Folk Tale: Wolf and Nephew — Who Is The Biggest Liar?

The Biggest Liar

Cape Verdean Folk Tale

One day, not so long ago, Uncle Wolf and his Nephew were walking down a dusty road when Nephew said:

“Uncle, people say you are the greatest liar on the island.”

Uncle Wolf smiled, showing the tips of his teeth.

“They speak truly.”

“I do not believe it,” said Nephew. “Let us have a contest of lies. Whoever tells the biggest one wins.”

Uncle Wolf stopped in the road. He looked at his Nephew for a long moment.

“You wish to challenge me? Very well. Begin.”

Nephew cleared his throat.

“Last week,” he said, “I saw seven ships sailing across the sky.”

Uncle Wolf snorted.

“Yesterday, I saw the whole world on fire — and I put it out with one bucket of water.”

Nephew nodded and said: 

“The day before yesterday, I dreamed I was eating a feast. When I woke up, my belly was full.”

Uncle Wolf waved a paw at him.

“Last night, I fell from the highest mountain in Cape Verde, and I did not get a single scratch.”

They walked on, trading lies with every step.

People began to gather around them. As they listened, they smiled and nudged one another, for they knew a good contest when they heard one.

“I have swallowed the sun and spat it back at dawn,” said Nephew.

“I have ridden a fish across the ocean and arrived before I left,” answered Wolf.

“I had grown so tall my head brushed the moon.”

“I had grown so small that I lived inside a grain of rice for a year.”

At last, Nephew raised his hands.

“Enough, Uncle. I surrender. You truly are the greatest liar in all of Cape Verde.”

Uncle Wolf puffed out his chest. He straightened his back and lifted his chin.

“Of course I am!” he said. “I have always told you the truth.”

The people burst out laughing, for with those words Uncle Wolf showed himself to be the biggest liar of all.

And that’s how this story ends.

***
Beans upstream, beans downstream —
Let he, who knows best, tell it less badly!

Author of retelling: Mira Maria Belniak

Sources and References:

• Traditional oral narratives transmitted within Cape Verdean families and communities, documented by multiple collectors and storytellers across the islands;
• The Biggest Liar | A Cape Verdean Folktale, Resplendence Language Art, YouTube;