Week 6: Storytelling - Crying for Nothing

One day, I was taking a walk in the park when I found my path blocked mother and her young child. From the looks of this mother - young, utterly exhausted but trying to appear as if she had it all together - I gathered that this was her first child. She was squatting down next to her child, a toe-headed cherub girl of about three or four years old, who had plopped herself down in the middle of the walking path and was wailing, loudly, and refusing to be comforted.
"Are you hungry? Are you sleepy? Are you hurt?" the mother moaned, as if she had already asked these questions several times before I'd approached. The child did not answer, only continued to weep and wail as if she had not heard her mother at all. "I don't understand," continued the unfortunate mother, "what are you crying for? Why won't you tell me?"

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Sensing the woman's desperation, I chose this moment to step in.
"Oh she's just crying for nothing," I said to the mother kneeling down so that we were eye level.

"What?" replied the woman in utter exhaustion. She looked at me as if she had genuinely forgotten that there other humans on the planet apart from her and her daughter at that moment.

"You see," I began, "there was once a princess who lived in a small kingdom so small that she was able to walk to the kingdom neighboring her own on either side to visit her princess friend regularly. The two princesses often spent time together in one of the two kingdoms. One day, the princesses were visiting in the first princess' palace when two men were brought into the great hall. One of the men was adorned in fine clothing inlaid with gold and fine jewels. The other wore a threadbare garment that looked to be made from sackcloth. The first man announced that he and his companion, Nothing, had come seeking wives to take home to their native land with them. Despite his unimpressive appearance, the first princess suddenly felt a burning love for this Nothing that she herself could not explain. Nothing felt the same burning passion for the princess the moment he laid eyes on her, and the two decided to be married. The other princess laughed at the foolishness of the first princess for surely she would only know misery and poverty if she married this pauper. They chose to become the wife of the first man, cloaked in all his finery. 'His wealth must be greater than that of my own father,' she said to herself, 'I will live a very comfortable life, indeed, with this rich man!'" By this time, the child had stopped wailing and was merely sniffling as she stared intently at me with wide eyes. I continued.

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"After the two princess were married to their respective suitors, they all began the journey to the men's native land. When they arrived, both princesses were surprised to find that the man adorned in the fine clothing lived in a dirty, ugly, run-down hovel while Nothing, in his peasant garments, lived in a lush palace. It seemed that the two men had switched their clothing for fun! The second princess was greatly distressed to discover how she had been tricked as well as inherently wicked nature of her new husband and wept openly when the first princess visited as they were accustomed to doing. The first princess, troubled by her friend's misery, decided to ask her husband if the second princess could come to stay in his palace for a time. Nothing, being a kind-hearted and sympathetic man, obliged, so the second princess came to live at the palace.
"After living at the palace for a few days, the second princess sent word to her husband that she would not be returning to him. Her husband grew very angry and blamed Nothing for stealing his wife away. In his rage, the jealous husband killed Nothing while Nothing was visiting the man in his little hut. When the first princess discovered that her beloved had been killed, she wept bitterly. Not wishing to stay in the palace which held nothing but memories of her fallen husband, she began to roam the countryside. As she roamed, many of the children in that region noticed the princess as she walked and wept, and they inquired of her why she mourned. She told her sad story to the children and they, in their childish empathy, began also to weep aloud with the unhappy princess."

The child gave one final sniff and finally allowed her mother to pull her to her feet.
 "So you see," I concluded standing up straight, "whenever a child is crying for what appears to be no reason, it is said that the child is crying for nothing. Isn't that right?" I asked with a wink, turning to the child. She nodded solemnly, wiping her eyes.

"The princess appreciates your sympathy," I said to the little girl, "but she wants you to be happy now."
The girl nodded again and reached for her mother's hand. Thank you, the mother mouthed over her shoulder, a look of the sincerest gratitude in her eyes as the two walked away. I smiled in reply. I turned and walked the direction from which I had come, suddenly not much in the mood for a walk. I pulled out my cellphone and dialed my neighbor's number.
"Hey Chrissy," I said when she answered, "I actually don't think I will be able to babysit your daughter today."

The End

Author's Note: This is a retelling of the story Anansi and Nothing from the West African Folktales Unit. I used the storyteller perspective in order to use the story to explain a phenomenon - the inexplicably inconsolable child - and in a somewhat humorous manner. The original story is told from the perspective of the jealous husband, Anansi, who is a known trickster. It is not stated explicitly that the women that he and Nothing find to be their wives are princesses, but I figured if anything could get a little girl to stop crying, it would be a story about princesses.

 

Bibliography: "Anansi and Nothing." West African Folktales. William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair. 1917.