In which today's story should get you up and marching (and singing, too!)

Mabela the Clever (Sierra Leone)

Back in the beginning times, some were clever, and some were not-so-clever.  The cats were clever, but the mice were mostly foolish.

There was one little mouse called Mabela who was very clever, because she had been taught cleverness by her parents and grandparents.

Her father would say to her, “Mabela, when you are out and about, keep your ears open and listen.”

Her mother would say to her, “Mabela, when you are out and about, keep your eyes open and look around you.”

Her grandfather would say to her, “Mabela, when you speak, pay attention to what you say.”

And her grandmother would say to her, “Mabela, if you ever have to move, move fast!”

One day came a cat to the mouse village, speaking sweet words.  

“Oh, my dear mice,” said the clever cat.  “We cats are inviting you to join the Cat Society, so you can learn all the wisdom of the cats.”

The foolish little mice were very excited.  “We get to join the Cat Society!  We get to join the Cat Society!”

The cat told them to meet up at the mouse village square the next morning, and they could parade into the forest to join the Cat Society.

The next morning, all the mice were ready to go.  

The cat licked his lips when he saw them there, and lined up all the mice from the tallest to the smallest.  

Mabela was in the very front, because she was the smallest.  

Then, the cat taught them a special marching song, and they all marched off into the forest, singing their song:

When we are marching, we never look back!

The cat is at the end, fo-feng! Fo-feng!

They hadn’t been marching very long when Mabela remembered what her father had taught her:  “Mabela, when you are out and about, keep your ears open and listen.”   

So she stopped singing and she listened to mice singing the song.  It made her happy, so she went back to singing with them.

When we are marching, we never look back!

The cat is at the end, fo-feng! Fo-feng!

In a little while, Mabela remembered what her mother had taught her:  “Mabela, when you are out and about, keep your eyes open and look around you.”

Still marching forward, Mabela looked left and then right.  She couldn’t see a long line of mice parading behind her, only a short line.  

And there was the cat at the end of the line with a big bag on his back.  She went back to singing.

When we are marching, we never look back!

The cat is at the end, fo-feng! Fo-feng!

In a little while, Mabela remembered what her grandfather had taught her:  “Mabela, when you speak, pay attention to what you say.”   

She thought about the words to the song, 

When we are marching, we never look back!  

The cat is at the end….”

And then she thought, “Wait a moment, who is watching the cat?”

She remembered what her grandmother had taught her:  “Mabela, if you ever have to move, move fast!”  

Mabela leaped away into the brambles just as the cat leaped to grab her and stuff her in the bag.

The cat fell into the brambles, and dropped the bag.  All the mice escaped and ran home, and Mabela was a hero. 

And all the mice told this story to their children, and their children’s children.  Mouse parents and grandparents still tell this story.  That is how the mice learned cleverness. 

The Limba people of Sierra Leone say that if a person is clever, it is because they were taught cleverness.