No one dies of thirst in our country.
Things must not be confused and seen as the same.
Thus the cow's teats surpass
and rank first among those of all animals.”
After Hammadi ended his chant
Dembourou had the good idea of repeating
the words the scorpion had taught.
A salamander 38 then emerged
from the sand by the pond,
came over to them and chanted:
“Oh you sons of Adam! Worthy
of pity is your present state.
1, the blended animal,
am naturally heavy but far from useless;
my dress is yellow;
my husband's is red.
Both are striped dark.
I am present in every place
that Geno has covered with sand.
I have come to offer you a solution,
to answerthe hopes your souls bear.
Yes, I belong
to the race of lizards.
Yes, I seem like

Notes (Lilyan Kesteloot)
38. The salamander is the only animal met in the country of the dwarfs that the account will not explicate later on; we have sought to bridge this gap (insufficiently, to be sure), with an inquiry into the role and meanings that this curious reptile represents in the populations neighboring the Fulɓe who tell the tale of Kaydara. Among the Bamana, for example, the salamander is seen as bringing good luck. The Bamana in fact do not eat salamander, whereas they do eat lizard. In addition, it is used in the composition of certain remedies, and its appearance is a sign of quick recovery if one is ill. Among the Marka, the salamander is called the “ladies' serpent,” for it is entirely harmless; it is seen as being both gentle and sacred. Finally, there is a popular legend in which the salamander, when it becomes old, metamorphoses into a two-headed serpent; is this because its tail grows out of proportion, or does this explanation reveal another legend we do not know? And, what is the exact meaning of that metamorphosis? The question remains open.