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once upon a time there was a famine in the land of the animals one day the lizard was passing by a farm when he saw the farmer approach a rock the lizard hid and watched as the farmer rolled the rock away to reveal the entrance into a cave the farmer went inside and came out a few minutes later with a handful of yams and rolled the rock back into its place the lizard waited for the farmer to leave then he too rolled away the rock and went into the cave inside the cave were several stacks of yams | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
there was a famine in the animal kingdom and ijapa the tortoise was finding that food was hard to come by however he found out that all the birds in the forest were preparing for the great annual bird feast in the sky and those who had been lucky enough to attend this annual event could testify to the abundance of food at the feast since the feast took place in the sky only the birds could attend but ijapa the tortoise was not one to give up so easily he went to every bird and borrowed a feather making up one excuse or the other | 0 | nigerian folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
there was a famine in the animal kingdom this famine had lasted so long that any existing source of food had been completely depleted the animals knew they had to do something real quick or they would all die off one by one they called a meeting where every animal was in attendance and they determined that they had to do something drastic it was decided that the mothers would be sacrificed to ensure the continuation of the animal races they would eat their mothers the dog who had been at the meeting decided to hide his mother he was not going to sacrifice his mother so he hid her in the sky everyday he would go to a particular spot where he sang a song asking his mother to drop a rope | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
ijapa the tortoise was not always a bald animal he used to have hair on his head however due to unfortunate circumstances which the tortoise brought upon his own head literally speaking he lost it all it happened a very long time ago long before the tortoise broke his back but that is another story altogether the dog and his family had prepared a feast of yam porridge the aroma reached the tortoise who immediately followed his nose which led him to the dogs home the tortoise went in and saw that a big pot of yam porrigde was cooking | 0 | nigerian folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
ijapa the tortoise and his wife yorinbo have been married for a long time but do not have a child this made yorinbo very sad he decided to seek help from a medicine man the medicine man prepared a powerful potion that would make yonribo pregnant he mixed it into a delicious smelling beef stew and handed it to ijapa the tortoise to give to his wife the tortoise carried the pot and set off for home | 0 | nigerian folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
once there was a king who had been trying very hard to capture the elephant for his personal collection but that prize had proved elusive all the hunters in the kingdom had tried but failed to capture the elephant so the king promised anyone who could capture the elephant half of his kingdom the tortoise heard about this and went to the king to accept the challenge the king was very amused | 0 | nigerian folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
this is the story of how the world was created according to the yorubas of west africa the entire world was filled with water when god decided to create the world god sent his messenger obatala to perform the task of creating the world obatala brought along his helper a man named oduduwa as well as a calabash full of earth and a chicken | 0 | nigerian folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
one day the tortoise was walking along a forest path when he came across a palm tree that had plenty of palm kernel fruits the tortoise was hungry and the fruits looked juicy and ripe to eat if only he could reach one of them he got hold of a long stick and successfully shook some of the fruits off the tree unfortunately before he was able to pick up these fruits from the ground they rolled into a hole he shook more fruits off the tree but the same thing happened the tortoise then decided to follow the fallen fruits and find them wherever they fell so he went into the hole but no could not find any of the fruits the fruits must have rolled further down the hole he thought so he continued down the hole walking for hours until he dropped right out of the hole into what appeared to be a village square the tortoise had walked all the way down to the spirit world as he looked around he found a spirit happily chewing on one of his palm kernels the very last palm kernel the tortoise exclaimed those are my palm kernels you have to give them back the spirit apologized he did not know that the fruits belonged to the tortoise but promised to give the tortoise a special drum in exchange | 0 | nigerian folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
there was a great king who ruled in the village of gbogan a long long time ago at a time when animals could talk the king took very ill for a long period of time and was at the point of death after several attempts by medicine men from within the kingdom to heal the king failed ikumejakako the dreaded herbalist who dwelt in the evil forest was consulted he examining the king and pronounced that the king would have to take a special brew made of elephant body parts or die within seven days the king and his chiefs wondered how they would capture a big and dangerous animal like an elephant the king after consultation with his chiefs made an announcement throughout the kingdom that anyone who would capture an elephant within seven days would get half of the kingdom and his beautiful daughter as a bride the tortoise came forward to accept the challenge he made a request of the king that a very deep pit be dug and that the pit should be concealed with raffia and mats and that a throne fit for a king should be set on top of the pit | 0 | nigerian folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
