The ostrich
of the Bey
He was once the
Bey of Tunis accepted in gift of another monarch nice a small ostrich.
Surprised by this gift and not knowing what to make with, it decided to
send it to Nefta because says one the climate was appropriate to him better.
**time-out** as of its arrival the representative of authority de.l' autorité
local in the person of Mr A. Sassi it deal with en charge and prevent the
population that it himself act nor more nor less some one mission of high
importance and that the aforementioned ostrich beyicale have right of life
and of die on all what move. And here is that our ostrich sauntered in
the streets of the city making flee the children and reigning as a Master
of the places.
Its favorite walk was the place of the Souk. As soon as it arrived it plundered
all that interested it on its passage. It started with the bread merchant
with whom it pricked two or three breads, then it passed in the merchant
of cereals and satisfied durum wheat. The other displays also were not
saved some is their food products.
But its predilection
was the fritter merchant. This poor catch had only two hours to sell its
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fritters, between
five hours and seven hours of the morning. With beyond it did not have
any more customers. It looked at it coming by far. Its heart was beating
wildly.
Sometimes a tear
escaped from its eyes corroded by trachoma. And the " princess beyicale
" advanced advanced and as it advanced our man saw the income of his day
which dropped dropped.
Hardly the ostrich
arrived at its level, it chose the highest fritter pile and swallowed it
without any state of heart. And our merchant looked at all that without
word saying. Like the other tradesmen, it suffered in silence. Who could
oppose the ostrich beyicale!
At
the bottoms of the Souk and in a dark and badly arranged shop was installed
the blacksmith of the village. He saw the horse-gear being held in front
of him and though not being concerned with the catastrophe he less was
not worried and not even revolted. He was a right man. He always liked
justice and did not support the distress of sescompatriotes. Being a "
soixante-huitard " before term it decided to pass to the action.
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One
day it bought a beautiful bread of the baker of at side, it made a beautiful
ball, quite round and put it to heat. When it saw the ostrich pointing
other end of the Souk the ball was already heated with white. It took the
bread, perforated it and put the ball well inside. Then it posed the bread
on a stone of the wall of opposite, well in obviousness. Feeling
the exquisite odor of the hot bread our " princess " was not made wait
and of a blow of nozzle it took it and the ingurgita. It took only one
step and it was the last
Learning the news,
the place and the lanes of the city emptied themselves like one day of
apocalypse. All this world had died of fear. No matter who in this moment
there could be shown of assassination. But Mr Sassi feared the scandal
and his place too. He made circulate this laconic medical bulletin: " In
this day of summer of year 1332 of the hégire the ostrich of the
bey succumbed following a heart attack caused by strong heats ".
And from
the small city carried out a quiet life until our days.
T.L.
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