Page 6 - THE SLOUGHI REVIEW Special Edition 5

T H E S L O U G H I R E V I E W 0 6

AÏN ESSLOUGHIA

The Sloughia Spring
Translated from Arabic to French by Alla Kacimi El Hassani - Algeria
Translated from French by M.-D. Crapon de Caprona - USA
Algeria

When in this intense heat the harvest season arrived, the rider, a poet*, set out with his
family into the desert in search of pastures. He resided in a place far from the beautiful oases

of Ouled Djellal, rich in fresh water... but what remained of the stalks of ears after the harvest
was a necessity for his herd, which made him choose to endure the long journey into the
heart of the desert.

And on a full moon night of the long summer nights, he heard the horse of an old rider
running from afar... It was a messenger from the sheikh of the tribe inviting him to attend the
wedding feast of his son. He prepared his mount and decorated himself with the finest
clothes he owned, bade farewell to his family at dawn and traveled to reach the village where
the celebratory ceremony was taking place.

After having covered long distances, while traveling he saw a Sloughia lying on the side of the
road, almost dying of extreme thirst and hunger. So, he dismounted and approached her with
careful steps. As soon as he reached her while she was still, and as she moved, he was
surprised to see little puppies next to her. Some of them were crying from extreme hunger

and some of them were dying. He was very sad.

Then he jumped on his horse and returned with all speed to his tent. His wife was surprised
at his return, and when she inquired about the matter, he said to her: “I met some guests on
the way, so bring the best you have. Food and drinks to give them.” And this Bedouin quickly
prepared a bowl of dates and meat and a cup of milk.

The rider returned quickly to the Sloughia without telling anyone, but on the way the bowl of
water and milk had fallen, and the heat had become so intense that he almost died of thirst.
The story goes that when he reached her and presented her with a piece of food, she began
to eat slowly, and every time she ate a little, she raised her sad eyes and looked at the sky, but
he suffered greatly from thirst until his throat dried up. She ate a little, then looked at him,
then looked up at the sky, and it was only a few moments until a spring of cold, blue water
exploded from underneath.

He began to drink and after that thanked God who had saved him, as if the Sloughia had
begged God to save him just as he had saved her. The story goes that this spring came and
was called Aïn Essloughia and it continued to produce water for many years and saved many

people. Shepherds and nomads are thirsty.

* The rider wrote a poem about this later.