once upon a time there was a famine in the land of kurumi in southwestern nigeria everyone was looking rather thin and unhealthy because very limited food was available however the tortoise observed that his friend the dog has looking very rosy and fat he wondered what the secret of the dogs well being was and decided to pay him a visit and find out tortoise my good friend you know we have been friends for a very long time please tell me the secret of your rosy cheeks and your fat stomach so that i do not die of hunger dog there is no secret to it my good friend its just hard work and living a peaceful and serene life tortoise my friend do you like as im looking haggard i know that you have found a way to beat this general hunger please tell me i can keep a secret dog tortoise my friend i have told you there is no secret or do you think id lie to you the tortoise wasnt satisfied he knew that somehow the dog had managed to find a source of living not known to anyone so he decided to shadow the dogs movements the next day he observed the dog leave home very early in the morning with a basket and tailed him all the way to the neighboring village making sure he was at some safe distance behind the dog all the time | 0 | nigerian folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
a very long time ago in a little village somewhere in the western part of the country now known as nigeria was a king who had three wives but no children he needed a male heir to succeed him on the throne and he was worried he decided to seek help from the ifa priest as he was growing old and time was short the ifa priest came to the palace with his divinity board and cowries with which he consulted the oracle for a solution to the kings dilemma the oracle revealed that the king would have one son but did not reveal which of the wives would bear the son the oracle revealed that each would get pregnant after eating from a potion the priest would prepare the ifa priest returned with a pot of stew into which he had mixed the potion for the three wives to share the two older wives however were often wicked to the youngest wife so they decided to keep the pot of stew for themselves they believed that if the youngest wife did not eat from the stew then they could be sure that she was not bearing the only son when the youngest wife discovered the empty pot of stew she started to cry for she had lost the opportunity to bear a child in desperation she scraped the pot with her fingers licking every bit of leftover stew she could get very soon the two senior wives were spotting rounded bellies | 0 | nigerian folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
three brothers were traveling through the dense rain forest jungle they had been traveling on foot for almost a full day and night was falling they needed a suitable place to rest for the night a place where they would be safe from prowling animals of the night they were in luck because before darkness fell they spotted a little isolated hut in the distance when they arrived at the hut they met a kindly old woman who invited them in and offered them a place to spend the night the old woman offered them some porridge which she was cooking in an iron pot over some firewood the brothers declined for they were very exhausted and also did not want to impose on this old woman who living alone had cooked enough porridge only for one person the old woman gave them some mats and showed them into a room where they could lay down and have a good nights rest soon the entire hut was dark and everyone in it was asleep | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
one day ijapa the tortoise became determined to make sure that he was the wisest creature in the whole universe he did not want any other creature challenging his superior wisdom so he decided to gather all the wisdom in the world for himself he went round the world collecting all the wisdom into a gourd which he hung around his neck when he was satisfied that he was done he decided to hide the gourd where nobody would have access to it as he was worried that someone may steal from his wisdom | 0 | nigerian folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
tortoise and monkey were having a discussion when monkey began to boast about how he would become king of all the animals saying of all the animals i am most like man so i should be king tortoise replied you cannot be king for lion is king and is very powerful monkey replied yet man has power over lion and i am most like man tortoise felt threatened by this claim not knowing what might happen if monkey decided to start acting like man you see tortoise was not powerful but what he lacked in strength he made up in wit and he knew and understood every animals behavior so that he could outwit them all but if the monkey was going to start acting in unpredictable ways he did not want any of that tortoise decided to act quickly to put monkey back in his place | 0 | nigerian folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
a long time ago the chipmunk looked no different from the squirrel he had no stripes this story tells how he got the distinguishing stripes that we know today in the deep jungle where all the animals lived a season of very heavy rains had caused the forest to grow so thick that it was difficult for the animals to move around the jungle paths they held a meeting to discuss solutions and decided that every animal that moves on the ground would contribute money to pay for the clearing of the jungle paths birds who flew in the sky were exempt from this tax the chipmunk who was tiny in size but disproportionately huge in stubbornness said to the other animals i will pay no tax even if it means i never walk on the ground again | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
there was a man named kiigbo kiigba who lived a very long time ago in a little yoruba village like many of the villagers he was a very hardworking farmer but he had one major flaw he was very stubborn in fact his name in yoruba means one who does not hear nor accept since he neither listens to anybody nor consider anybodys suggestions like many villages in the ancient yoruba world the village was inhabited by both people and spirits but to avoid disputes amongst these two groups a law was passed to enable spirits to roam the land on certain days when all people would stay home as you might have guessed kiigbo kiigba would not obey this law and would insist on going about his normal business on days elected for spirits on the first day that people were asked to stay in their homes while spirits were out kiigbo kiigba picked his hoe and cutlass and headed to his farm | 0 | nigerian folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
