ADULT FOLKTALE- MARY AND JOHN

  

                                                          

MARY AND JOHN

Once upon a time when marriages between relatives were allowed, there lived two siblings who loved each other so much; John and Mary. The two did everything together and were hardly apart. One day, they went to the river to bath. Mary told John to take off his clothes and bath. John was shy and so he also told his sister that he would only do so if she took off her clothes too. They agreed to take off their clothes at the same time and they did.

Meanwhile, when John saw the beads around Mary’s waist, he asked her to marry him but she refused. However, John insisted on asking her to marry him. When they got back home, John told their parents that he wanted to build a house for himself and they allowed him. He built his house far from his parents’ house and he never returned home ever since. This got his parents worried.

One afternoon, the mother cooked Nsima/Pap with beef and went to John's house to give it to him. When she got to the house, she knocked on the door but there was no answer. She started singing a song to him to open the door. The song went like this:

John, please, please open the door,

I’m your mother and have brought you food.

Don’t starve please John,

Open the door now open the door X2

But there was still no answer and his mother went back home. Later, his other sister Rose also went to see John to give him food but still he did not open. She tried to sing the same song but to no avail. His father also went and sang the same song but still John did not answer him. Mary was asked to go and try her luck as well. Fortunately, when she knocked and started singing the same song the others sang, John heard Mary’s voice and he immediately opened the door for her. John hugged his sister and immediately started counting her beads he saw at the river.

The children’s father decided to go back to see John if he had opened for Mary and he found him counting Mary's beads.  He never said a word he just went home and told their mother that the children were in love. Their parents permitted them to marry each other and they did. 

Do not try this at home. It is a sin and an abomination!!