The Rise of Soundiata: A Tale of Strength and Destiny

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Listen, listen, oh you, my dear children!
May the wind of the Sahel carry my words, and may the shade of the great baobab shelter our attentive souls…

I will tell you the story of Soundiata Keïta, the lion of Mali, the child once thought weak but whose destiny was written in the starry sky.

Once upon a time, in the kingdom of Mandé, there was a king named Naré Maghan Konaté. This king had two main wives: Sassouma Bérété, the first wife, proud and jealous, and Sogolon Kedjou, the second wife, humble but promised by the spirits to a glorious fate. From Sogolon was born a son, a child unlike any other… Soundiata.

But alas! Oh people, at seven years old, Soundiata could not walk. His legs refused to bear the weight of his body. The children of the village mocked him, and Sassouma Bérété, seeing this as an opportunity to break the mother and son, openly ridiculed them.

One day, Sogolon, the mother of Soundiata, wanted to pick baobab leaves to prepare a meal. But the road was long, and the leaves were scarce. Seeing this, Sassouma burst into laughter and said to Sogolon:

— "Look at your son, the one you claim will be a king! He can't even fetch the leaves of a tree to help you."

Humiliated, Sogolon returned home with a heavy heart. But Soundiata, the child of destiny, the son of prophecies, heard everything. He rose in his heart, even though his legs remained still.

Then, he summoned Farakourou, the king's blacksmith, and said firmly:

— "Forge me an iron rod, a staff worthy of a lion."

Farakourou obeyed, for he knew the fire of the ancestors burned within this boy.

When the staff was ready, Soundiata took it in his hands, and under the astonished eyes of the gathered people, he planted the rod into the ground, leaned on it with all his strength… and stood up.

The earth trembled beneath his feet. The sky seemed to hold its breath.

And, my brothers, my sisters… Soundiata moved forward towards the largest baobab in the village, an immense, ancient tree, strong like the kings of the past. He placed his hands on the trunk… and with a powerful cry, in a surge of strength and courage… he uprooted the baobab from its roots!

Yes, you heard me right! The boy who was once thought weak, the child who was mocked, carried the baobab on his shoulders and planted it in front of his mother's house.

— "Mother, from now on, you will no longer have to walk far for your leaves. Here is the baobab at your doorstep."

And the elders looked at one another, stunned. The young ones fell silent. Even Sassouma was left speechless.

That day, the lion had risen. That day, Soundiata's destiny was fulfilled.

For, my children, remember this: the baobab, like Soundiata, bends but never breaks. It is the quiet strength, the patience of the righteous, the promise that even the thickest shadow will one day reveal the light.