a long time ago in a little village there lived a man who had two wives and two daughters one daughter from each wife bisi was the daughter of the first wife and was only a few months older than the second wifes daughter ranti the family lived together in the same compound so the girls often played together but bisi was fond of bullying her younger half sister just like her mom was fond of being mean to rantis mother ranti would go crying to her mother and sometimes she would tell her mother how she wished to hurt bisi just like bisi had hurt her but her mother would tell her never give bad in return for bad nothing good comes of that so ranti remained good and continued to show love in return no matter what bisi did to her one cloudy day rantis mother passed away after a brief illness without her mother around it did not take long for bisi to crank up her level of meanness towards ranti soon ranti was doing all of bisis chores while bisi just lazed around dressed up ate slept or visited friends | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
a very long time ago there was a village where many of the women were barren they desperately wanted children and decided to ask the spirit that lived inside the big iroko tree for help one by one they went to visit the iroko tree to beg the iroko tree spirit for help the iroko tree asked each of the women who showed up what she would give in return for bearing a child and woman after woman promised the iroko tree spirit goats yams handwoven cloth or whatever it was she sold for a living as many of these women were traders who sold their wares at a weekly market in an open field one of the women who was named oluronbi also approached the iroko tree for help | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
this is a very old story told when the world was young it is about how mr ananse the sly and greedy one among all the animals in the forest outsmarted himself as the story goes ananse that is still his name but did you know that his first name was kweku because he was born on a wednesday one day ananse collected all the wisdom in the world and decided to keep it all in a large pot for himself now he said i have all the wisdom of the world for myself at least that was what he thought being such a greedy person | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
one of the few animals that was able to outsmart kweku ananse kweku being his first name because he was born on a wednesday was adun the plains baboon and although this happened a very long long time ago baboon and ananse are still enemies and it is said that one of the reasons baboon scratches a lot is that he often feels kweku ananse crawling all over his skin and in the hairs on his back he just cannot stand kweku ananse well as i said it happened so long ago that most of the details have been forgotten and except the old people few really remember what exactly happened between kweku ananse and adun the baboon a very very long time ago as the story goes kweku ananse and adun the baboon were the best of friends and went everywhere together most of the time ananse wanted to just hang on the hairs of baboon and baboon treated ananse with a great deal of respect and love it is said that they were closer than brothers all the animals admired them because they were happy and protected each other they ate together and played together each day among the trees and at night baboon would find a large tree to make a bed with some leaves while ananse just hung from the largest branch on the tree away from all predators some folks said it was a symbiotic existence a sort of mutual admiration society that benefits each other one very fine day as they were foraging for food they came upon a marsh and across the marsh was a banana tree now everyone knows how much baboon likes to feed on ripe bananas and so they crossed the marsh by stepping over the rocks where the frog and the turtle rest to soak the sunlight each day | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
there was a king who had a daughter named bola bola had never spoken a word and the king was very distressed he had done all that he could to make bola speak powerful medicine men had brewed her all kinds of herbs and recited incantations but nothing worked the king promised his daughter and half his kingdom to anybody who can make his daughter speak tortoise heard of this reward and set out to get it he bought a bottle of honey and placed it by a bush near where bola lived while he hid himself when bola came by and saw the bottle of honey she put her hand in it immediately tortoise jumped out of his hiding place and grabbed bola by the hand | 0 | nigerian folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
there was a man who had two wives the senior wife was called the iyale while the junior wife was called the iyawo the senior wife the iyale was very mean to the iyawo she made life very hard for the iyawo such that the iyawo never had enough food to feed her children or nice clothes to wear the nicer the iyawo was the meaner the iyale became one day the junior wife the iyawo needed to get some firewood since the iyale would not help her watch her baby she had to take her baby into the forest with her she placed her baby under a tall tree while she went to gather some wood she finished gathering her firewood and returned to get her baby but the baby was gone yey she cried ta lo gbo mo mi o who took my baby | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
