The Mole And The Sun

In friendship or love, whoever asks for the impossible will always be the target of bitterness.

Long ago, Mole and Sun were good friends. The animal lived both underground and on the surface. They would spend hours chatting, asking, "What's the news? What's the word?" She would tell him stories from the realms beyond, and he would share what happened during his underground absences.

One day, Mole's mother fell ill. None of the traditional remedies made from plant infusions and decoctions could cure her. Mole wondered if the illness was natural or caused by a curse. She hesitated to consult a diviner whom many animals suspected of being a charlatan or, worse, driven by ill intentions. He only allowed visits at night. In less than four days, her mother's condition worsened. On the fourth day, Mole decided to try everything and sought the opinion of the controversial diviner. In a solemn voice, he declared, "The only solution to save your mother is for your friend, Sun, to agree to go around the Earth in reverse. He must complete his journey in the opposite direction and agree to rise in the west and set in the east. Your mother's survival depends on him." After leaving the diviner's hut, Mole, in tears, went to her old friend Sun. She arrived before the first rooster's crow. Sobbing in her voice, she called out to him for long minutes. The signs of dawn were already announcing themselves:

–Sun! Yaya! Mother Mole is not healing; her condition is even worsening. I beg you, Yaya, make your celestial journey in reverse, or she will die.

–Mole, my friend, that has never been seen since the beginning of time. If I could, I would do it, but I also have limits. And precisely, going in reverse, I cannot. There are mysteries in our vast universe, but nature has its laws.

Title

The Mole And The Sun

Themes

cosmogenesis | circle of life | friendship | origin of species and places

Emotions

desperation | grief | disappointment

Lesson

The impossibility of demanding against the laws of nature leads to bitterness and disappointment.

Animals

Birds, Mole, Rooster

Characters

Mole (Taupe): Protagonist seeking to save her sick mother, ends up bitter when the Sun can't help Sun (Ya Soleil): Unable to change its course, expressing the limitation of even powerful entities; Moles's Mother: Her illness propels the story.

Back-grounds

Under and above the ground, Celestial Vault

Source

Story told by Théophane Bokaka Bouanga and adapted to the book: ‘Congo Tales’ Told by the People of Mbomo, written by S.R. Kovo N'Sondé, Wilfried N'Sondé published by Prestel Publishing