LA BERCEUSE DU LOUP

I like to reminisce of an old song my father sang to put us to bed -- and, since, i have rediscovered, in this nursery rhyme of my forefathers, a sweetly profound philosophy. So I put together this candid poem to sing it to you, regretting not being able to say it with his voice.

	We need to fetch the wolf (bis)
	To come and eat Tonton (bis)
	Tonton doesn't want to sleep,
	The wolf doesn't want to eat...
	Tonton: sleep, katlingo

	We need to fetch the dog,
	To come and bite the wolf,
	The dog doesn't want to bite the wolf,
	The wolf doesn't want to eat Tonton,
	Tonton doesn't want to sleep...
	Tonton: sleep, Katlingo.

	[etc.]

All the characters of our little drama refused to act nastily.
Tonton takes advantage of this, rather negative, sympathy of animals and elements to delay his slumber and his entrance into the world where angels play with kids.
But Man appears in this old complaint, in the last stance, and it tells us how world really is wicked because of Man:

	You have to fetch the butcher,
	To kill the cow,
	The butcher agrees......

See the upheaval here: none of the previous characters wanted, but the butcher agrees to execute the cow, and it will thus be the mischievousness of Man which will convince all the others to become as wicked, to protect himself:

	The butcher agrees to kill the cow,
	The cow agrees to drink the water,
	The water agrees to extinguish the fire,
	The fire agrees to burn the stick,
	The sticks agrees to beat the dog,
	The dog agrees to bite the wolf,
	The wolf agrees to eat Tonton,
	Tonton agrees to sleep...
	Tonton sleeps, Katlingo.

And as this last "Katlingo" died out from his lips, the sweet father deposited as sweetly Tonton in his bed, as Tonton had agreed to sleep, the fists hard clenched.