a farmer and his wife had one son named ajadi they were not rich but they never lacked for food for no matter how bad times got they always managed to grow enough food to feed their small family with a little left over to trade ajadis parents looked forward to the day he would join them in their farming profession with more hands on the farm they could increase the output from their land and more importantly ajadi could learn how to fend for himself in the way his parents had before him but alas to the parents dismay ajadi announced that he wished to become a hunter a hunter his father exclaimed a hunters life is unpredictable one day you find food and for many more you may find nothing he added ajadis mother added its risky you never know what dangerous animals you may run into but ajadis heart was set on being a hunter and he told his parents how he felt he thought he would be happier as a hunter than as a farmer even though his parents were unhappy about his decision they decided to support him however they could and even helped him purchase his new hunting gear so ajadi became a hunter and a skillful and successful hunter he was no day passed that he did not bring back some game which his mother could add into their soup pot for the evening but one day came when his luck seemed to have deserted him his hunting skills and prowess seemed to be of no use to him as there was just no game to be found in the forest | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
this story took place a long time ago at a time when fire was scarce and only those who were very skilled at controlling fire had it whenever they wanted others who needed fire would go to such people to tap some fire from them but there was a little village where they only man who could control fire was also a monster he had huge teeth and he looked horrible whenever people came to his house to tap fire they would laugh at him and he would get so angry that he would sometimes eat them up in the same village there lived a man who had seven children the family needed fire so the man sent his first child to get fire from the monster | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
olómúroro was a greedy monster who preyed on little children he was not a good looking creature but children did not seem scared of him because he sang so sweetly he would approach the children with song and then take their food away tojo was one of the little children that olómúroro preyed upon toyos father was a farmer and his mother was a trader every morning as soon as the first cock crowed tojos father would leave for the farm tojos mother would make him some akara for breakfast and some fufu and egusi soup for lunch before leaving for the market where she sold produce from their farm every morning as tojo got ready to eat his breakfast olómúroro would appear singing and tojo would respond olómúroro má a wolè téré nò nò jantakò olómúroro welcome watch your step olómúroro would ask | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
a long time ago in the village of ipetumodu there lived a poor woman this woman was so poor that she did not have any soup for her eba the eba is a starchy paste made from cassava flour and it is rather unappetizing to eat all by itself across the street from this poor woman lived another woman who cooked egusi soup everyday one day as the poor woman was sitting down to her only meal for the entire day a small bowl of eba the aroma from her neighbors cooking wafted down through her window perhaps she will be kind enough to let me have a little soup for my eba she thought | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
back in the days when tortoise could talk and the animals ruled the forest famines were frequent and those animals who could not survive the drought would wither and die there was one such period when the tortoise had become lean he had survived as long as he could on his wit but he soon began to suffer like all the other animals as every available source of food disappeared hah not every source tortoise perked up for he had noticed that bird still had flesh on her skin beneath her feathers i must find out where she gets her food tortoise thought as soon as tortoise had the opportunity to talk to bird he demanded that bird take him to his food source bird denied having a food source but tortoise threatened to reveal to all the other animals that bird was holding out on them so bird agreed to take tortoise to her food source if i show you where i get my food you must promise never to tell anyone bird told tortoise and tortoise readily agreed bird lent tortoise some feathers and they flew together over many rivers until they reached the ocean there they saw the water goddess the water goddess was upset with bird for bringing tortoise but nevertheless she gave tortoise a magic igbako you must not reveal the magic of the igbako to anyone outside your immediate family the water goddess warned tortoise reveal secrets me never tortoise said okay then ask the igbako what its duty is the water goddess replied before she disappeared into the depths of the sea igbako what is your duty tortoise asked the igbako and it responded i make huge lumps of iyan i make huge lumps of eba such that the whole world eats and yet leaves leftovers at this iyan eba and various soups meats and fruits appeared tortoise immediately began to attack the food but no matter how much he ate or how fast he ate he could not finish all the food after he recovered from his binge he flew back home with the igbako when he got home he called his entire family together and brought out the igbako igbako what is your duty tortoise asked and the igbako replied | 0 | nigerian folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
if you live in the rain forest climates of west africa you will be very familiar with the buzz of the mosquito in your ears on hot humid evenings even if theres only one mosquito and only one person in an area as large as a football field the mosquito always seems to find that persons ear and buzz in it if youve slapped yourself in the face because of a mosquito you know what im talking about heres the story that explains the mosquitos attraction to the ear a very long time ago when ear was a beautiful woman and ready for marriage there were several suitors wooing her there were big creatures there were small creatures there were fast and sleek creatures and there were slow ones but they all professed their love for ear and demonstrated their skills | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
