Suriname folk-lore

122. Wąn lei̯ Papa.

Wan papa bɛn dɛ. A bɛn 'abi wąn umą pikin. Dąn a bɛn lobi ɛ̨ŋ so tɛ ... a gō tai̯gi Konu taki, ‘Na pikin dɩsi dɛ meki strɔ trǫ' gotu.’ Konu taki, ‘Yu musu sɛni hɛm kɔ̨' dia.’ Ma di na medjɛ gō, a no mą' sabi, bika' na papa bɛn lei̯, a no bɛn sabi so wąn sani.

Na pikɩ̨' krei̯ na her' neti so tɛ ... na mɩndri neti a yeri wąn suma na na dɔro. Di a opo na dɔro, a si wą' Bakru kɔ̨' dapɛ. A taki, ‘Efu mi lɛpi yu, są' yu dɛ gi' mi?’ A taki, ‘Mi dɛ gi yu wąn moi̯ krara.’ Dąn na Bakru bɩgin fō sɩ̨ŋgi, taki:

Traplɛnt wɩltyɛ
Snorɛ, snorɛ.
Traplɛnt wɩltjɛ
Horɛ, horɛ.
Dratjɛ rɛk, i ląŋgsam haut.

Wɛ, ɛn so na medjɛ kɔ̨' sribi, tɛ fa a wei̯ki, 'a her' kamera furu nąŋga gotu. Di Konu kɔ̨' luku manantɩ̨n, a prisiri, a taki, ɛfu a meki mɔro di neti, tamara tɛ ɛ̨ŋ kɔm ɛ̨ŋ sa tro nąŋga hɛm.

Nei̯ti na mei̯tjɛ bɩgin fō krei̯ baka. Na Bakru kɔm baka, a taki, ‘Ɛfu mi wroko gi yu, są' yu dɛ gi' mi?’ Na metjɛ sɔri ɛm somɛni

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sani, ma a no wani. Dąn a tai̯g' gi ɛm taki, ‘Yu mu' gi' mi na sani di yu lɔbi na grɔ̨'-tapu mɔro furu. Ma na baka tu yari mi sɑ kɔm teki hɛm.’

Di Konu tro nąŋga na mei̯tjɛ kaba, dɛm kɔ̨' kɩsi wą' pikin. Di na pikin 'abi wą' yari, wą' dei̯ dąn na Bakru kɔm drapɛ, kɔm teki na sani di na mei̯tyɛ lɔbi mɔro furu na grɔ̨'-tapu. A ɑksi ɛ̨ŋ, sąn a bɛn lɔbi mɔro furu. Na na pikin, na mei̯tjɛ bɛn lɔbi. A taki, ‘Dąn yu mu' gi' mi ɛm.’ Ɛn na mei̯tjɛ bɛn sari tumusi, fō gi' na pikin. Dąn 'a meitjɛ bɛgi na Bakru taki, ɛf a no ką' tek' wąn tra sani, na presi fō dati. A taki, ‘Wąn sani mi sɑ du gi' yu. Mi sɑ kɔm meki yu lei̯ mi nɛ̨m. Ɛfu yu sabi mi nɛ̨m, dąn mi no sɑ' teki na pikin.’

Di na Bakru kɔm, a kari furu nɛm, ma a no bɛn sabi nɛm fō na Bakru. Dąn a sɛni soldati fō go suku ala mąn pikin nɛ̨m kɔm gi' ɛ̨ŋ. Ma di wąn fō den soldati waka na busi pasi, dąn a si wąn 'oso. Dąn a go luku, a si wąn patu nąŋga wąn spųn na ɩni na tap' fai̯a. Dąn a si wąn pɩkɩ̨' mąn dɛ a dansi. A taki, ‘Tidɛ mi 'ɛ bɔri, tide mi 'ɛ frai̯, tamara mi 'ɛ tek' Konim pikin. A sü̯iti ba! No wąn suma no sabi taki na Akantiudu, mi nɛm.’ Di na soldati yeri na nɛm, dąn a skrifi ɛ̨ŋ, a go 'esi na 'oso, a tai̯gi na mei̯djɛ taki, na so wąn sani ɛ̨ŋ si. Dɛn na mei̯tjɛ skrifi na nɛm gi' na Bakru kɔm.

Fa-i-si a kari na nɛm fō na Bakru, Akantiudu, wą'trǫ' a fadǫ' dɛdɛ, bika' no wąn suma bɛn dɛ fō sabi ɛ̨ŋ nɛm. Ɛn so meki na meidjɛ no lasi na pikin. A wɩni na Bakru.

122. Rumpelstiltskin.¹

There was a father. He had a daughter. Then he loved her so till... he went to tell the King [to] say, ‘This child makes straw turn into gold.’ Then King said, ‘You must send her here.’ But when the girl went, she did not know [how to do this], because the father had lied, for she did not know such a thing.

The girl cried the whole night so till... at midnight she heard someone at the door. When she opened the door, she saw a Bakru² come there. He said, ‘If I help you, what will you give me?’ She said, ‘I will give you a beautiful bead.’ Then the Bakru began to sing, say:

Traplent wiltje
Snore, snore.
Traplent wiltje
Hore, hore.
Dratje rek, i langsam haut.³

Well, and so the girl went to sleep, and when she awoke, the entire room was filled with gold. In the morning when the King came to look, he was pleased, and he said, if she made some more that night, he would marry her the next day when he came.

At night the girl began to cry again. The Bakru came back, and he said, ‘If I work for you, what will you give me?’ The girl

1 Told by 1. Compare U.S. (Sea Islands), Parsons (II) 23-24, No. 11, and, for general comparative data, Bolte u. Polívka, i, 490-498, No. 55.

2 See above, pp. 105-107.

3 Song No. 147.

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showed him many things, but he did not want them. Then he said to her, said, ‘You must give me the thing you love best in the world. But I shall come back to take it two years later.’

After the King had married the girl, they had a child. When the child was one year old, then one day the Bakru came there, he came to take the thing the girl loved more than anything in the world. He asked her what she loved best. It was the child the girl loved. He said, ‘Then you must give me it.’ And the girl was very sad about having to give the child. Then the girl begged the Bakru, said, if he could not take something in place of that. He said, ‘One thing I will do for you. I will come to let you guess my name. If you know my name, then I will not take your child.’

When the Bakru came, she called many names, but she did not know the name of the Bakru. Then she sent soldiers to go in search of all boys' names for her. But while one of the soldiers was walking along a bush path, then he saw a house. Then he went to look, and he saw a pot on the fire with a spoon in it. Then he saw a little man who was dancing. He said, ‘Today I boil, today I fry, tomorrow I will take the King's child. It is sweet, brother! No one knows that Akantiudu is my name.’ When the soldier heard the name, then he wrote it down, and he hastened to the house to tell the girl, to say that he had seen such a thing. Then the girl wrote the name for the Bakru when he came.

No sooner did she call the name of Bakru, Akantiudu, than he fell down dead, because no person was to know his name. And so it happened that the girl did not lose her child. She won from the Bakru.