The Basket (San People/Africa)

Once upon a time there lived a man with a large head of well-cared for cattle that he regularly grazed in fine pastures and milked twice a day. But one morning, when he went to milk them, he found they’d already been milked. He found this very curious. He tried to take even better care of them, but that night, and the next morning, when he tried to milk them, their udders were wrinkled and dry. That night, he sat up in his barn to see if he could discover the cause.

About midnight, he saw a cord come down from the stars, and climbing down the cord were a group of people. When he ran toward them, they ran for the cord, but a young woman with a calabash and basket remained. She so filled him with light he asked her to marry him. She agreed but said, “There is only one thing I ask of you. Never look into this basket without my permission.” He promised.

For a time, all was well. They lived happily together, sharing the work. She cultivated the fields. He looked after the cattle. One day, when he returned to have a drink of water, he saw the basket and looked into it. He saw nothing.

In the evening, his wife came home and after one look at him, knew he’d opened her basket. “You looked in my basket, didn’t you? Even though you promised you would not do so.”

“Yes, I have,” he admitted, “and I don’t understand why you made such a fuss. The basket is empty. There’s nothing in it.”

“You saw nothing in the basket?”

“No. Nothing.”

With great sadness she said, “If you see nothing in my basket I cannot stay.” She turned away from him and vanished, back to the stars from whence she’d come.

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JUNE 2024 Monthly Stories