tortoise and hare were chatting when tortoise declared i bet i can beat you in a race hare was stunned for a minute he wasnt sure he heard tortoise correctly did you say something about a race hare asked tortoise elaborated i challenge you to a race and i want all the animals present to witness your defeat hare started to laugh this is the most ridiculous thing i have ever heard he said it will take you many years to cover the distance i can run in one day it is silly to race against you everyone knows that i will win but tortoise pleaded with hare until hare agreed to the race and a date was agreed upon | 0 | nigerian folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
there was a man with three sons and a precious cow the man was was very proud of his cow because she gave birth to a healthy calf every year one day the man asked his eldest son to take the cow grazing the son took the cow to the fields where green grass grew and then to the water hole for a nice long drinklater the man asked his cow cow did you have enough to eat hmm the cow replied your wicked son took me to the wilderness where no grass grows then he tied me up and went to sleep the man was angry with his eldest son and sent him away from home the eldest son wandered through green meadows parched lands and waded across little ponds until he arrived at a farmhouse there he met a kind farmer who taught him how to farm in both dry and wet seasons the farmer told the boy one day i will have to send you back to your father so you can teach him how to farm then he can depend less on that wicked cow meanwhile the boys father had called his second son go and graze the cow she must be well fed and washed the second son took the cow to the green fields where she grazed then he gave her a bath and tied her to a tree to dry | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
in the olden days all the stories which men told were stories of nyankupon the chief of the gods spider who was very conceited wanted the stories to be told about him accordingly one day he went to nyankupon and asked that in future all tales told by men might be anansi stories instead of nyankupon stories nyankupon agreed on one condition he told spider or anansi that he must bring him three things the first was a jar full of live bees the second was a boa constrictor and the third a tiger spider gave his promise he took an earthen vessel and set out for a place where he knew were numbers of bees when he came in sight of the bees he began saying to himself they will not be able to fill this jar—yes they will be able—no they will not be able until the bees came up to him and said what are you talking about mr | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
there once lived in fanti land a man named father anansi he possessed all the wisdom in the world people came to him daily for advice and help one day the men of the country were unfortunate enough to offend father anansi who immediately resolved to punish them after much thought he decided that the severest penalty he could inflict would be to hide all his wisdom from them he set to work at once to gather again all that he had already given when he had succeeded as he thought in collecting it he placed all in one great pot | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
near anansis miserable little hut there was a fine palace where lived a very rich man called nothing nothing and anansi proposed one day to go to the neighbouring town to get some wives accordingly they set off together nothing being a rich man wore a very fine velvet cloth while anansi had a ragged cotton one while they were on their way anansi persuaded nothing to change clothes for a little while promising to give back the fine velvet before they reached the town he delayed doing this however first on one pretext then on another—till they arrived at their destination anansi being dressed in such a fine garment found no difficulty in getting as many wives as he wished poor nothing with his ragged and miserable cloth was treated with great contempt at first he could not get even one wife at last however a woman took pity on him and gave him her daughter | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
there had been a long and severe famine in the land where anansi lived he had been quite unable to obtain food for his poor wife and family one day gazing desperately out to sea he saw rising from the midst of the water a tiny island with a tall palm tree upon it he determined to reach this tree—if any means proved possible—and climb it in the hope of finding a few nuts to reward him how to get there was the difficulty this however solved itself when he reached the beach for there lay the means to his hand in the shape of an old broken boat it certainly did not look very strong but anansi decided to try it his first six attempts were unsuccessful—a great wave dashed him back on the beach each time he tried to put off he was persevering however and at the seventh trial was successful in getting away he steered the battered old boat as best he could and at length reached the palm tree of his desire having tied the boat to the trunk of the tree—which grew almost straight out of the water—he climbed toward the nuts plucking all he could reach he dropped them one by one down to the boat to his dismay every one missed the boat and fell instead into the water until only the last one remained this he aimed even more carefully than the others but it also fell into the water and disappeared from his hungry eyes he had not tasted even one and now all were gone he could not bear the thought of going home empty handed so in his despair he threw himself into the water too to his complete astonishment instead of being drowned he found himself standing on the sea bottom in front of a pretty little cottage | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
in a town not very far from anansis home lived a great king this king had three beautiful daughters whose names were kept a secret from everybody except their own family one day their father made a proclamation that his three daughters would be given as wives to any man who could find out their names anansi made up his mind to do so he first bought a large jar of honey and set off for the bathing place of the kings daughters arrived there he climbed to the top of a tree on which grew some very fine fruit he picked some of this fruit and poured honey over it when he saw the princesses approaching he dropped the fruit on the ground and waited the girls thought the fruit dropped of its own accord and one of them ran forward to pick it up when she tasted it she called out to her sisters by name to exclaim on its sweetness anansi dropped another which the second princess picked up—she in her turn calling out the names of the other two in this fashion anansi found out all the names as soon as the princesses had gone anansi came down from the tree and hurried into the town he went to all the great men and summoned them to a meeting at the kings palace on the morrow | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
