Story! Palestinian Folktale: The Lentil

[sonia]

Palestinian Folktale: The Lentil by Sonia Sulaiman, soniasulaiman. This started in a folk tale pattern that was familiar to me, and veered to an unexpected ending.

There was and there was not a poor couple who had between them only three lentils to eat. As the wife was cooking them a beggar came by and asked for alms. She looked at the lentils and fished one out and gave it to him. He thanked her and went on his way.

When her husband came home he was furious. “How could you give away what little we had?!” She reminded him that the beggar was even worse off than they were. “Still, if only we had the lentil!” he groused.

Sonia Sulaiman's website has lots more Palestinian folktales.

Comments

[asakiyume]

That's not where I was expecting it to go too--very interesting to see other patterns! I appreciate the humor of this

[sonia]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[soniasulaiman]

Everyone loves this story. It always surprises adults in particular, and the twist gets a laugh when I perform it live.

[sonia]

I like that the wife has power in the story, and isn't punished for her husband's fretfulness, or for taking a stand at the end.

[silveradept]

This has a certain similarity to stories I have heard about the inability of certain men to be satisfied with the possibility of abundance, only to reach the place where they believe they will have perfection and to find it is empty.

[sonia]

It is a very pointed story!

[tshuma]

This is delightful!

[sonia]

\o/