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Overview
An ant prepares to seek a husband by applying kohl, colouring her lips and scenting herself. A jackal meets her and proposes, but she asks him to speak so that she can judge him by his language. After hearing him she refuses. She then meets a cricket, asks it to speak and accepts it as her husband. The two slaughter a sheep and construct a tent from its fleece, using the shin bones as pegs and the thighs as posts. The cricket also brings flour for their household.
While the ant sifts the flour, the cricket tells her to shake the dust from her head. She shakes it and her head flies away. He laughs so intensely that he bursts and dies. The printed account ends there, with no restoration of the bride or a later second marriage. Its insect speech, cosmetics and animal-material tent are represented actions within this particular fatal wedding story. Basset identifies Salah ben es Sa’ad as its contributor at Sedrata in 1896; that credit is separate from the contributor of the neighbouring boar tale.
Origins & earliest records
Basset (1897), no. 88, Les noces de la fourmi, complete pp. 50–51. Source note 163, p. 274, names Salah ben es Sa’ad at Sedrata in 1896 and refers to Notes sur le Chaouia, pp. 21–22 and 24–28.
Records & interpretation
Original pages 89–90 read through the cricket’s death. Original source note 163 inspected on page 313, printed p. 274.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Nouveaux contes berbères
No. 88, full pp. 50–51; source note 163, p. 274.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary communicated animal tale in collected translation; original facsimiles inspectedOriginal complete animal narrative and source noteResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
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