there had been a great famine in the land for many months meat had become so scarce that only the rich chiefs had money enough to buy it the poor people were starving anansi and his family were in a miserable state one day anansis eldest son—kweku tsin—to his great joy discovered a place in the forest where there were still many animals knowing his fathers wicked ways kweku told him nothing of the matter anansi however speedily discovered that kweku was returning loaded day after day to the village there he was able to sell the meat at a good price to the hungry villagers anansi immediately wanted to know the secret—but his son wisely refused to tell him the old man determined to find out by a trick slipping into his sons room one night when he was fast asleep he cut a tiny hole in the corner of the bag which kweku always carried into the forest anansi then put a quantity of ashes into the bag and replaced it where he had found it | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
there came once such a terrible famine in the land that a grain of corn was worth far more than its weight in gold a hungry spider was wandering through the forest looking for food to his great joy he found a dead antelope knowing that he would not be allowed to reach home in safety with it he wrapped it up very carefully in a long mat and bound it securely placing it on his head he started for home as he went he wept bitterly telling every one that this was his dead grandfathers body every one he met sympathized heartily with him on his way he met the wolf and the leopard these two wise animals suspected that this was one of spiders tricks they knew that he was not to be trusted walking on a little way they discussed what they could do to find out what was in the bundle they agreed to take a short cut across the country to a tree which they knew cousin spider must pass | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
a hard working squirrel had after much labour succeeded in cultivating a very fine farm being a skilful climber of trees he had not troubled to make a roadway into his farm he used to reach it by the trees one day when his harvests were very nearly ripe it happened that spider went out hunting in that neighbourhood during his travels he arrived at squirrels farm greatly pleased at the appearance of the fields he sought for the roadway to it finding none he returned home and told his family all about the matter the very next day they all set out for this fine place and set to work immediately to make a road when this was completed spider—who was very cunning—threw pieces of earthenware pot along the pathway this he did to make believe that his children had dropped them while working to prepare the farm then he and his family began to cut down and carry away such of the corn as was ripe squirrel noticed that his fields were being robbed but could not at first find the thief he determined to watch sure enough spider soon reappeared to steal more of the harvest squirrel demanded to know what right he had on these fields spider immediately asked him the same question they are my fields said squirrel oh no they are mine retorted spider i dug them and sowed them and planted them said poor squirrel then where is your roadway to them said crafty spider i need no roadway i come by the trees was squirrels reply needless to say spider laughed such an answer to scorn and continued to use the farm as his own squirrel appealed to the law but the court decided that no one had ever had a farm without a road leading to it therefore the fields must be spiders in great glee spider and his family prepared to cut down all the harvest that remained when it was cut they tied it in great bundles and set off to the nearest market place to sell it | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
egya anansi was a very skilful farmer he with his wife and son set to work one year to prepare a farm much larger than any they had previously worked they planted in it yams maize and beans—and were rewarded by a very rich crop their harvest was quite ten times greater than any they had ever had before egya anansi was very well pleased when he saw his wealth of corn and beans he was however an exceedingly selfish and greedy man who never liked to share anything—even with his own wife and son when he saw that the crops were quite ripe he thought of a plan whereby he alone would profit by them he called his wife and son to him and spoke thus we have all three worked exceedingly hard to prepare these fields they have well repaid us we will now gather in the harvest and pack it away in our barns when that is done we shall be in need of a rest i propose that you and our son should go back to our home in the village and remain there at your ease for two or three weeks i have to go to the coast on very urgent business when i return we will all come to the farm and enjoy our well earned feast anansis wife and son thought this a very good sensible plan and at once agreed to it they went straight back to their village leaving the cunning husband to start on his journey needless to say he had not the slightest intention of so doing instead he built himself a very comfortable hut near the farm—supplied it with all manner of cooking utensils gathered in a large store of the corn and vegetables from the barn and prepared for a solitary feast this went on for a fortnight by that time anansis son began to think it was time for him to go and weed the farm lest the weeds should grow too high he accordingly went there and worked several hours on it while passing the barn he happened to look in great was his surprise to see that more than half of their magnificent harvest had gone he was greatly disturbed thinking robbers had been at work and wondered how he could prevent further mischief returning to the village he told the people there what had happened and they helped to make a rubber man when evening came they carried the sticky figure to the farm and placed it in the midst of the fields to frighten away the thieves some of the young men remained with anansis son to watch in one of the barns when all was dark egya anansi quite unaware of what had happened came as usual out of his hiding place to fetch more food on his way to the barn he saw in front of him the figure of a man and at first felt very frightened finding that the man did not move however he gained confidence and went up to him what do you want here | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
