stay calm, they won't hurt me." "I got stung!" "Ow!" "That hurts!" "It hurts, but my finger still has sugar on it." "The other bees aren't rushing at me." "I touched the one which stung me." "It was my fault." "That hurts." "But I'm not dead, so I'll carry on." "But what was that hyena doing in our vegetables?" "You won't convince me" "Karaba wasn't behind all this." "I've brought some honey." "Thank you, Kirikou." "Good boy, but go play elsewhere." "We're talking." "There's no such thing as a hyena eating millet." "But that hyena devastated our garden!" "What must we do to stop that horrid beast coming back?" "We must understand what it was doing here." "I wonder if we'll ever solve the mystery." "What mystery are you talking about?" "It was Karaba, that's all!" "It wasn't!" "Here's what the hyena wanted." "This ground squirrel is injured, but we can treat him." "So, it's this injured animal that the hyena was looking for in our vegetables to devour it?" "The hyena pursued it to here, but the little animal managed to escape and hide." "We'll keep it safe at our house until it's recovered." "The hyena won't be interested in our garden anymore." "Kirikou is so small" "But he sure does think!" "Kirikou is so small" "But he sure does think!" "Kirikou tries so hard" "Too bad for Hyena" "Kirikou tries so hard" "Too bad for Hyena" "Too bad for Hyena" "Kirikou isn't tall" "But he saves us all" "Thanks to Kirikou, the garden won't be destroyed again." "But it's not over yet." "Kirikou still has to deal with another animal which seems less dangerous, but... who knows?" "For the moment, the garden has been destroyed, and there's nothing to eat..." "The beast won't destroy our plants again." "Let's get to work." "Yes, but we emptied our lofts to sow the seeds." "And before the garden can bear more food, we'll starve to death." "It's true that we'll have to buy our food now." "How?" "We don't have a penny." "Sell our jewels." "Karaba the Sorceress took every last one of them!" "Let's return to the forest and pick food." "We've picked so much, there's not much left anymore." "What can we do?" "There's nothing left to do." "Maybe Kirikou has an idea..." "Kirikou doesn't care about our problems." "He'd rather mess around in the water and dirt." "It's not just any old dirt." "It's clay." "Show me." "Look what you can do with this clay." "See, it's easy!" "We could make things to sell in town and then buy things to eat." "That's a good idea." "My people were potters." "I know how to bake the pottery." "Well, we could try." "We've never done anything like that here!" "Hey, everyone!" "Let's all start!" "We'll earn some money and live comfortably." "We'll become potters!" "I've seen it all now!" "No, you mustn't use too much water." "Look how pretty it is." "Have you seen mine?" "Look, Kirikou's pots are even smaller than he is!" "He can sell his pots to ants!" "Kirikou's pots are tiny, but he's decorated them nicely." "We should do the same to sell them." "The pots must bake for a long time, and the fire mustn't go out." "This is a good place to be." "Behind the baobab, the fetish on Karaba's roof can't see us." "That's true." "Mother, does it do Karaba good to be evil?" "I don't think so." "So, why does she do it?" "Maybe she's never tried to do good, so she doesn't know." "Why does she have me watched all the time?" "Because you don't submit and you ask questions until you get real answers." "I'm proud of you." "But it's late." "You must go to bed." "I don't need to go to the hut to sleep." "I could sleep just fine here." "That's true." "Goodnight, Mother." "Goodnight, Kirikou." "Wake me up if you need me." "All right." "Are the pots ready?" "Good morning, Kirikou." "Yes, they're magnificent." "Good morning, Mother." "Did you work all night?" "Yes, I enjoyed continuing this work, and you kept me company." "Careful, it's fragile!" "I'm ready!" "Oh, no!" "What's that?" "It's to put the money I'll earn in." "Dream on!" "Who'd want such tiny pots?" "Buyers won't even see them!" " One more packet to tie up." " That's too tight." "When you come back, we'll have finished the next batch." "I'll stay to keep an eye on it." "Goodbye!" "Good