Friday, March 25, 2016

Liberian stories

Patrick Burrowes has a collection of Liberian stories, together with comments of his own on the scene. This is from the selection of "Dilemma Tales," tales where the storyteller asks his listeners to figure the ending. In his collection of stories the question at issue seems to involve precedence.
Two rich women who lived in the same town fell in live with a poor man who lived in the forest.
The first woman built him a fine house and garden, and put cattle and goats in the nearby fields, and sent a messenger to bring him in.

The second woman into the forest to find the poor man; she gave him rich food and wine, and brought him back to town.

Which of these two rich women deserved to have the man?

This story, The Deadly Oracle reminds me of Clumsy Hans.

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