there had been another great famine throughout the land the villagers looked thin and pale for lack of food only one family appeared healthy and well this was the household of anansis cousin anansi was unable to understand this and felt sure his cousin was getting food in some way the greedy fellow determined to find out the secret what had happened was this spiders cousin while hunting one morning had discovered a wonderful stone the stone lay on the grass in the forest and ground flour of its own accord near by ran a stream of honey kofi was delighted he sat down and had a good meal not being a greedy man he took away with him only enough for his familys needs each morning he returned to the stone and got sufficient food for that day in this manner he and his family kept well and plump while the surrounding villagers were starved and miserable looking anansi gave him no peace till he promised to show him the stone | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
a man in one of the villages had a very beautiful daughter she was so lovely that people called her morning sunrise every young man who saw her wanted to marry her three in particular were very anxious to have her for their wife her father found it difficult to decide among them he determined to find out by a trick which of the three was most worthy of her he bade her lie down on her bed as if she were dead he then sent the report of her death to each of the three lovers asking them to come and help him with her funeral the messenger came first to wise man when he heard the message he exclaimed what can this man mean the girl is not my wife | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
the famine had lasted nearly three years kweku tsin being very hungry looked daily in the forest in the hope of finding food one day he was fortunate enough to discover three palm kernels lying on the ground he picked up two stones with which to crack them the first nut however slipped when he hit it and fell into a hole behind him the same thing happened to the second and to the third very much annoyed at his loss kweku determined to go down the hole to see if he could find his lost nuts to his surprise however he discovered that this hole was really the entrance to a town of which he had never before even heard when he reached it he found absolute silence everywhere he called out is there nobody in this town and presently heard a voice in answer he went in its direction and found an old woman sitting in one of the houses she demanded the reason of his appearance—which he readily gave the old woman was very kind and sympathetic and promised to help him you must do exactly as i tell you said she go into the garden and listen attentively you will hear the yams speak pass by any yam that says dig me out dig me out but take the one that says do not dig me out then bring it to me when he brought it she directed him to remove the peel from the yam and throw the latter away | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
it happened one day that a poor akim man had to travel from his own little village to accra—one of the big towns on the coast this man could only speak the language of his own village—which was not understood by the men of the town as he approached accra he met a great herd of cows he was surprised at the number of them and wondered to whom they could belong seeing a man with them he asked him to whom do these cows belong the man did not know the language of the akim man so he replied minui do not understand the traveller however thought that minu was the name of the owner of the cows and exclaimed mr minu must be very rich he then entered the town very soon he saw a fine large building and wondered to whom it might belong the man he asked could not understand his question so he also answered minu dear me what a rich fellow mr minu must be cried the akim man coming to a still finer building with beautiful gardens round it he again asked the owners name again came the answer minu how wealthy mr minu is said our wondering traveller next he came to the beach there he saw a magnificent steamer being loaded in the harbour he was surprised at the great cargo which was being put on board and inquired of a bystander to whom does this fine vessel belong | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
there once lived upon the earth a poor man called ohia whose wife was named awirehu this unfortunate couple had suffered one trouble after another no matter what they took in hand misfortune seemed to lie in wait for them nothing they did met with success they became so poor that at last they could scarcely obtain a cloth with which to cover themselves finally ohia thought of a plan which many of his neighbours had tried and found successful he went to a wealthy farmer who lived near and offered to hew down several of his palm trees he would then collect their sap to make palm wine when this should be ready for the market his wife would carry it there and sell it the proceeds would then be divided equally between the farmer ohia and awirehu this proposal having been laid before the farmer he proved quite willing to agree to it not only so but he granted ohia a supply of earthen pots in which to collect the sap as the miserable man was far too poor to buy any in great delight ohia and his wife set to work they cut down the trees and prepared them—setting the pots underneath to catch the sap before cock crow on market day ohia set off with a lighted torch to collect the wine and prepare it for his wife to take into the town she was almost ready to follow to his great distress on arriving at the first tree instead of finding