luck and be careful." " Come back soon!" " And bring us good things." "I promise." "We'll have a feast tonight." " When will we get there?" " Be patient." "is the town still far away?" "Not very far." "My feet hurt." "Keep going." "I'm exhausted." "We're nearly there now." "I can't walk another step." "I'm dead on my feet." "Come on, keep going." "We're saved!" "A buffalo!" "With baskets, too!" "That's a lucky break." "Where's it from?" "We don't know, but we'll take it to town." "We'll bring it back to the same tree." "Stop!" "Where's that buffalo from?" "You can't give it all our work!" "Maybe it's a trap by Karaba the Sorceress!" " Quiet!" " We're strong enough to restrain it." "Look, it's not moving!" "No, that's all our work, all our riches!" "He'll run off with it!" " We'll go home empty-handed!" " Stop annoying us!" "You don't give the orders." "Put your packet with the others." "No way!" "He's so stupid." "What'll you do now?" "Swim across with your packet on your head?" "Come on, get on the buffalo." "No." "Too bad, then." " Goodbye, then." " What a scaredy cat!" "See you on the way back!" "Are you really staying?" "No, could you put me on your head?" "All right, get on, then." "The town!" "The town!" "At last!" "We made it!" "And about time, too!" "Now we can sell our pots." "Not so fast!" "Stop!" "Stop, stop!" "Stop!" "Stop!" "Stop!" "Our pottery, all our work - all gone!" " What's happening?" " We worked so hard!" " Who's yelling?" " What'll become of us?" " Quiet!" " That peasant has no manners!" "Misfortune strikes again!" "Our run of bad luck is never-ending!" " Oh, what a mess!" " The pottery's all smashed!" "We're done for!" "There's nothing we can do!" "Excuse me." "Excuse me." "Who's this little kid?" "Step right up and see the prettiest pots in town!" "It's the latest fashion!" "It's not dear!" "In them you can put salt and pepper, your beauty cream, your money, your cowries.Hurry!" "Not enough for everyone!" " These pots are pretty." " So's the seller!" "Take this coin and give me the pot." " Yes, but it costs 2 coins." " All right." " l want that one." " l want 3." "Show me your coins first." "And for 2 cowries?" "I'll give you this for 3." " Deal!" " The narrow-necked pot." " The round one!" " The bird!" "Here!" "I need a pot with a lid." "That's for you." "Give me that pot, lad." "There you go, pops." "8 cowries." "Well, it all went like hotcakes!" " l want the last one." " lt's mine!" " How much?" " 4 coins." "5 coins." " Ladies first." " lt's not fair." "I asked for it first." "It doesn't matter." "I'm taking orders." "We make rounds pots, long pots, big ones, small ones, bird-shaped ones." " l want 3 birds." " l want a pitcher." "I want one the shape of a young girl." "I want to order 3 big pots." "Did the buffalo destroy all the pottery?" "Yes, Mistress." "They're smashed to bits!" "Good." "And what's Kirikou doing?" "Making a fortune." "What did you say?" "He kept his pottery on his head." "He's selling it all." "He's even selling things he hasn't made yet." " There they are!" " They did it!" "Here they are!" "About time, too!" "All these good things!" "We'll have a feast!" "Kirikou is so small" "But he feeds us all" "Kirikou is so small" "But he feeds us all" "Kirikou the potter" "Has done it again!" "Kirikou the potter" "Has done it again!" "Has done it again!" "Kirikou isn't tall" "But he saves us all" "But he saves us all" "I love how my grandson saved the village by becoming a potter!" "Apart from hyenas and buffalos, there are many other animals in Africa." "There is one which is the tallest animal on Earth." "It doesn't hurt anyone and no one tries to hurt it." "Thanks to it," "Kirikou went on the best journey in his life..." "Kirikou, it's nighttime." "You must go to sleep." "What are you looking at?" "Strange footprints." "A bird with 3 feet." "Extraordinary!" "I'll see what animal makes footprints like these." "All right, but don't go too far away." "When we stay together, the fetishes are wary." "But outside the village, they can capture you." "I know, Mother." "What are you doing now?" "Following the footprints of a 3-legged bird." "That's not possible." "Kirikou, stand up