Stories

In the name of Allah, the Compassionate Source of All Mercy

The Three Sons 
of the Chief:
A Legend of West Africa

     Once there lived a chief who had three sons. They were fine, strong young men, and their father often wondered which of these gifted lads had the strength and intelligence to succeed him.
     One day, when his councilors assembled for their regular meeting, the chief looked around at the group of elderly men, shaking out their voluminous white robes as they settled down for the morning's discussion, and made up his mind to ask them to help him decide who was the most fit of his three sons to be chief after him.
     "Come over to this baobab tree," he told them, "and have my three sons brought here immediately."
     The old men rose to their feet, and moving out into the bright sunshine, they shuffled over the rough ground to the baobab tree.
     After a few moments, the three young men appeared, each leading a horse.
     "My sons," said the chief, "I want each of you to mount your horse in turn and show your skill to all the people assembled here. You may do what you please, but when you reach this baobab tree, you must exert yourselves as never before and show us what you are made of." 
     The three boys mounted their horses and galloped away from the chief, far up a dusty track which led to the wide courtyard of the chief's house.
     A number of other people had joined the group of watching councilors by now, and a murmur of anticipation rippled through the crowd as the first son was seen riding towards them in a cloud of dust.
     Galloping furiously, the horseman made straight for the baobab tree, swerving neither right nor left. Holding his spear aloft he plunged it into the trunk with such force that it made a great hole. Then to the amazement of the onlookers, the first of the chief's sons followed the spear and leapt through the hole on his horse, making a perfect landing on the ground beyond. 
     Those who were watching, shouted their applause.
     "Surely," they said, one to another, "no one could do better than that."
     Then the second son came galloping towards them, his horse's hooves beating a brisk trail in the dry ground. He appeared to ride straight at the tree and carried no sword, so the people thought he would smash himself to death against the tree.
     But suddenly, his horse rose in the air like an arrow and sailed right over the baobab, rider and horse landing unharmed on the other side.
     The crowd laughed with pleasure and surprise and said one to another, "Surely, the third son will not be able to do better than this," and they held their breath as the youngest son came riding towards them. 
     As he came under the tree, he seized its branches in both hands, dug his spurs into his horse and ripped the whole tree from the ground, roots and all. Then he rode up to his father, waving the tree aloft and smiling triumphantly as the crowd roared its applause.
     Which of these three sons would you choose as the winner if you were the chief?         

Who was the most fit of his three sons to be chief after him?

"I want each of you to mount your horse in turn and show your skill to all the people assembled here."

"Holding his spear aloft he plunged it into the trunk with such force that it made a great hole."

"Which son should be chief?"