An African night’s entertainment;: A tale of vengeance

“Put your money on this sheepskin,” said the old man, “and if by the time I finish my tale, there is one of you awake, that man shall claim everything we have collected.” Young men, old men, children, women, they all put some money on the sheepskin beside the storyteller. He waited until they had sat down. He himself settled comfortably on the catifa and smiled. “It is a long tale of vengeance, adventure, and love. We shall sit here until the moon pales and still it will not have been told. It is enough entertainment for a whole night.” – from the Introduction to AN AFRICAN NIGHT’S ENTERTAINMENT