straight!" "I'm following the footprints of a 3-legged bird." "And don't talk nonsense." "Has Kirikou left the village?" "Yes, he's far away now, following the footprints." "He's not so smart after all if he falls into the trap head first." "I'm getting a long way from the village." "Maybe I should turn back." "I'm surrounded!" "Have the fetishes caught him?" "No, Mistress." "He climbed up a tree and is mocking them." "And of course, those stupid fetishes can't climb trees!" "Well, that doesn't matter." "Kirikou can't get away now." "He'll fall down when he's dying of thirst, of hunger, and of sleep." "I'm caught this time!" "They're not moving." "They can stay for centuries without food and drink!" "But I can't and I don't know what to do." "A giraffe!" "Maybe it'll make the fetishes run away..." "They don't care." "Nor does the giraffe." "Well, I can't go down... but I can go up!" "Go on, eat!" "Isn't that good?" "Right, let's go somewhere else." "There we are." "Kirikou is no longer in the tree." "Have the fetishes bring him." "They can't - he's going away on the head of a giraffe!" "What?" "I can't get down, but at least I'm rid of those fetishes now!" "Oh, no. I'm not saved at all." "They keep following me." "If I go down, they'll catch me." "But I can't go down - it's too high." "I think I've had it this time." "Maybe I haven't thought of everything... ln any case, it's a fine outing." "It thinks of nothing but eating!" "So do I, but I haven't a bite to eat!" "Look, a giraffe walking past..." "Hello, my friends!" "Kirikou!" "The fetishes!" "How awful!" "An army of them!" "Kirikou has been kidnapped by the fetishes!" "What are you doing up there?" "Going for a ride." "There's a lovely view!" "How will you get down?" "I don't know yet." "I'm thinking about it." "However much you think, stay there or you'll break your neck." "Hold on tight!" "Don't be afraid, Mother." "I'm firmly seated and I'm clutching the horns." "Go away!" "We don't want these fetishes here." "I didn't know that such places existed." "I would like it to stop now." "I'm not going to miss this one." "It's beautiful, but it's too hot." "I'm thirsty!" "I am so high up that I can see over the flying birds." "A tornado!" "It's going to blow me away!" "If I let go, I'm done for." "I'm not going to let go." "I am not going to let go!" "I held on!" "Hey!" "I'm not going to fall now!" "Everything's all right." "I'm still alive and the fetishes have been swept away." "The only problem I still have is how to get down." "No, I still have both problems." "On top of that, I'm exhausted." "It really thinks of nothing but eating!" "But I must concentrate on my problem." "I got it!" "I know how to get down and save myself." "It's simple!" "I can be such a fool at times." "Am I dreaming?" "What's all that white stuff at the top?" "For the time being, I must carry on enjoying this beautiful ride." "Kirikou's still on the giraffe, but the fetishes are still there." "Fine!" "This time, he won't get away." "Here we are... I'm going to get down safely... and the fetishes won't catch me." "Kirikou fell down?" "Yes, he fell..." "in the water!" " And the fetishes?" " On the bank." "They must jump in!" "They're made of wood - they can't sink!" "Jump!" "Has Kirikou drowned?" "No, he's waving goodbye to the fetishes." "Goodbye?" "They're coming back." "Without Kirikou?" "Kirikou is on the riverbank." "The current's carrying the fetishes away." "This little swim has put me back on my feet." " Will you stop!" " They can't swim!" "Catcher Fetishes!" "Go fish them out!" "And try not to fall in!" "I'm back!" "Kirikou!" "Up on the giraffe, I discovered places we know nothing about." "And a secret garden." "I'll show you." "Kirikou is thirsty" "Just like the giraffe!" "Kirikou is thirsty" "Just like the giraffe!" "Kirikou has now found" "A secret garden!" "Kirikou isn't tall But he saves us all" "But he saves us all" "I'm glad that Kirikou could go on such a journey." "He needed that outing before the ordeal that awaited him." "It was the most terrible anyone could ever imagine." "And yet the day had started so peacefully..." "The new beer is ready." "Another night of fermentation." "We'll