At a time when the creatures of the earth could still understand one another, a wealthy family head lived in a small village, within a fertile land. His elderly mother was still living with him.
In the large family compound, surrounded by the different huts of the household, several animals roamed freely: among them were a dog, a rooster, a goat, an ox, and a horse.
One day, in a village about two days' walk away, an old man, renowned for his wisdom, passed away. The head of the family had to leave to attend the funeral, accompanied by some other villagers.
"I feel very tired," said his old mother to him. "Come back as quickly as you can."
"Don't worry, Mother," he replied. "I won't be long. In five or six days at most, I will be back."
His mother blessed his journey, then went to lie down in her hut.
*At the moment of departure, the family head called the dog:
"Dog!" he said. "During my absence, you will be the guardian of the house. Stay here at the entrance of the compound. Watch everything happening inside and outside, and under no circumstances leave your post! If something happens inside, let the rooster, the goat, the ox, or the horse deal with it and restore order if needed. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, Master!" said the dog. And, wagging his tail, he bowed his head to be petted. The master gently patted his head, then, reassured, set off to join his traveling companions.
Two days after his departure, very early one morning, just as the first rays of the sun began to gild the roofs of the huts, the dog heard a strange noise coming from the old mother's hut. She was still resting under her mosquito net, a small oil lamp softly burning at her side.
The rooster was pecking around in front of the old woman's hut, searching for stray millet grains.
"Rooster! Rooster!" the dog called.
"What do you want, Dog?"
"What is that noise coming from the master's mother's hut?"
"It's two lizards fighting, clinging to the ceiling of the hut. They've been at it for quite a while now. They're fighting over the corpse of a dead fly."
"Please, Rooster, go ask them to stop fighting. And if they won't listen, force them to separate."
"What? Dog!" the rooster exclaimed indignantly, his comb trembling. "You ask me, the king of the barnyard, the one who announces the rising of the sun every morning, to intervene in a lizard squabble?"
"The master's mother is sick," insisted the dog. "The noise the lizards make could bother her. And besides, there's no such thing as a small fire. You never know what could happen..."
"Then go and separate them yourself."
"I can't. The master ordered me not to leave this spot..."
"Well, then, stay there! It's not my business. Anyway, who cares about a lizard fight!"
And, lifting the long feathers of his tail, the rooster resumed pecking here and there.
**The goat, bearded like an old patriarch, happened to pass by.
"Goat! Goat!" called the dog.
"What do you want?" said the goat.
"Would you go separate the two lizards fighting in our mistress's hut? No quarrel is too small..."
"Who do you take me for?" bleated the goat. "You dare address me, the undisputed master of an entire flock of goats, when even the rooster refused to handle this matter? If this fight bothers you, why not deal with it yourself?"
"I have been ordered not to leave the doorway."
"Well then, stay there, leave us in peace, and let the lizards fight! All that could happen is that they fall and crack their heads open, and it'll serve them right! Never has a lizard fight harmed anyone... A lizard quarrel, really!"
And tossing his beard disdainfully, the goat walked away.
Meanwhile, the two lizards continued to grapple, bite, kick, and make furious spitting noises. Worried, the dog called out to the ox, who was peacefully ruminating in a corner of the yard:
"Ox! Ox!"
"What do you want?" bellowed the ox, clearly disturbed from some pleasant dream.
"Two lizards are fighting in the mistress's hut. Would you go separate them? No quarrel is too small. No one knows what might result..."
"A lizard fight!" laughed the ox. "You want me, the strongest and oldest animal in this household, to intervene in a lizard quarrel? Say another word, Dog, and I'll gore you with my sharp horns!"
The dog flattened his ears and said no more. The lizards, spitting even more furiously, kept on fighting fiercely.
Seeing the horse pass by, the dog made one last attempt:
"Horse! Horse!"
"What's the matter, Dog?"
"Would you go separate the two lizards fighting over a dead fly in the old mother's hut? As you know, no quarrel is too small..."
"Really, Dog," neighed the horse, "you have a poor opinion of me! When the rooster, the goat, and the ox have refused to deal with this ridiculous matter, you want me, the noblest of animals, a purebred dedicated solely to racing, to go handle it? Take care of it yourself!"
"I can't," said the dog. "I was ordered not to leave my post."
"Well, stay at your post then, and leave us in peace! A lizard fight never hurt anyone."
And shaking his mane, the horse trotted off.
Distraught, not knowing what else to do, the dog fell silent. With his ears down and his muzzle resting on his front paws, he sadly watched the yard, where everyone went about their business, strolling or resting without a care in the world.
But then the two lizards, twisting and turning...
They detached from the ceiling and fell onto the oil lamp.
The burning wick slipped out of the lamp, brushed against the mosquito net, and the net caught fire. Soon, the bed was in flames.
The old mother cried out for help... Shouts rose from all around the compound...
Everyone rushed over, pulled the poor woman to safety, and after throwing many calabashes full of water onto the bed, they managed to extinguish the fire.
Alas, the poor old woman was badly burned.
She was still breathing, but.
His life hangs by a thread .