try it tomorrow." "Can I try it, too?" "If you go near that jar, you'll have me to deal with." "The time has come to taste the new beer!" "Quick!" "The new beer!" "We're thirsty!" "This should be delicious." "Not bad at all." "Pass the ladle." "Maybe not fermented enough." "It needs to be left till tomorrow." "It's still very good though." "Tomorrow it'll be perfect." "A bit more patience." "Thank you." "Over here." "It does you good." "What a taste!" "So, what do you think of the new beer?" "I think it tastes funny." "Tastes funny?" "!" "We've always made this beer!" "This beer's so good, I'll have some more." "Mother, I found this in the fo..." "Mother!" "What's wrong?" "You're on fire!" "I feel really bad." "Go get our neighbor." "Come quick!" "My mother's sick!" "I'm sick, too, kid." "My mom fell over." "Mine's not moving." "Mine's in pain!" "Mine's sick!" "My mother's dying!" "Mother!" "All the women are sick." "We all drank the new beer." "You must go and empty all the beer on the ground before anyone else gets poisoned." "Yes, Mother." "It's big." "It's heavy." "It's stable." "And yet I must knock this jar full of beer over." "It will overturn without me touching it." "Don't worry, Mother." "I'm just taking a tool to knock the jar over." "Let's get to work." "It's so hard!" "Now I'll dig under it." "I must dodge it so I don't get crushed by the falling jar." "There!" "All the women are feeling sick." "What'll become of us?" "Yes, it's terrible." "Who'll crush the millet?" "Who'll wash the clothes?" "Who'll cook?" "Who'll farm the land?" "Who'll pick berries?" "You can do all that yourself, but you can't be a mother." "Mother, can you open your eyes?" "This was at the bottom of the jar." "If you know what it is, I could treat you." "That's terrible!" "They're poison flowers." "is there a remedy?" "Maybe there is." "This poison flower grows near Karaba's hut." "And a yellow healing flower grows there, too." "That means that no one can pick it." "Show our neighbor the flowers and ask her if I'm right." "And if you can find the healing flowers anywhere else." "Yes, Mother." "Do you still have the strength to look and to answer me?" "Of course... I have the strength." "Look what I found at the bottom of the jar." "How awful!" "Poison flowers!" "My mother says they come from Karaba's land, as do the healing flowers." "She's right." "She also asks if you can find the healing flower anywhere else." "No, it's the only place where it can be found." "After the men," "Karaba has now destroyed the womenfolk." "No!" "We have to get those flowers even if they're at Karaba's feet." "Stop talking stupid!" "No human being can go there." "We must find a way." "Enough of your stubborn childishness!" "And I'm starving." "I'll see if Uncle can cook me something." "It's true, only fetishes can go near those yellow flowers." "If only fetishes can go, we must become fetishes." "Talking nonsense won't get us anywhere." "We'll have to dress up as fetishes." "You're crazy!" "We'd be spotted right away!" "We have to try." "I'm prepared to go." "Aren't you scared?" "Sure, but that's no reason." "We've got nothing to dress you up as a fetish." "We must find something." "Something hollow that Kirikou can hide in." "I've got it!" "You can hide in it, but you can't move." "I can!" "Turn it over." "Look after my little sister." "I warn you, she'll cry." "I'll get the mortar." "Stop!" "If we prepare something we must hide from the fetish on Karaba's roof." "You're right." "Let's go behind my hut." "Calm down, baby." "Can you take her?" "It's heavy." "And it's the wrong color." "Fetishes are grey." "My mother's mortar is old and grey." "I'll go get it." "When I was little, I thought it was a fetish and it scared me." "Can you take it off?" "I can't breathe." "Give it to me." "That's better, it's lighter." "Careful!" "Sorry, but I can't see." "We must make a hole in the side." "You can't damage a good mortar!" "We can, to save our mothers." "Yes, how silly of me." "I'll go get my mother's best knife." "He'll need eyes here." "Let's add two ladles." "I'll get my mother's." "Hold the baby." "She was about to stop crying." "Now we need arms." "We could attach little hoes." "Yes, I've got one!" "I'll get mine!" "You rest, Mother." "We're going to sort it all out." "The knife!" "Hold the baby." "I'll do the hole." "The hoe!" "Look, the eyes!" "The handles stick out." "They could be big eyebrows." "No, they look like rabbit's ears!" "It'd work if we paint them black." "I'll get the paint." "And we must paint the fetish's eyes red." "I know where my mother puts her dye." "Hold the baby." "I'll go get it." "Kids are a real pain!" "She'd be fine if she was on your back." "We need to find a mouth for the fetish, too." "My mother gave me a comb." "Its teeth are like a mouth." "A mouth with teeth - good idea." "I'll go get it." "Hold the baby." "Hold her head and behind up!" "Her head up, not down!" "The hoe!" "How's that?" "Not bad." "Now rock her a bit to calm her down." "Stop it!" "You must be very gentle." "What about you?" "You almost squashed me!" "Good, I can see." "Stop it, baby." "I won't hurt you." "I can't see the ground where the flowers are." "All right, I'll dig more out." "I've got the black paint." "I found the red dye." "The comb!" "And some raffia." "The glue!" "Let's do it!" "Calm down, baby." "Stop crying." "Easy now, easy..." "Superb!" "Now we must wait for it to dry." "That's the hardest part." "Look." "The baby's stopped crying." "Mother, we're going to get the yellow flowers." "Kirikou, don't do anything foolish." "Don't worry, Mother." "It's child's play." "It's dry now." "What's Kirikou doing?" "I can't find him." "Do I imitate a fetish's walk well?" "Yes, you almost scared us!" "Perfect!" " Oh, no!" " What?" "When the fetish on the roof sees our fetish leave the village, he'll guess it's a fake." "That's true." "We're stuck here behind this hut." "We can't go out!" "We thought of everything but that." "We did think of it." "Can you make yourself invisible?" "You carry me in the mortar on your back, like a baby." "What?" "No way!" "Ridiculous!" "It'll never work." "I'm not doing it." "I'd do it, but I've already got a baby on my back." "I'd do it, but I've already got a baby in my arms." "I'd do it, but I'm much smaller and weaker than you." "For our mothers..." "You all right, Kirikou?" "Yes, it's easy so far." "Now it gets serious." "We'll casually spread out and meet behind the bushes on Flame Tree Road." "We were scared, but it was actually a walkover." "I'm scared now." "Kirikou, are you ready?" "Yes." "Good luck, Kirikou." "Kirikou, you're a good person." "Goodbye, my friends." "If we all pull together, we can make it." "Well, I'm off now." "Mistress, I see someone on Flame Tree Road." "It's a fetish." "A fetish?" "You disturb me for a fetish?" "Sorry, Mistress." "I'm glad the Sorceress didn't see our makeshift fetish." "Kirikou has reached the end of the road." "He's entering the poisoned land." "He's in the lion's jaws." "He's stopping!" "Poor thing... I wouldn't blame him if he came back now." "That's it!" "He got it!" "He did it!" "Come back quick!" "Where's he going?" "What's he doing?" "He'll get himself caught!" "Mistress..." "Mistress!" "Something's wrong." "I don't recognize him." "Now where's he going?" "He's zigzagging, not coming straight back." "He's coming!" "Ka-ra-ba!" "What is it?" "That's not a fetish!" "Catcher Fetishes!" "Seize that imposter!" "Well, go on, go after him!" "And Killer Fetishes, bring that thing back to me!" "Help!" "Fetishes are attacking!" "Mother... open your mouth." "Now... chew." "Now... drink." "Mother... you shall be cured." "You have cured me." "Kirikou's mother is cured!" "She's cured!" "Take a flower and give it to your mothers to eat." "I'll look after the grandmothers!" "Kirikou, our brother," "Has cured our mothers" "Kirikou is so small" "But he healed us all" "Kirikou isn't tall" "But he saved us all" "There's one thing I can't work out." "What?" "When you got the flowers, instead of coming back, you went toward the Sorceress." " What for?" " No reason." ""No reason"?" "To look at her." "She's so beautiful." "There we are." "Together, the children were able to save their mothers." "Now my stories are all told." "I hope you liked them and that they'll do you good for a long time to come."