his earthen pot filled with the sweet sap he saw it lying in pieces on the ground—the wine all gone he went on to the second and third trees—but there and at all the others too the same thing had happened his wife in high spirits and ready for market joined him at this moment she saw at once by his face that some misfortune had again befallen them sorrowfully they examined the mischief and agreed that some wicked person had stolen the wine and then broken the pots to hide the theft awirehu returned home in despair but ohia set to work once more he fetched a second supply of pots and placed them all ready to catch the sap on his return next morning he found that the same behaviour had been repeated all his wine was again stolen and his pots in fragments he had no resource but to go to the farmer and tell him of these fresh misfortunes the farmer proved to be very kind and generous and gave orders that ohia might have as many pots as he should require once more the poor fellow returned to the palm trees and set his pots ready | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
a few hundred years ago the chief mauri god determined to have a splendid yam festival he therefore sent his messengers to invite all his chiefs and people to the gathering which was to take place on fida friday on the morning of that day he sent some of his servants to the neighbouring towns and villages to buy goats sheep and cows for the great feast mr klo the tortoise who was a tall and handsome fellow was sent to buy palm wine he was directed to the palm fields of koklovi the chicken at that time klo was a very powerful traveller and speedily reached his destination although it was many miles distant from mauris palace when he arrived koklovi was taking his breakfast when they had exchanged polite salutations koklovi asked the reason of klos visit | 0 | nigerian folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
a village hunter had one day gone farther afield than usual coming to a part of the forest with which he was unacquainted he was astonished to hear a voice singing he listened this was the song it is man who forces himself on things not things which force themselves on him the singing was accompanied by sweet music—which entirely charmed the hunters heart when the little song was finished the hunter peeped through the branches to see who the singer could be imagine his amazement when he found it was none other than a tortoise with a tiny harp slung in front of her never had he seen such a marvellous thing time after time he returned to the same place in order to listen to this wonderful creature | 0 | nigerian folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
kwofi was the eldest son of a farmer who had two wives kwofis mother had no other children when the boy was three years old his mother died kwofi was given to his stepmother to mind after this she had many children kwofi of course was the eldest of all | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
a certain old lady had a very fine flock of sheep she had fed and cared for them so well that they became famous for their fatness in time a wicked wolf heard of them and determined to eat them night after night he stole up to the old dames cottage and killed a sheep the poor woman tried her best to save her animals from harm—but failed at last there was only one sheep left of all the flock their owner was very sad she feared that it too would be taken away from her in spite of all she could do while she was grieving over the thought of this a lion came to her village seeing her sad face he asked the reason of it she soon told him all about it he thereupon offered to do his best to punish the wicked wolf he himself went to the place where the sheep was generally kept—while the latter was removed to another place in the meantime the wolf was on his way to the cottage as he came he met a fox the fox was somewhat afraid of him and prepared to run away the wolf however told him where he was going and invited him to go too the fox agreed and the two set off together they arrived at the cottage and went straight to the place where the sheep generally slept the wolf at once rushed upon the animal while fox waited a little behind just as fox was deciding to enter and help wolf there came a bright flash of lightning by the light of it the fox could see that the wolf was attacking—not a sheep—but a lion he hastily ran away shouting as he went look at his face look at his face during the flash wolf did look at the pretended sheep to his dismay he found he had made a great mistake | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
in a big town lived a very rich gentleman the fame of his wealth soon spread a clever thief heard of it and determined to have some for himself he managed to hide himself in a dark corner of the gentlemans room—while the latter was counting his bags of money as soon as the old gentleman left the room to fetch something the thief caught up two of the bags and escaped the owner was astonished on his return a few minutes later to find two bags short | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
a ram once decided to make a clearing in the woods and build himself a house a leopard who lived near also made up his mind to do the very same thing unknown to each other they both chose the same site ram came one day and worked at the clearing leopard arrived after ram had gone and was much surprised to find some of his work already done however he continued what ram had begun each was daily surprised at the progress made in his absence but concluded that the fairies had been helping him he gave them thanks and continued with his task thus the matter went on—the two working alternately at the building and never seeing one another | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
at one time leopards did not know how to catch animals for food knowing that the cat was very skilful in this way leopard one day went to cat and asked very politely if she would teach him the art cat readily consented the first thing leopard had to learn was to hide himself among the bushes by the roadside so that he would not be seen by any animal passing by next he must learn how to move noiselessly through the woods | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
once upon a time in a certain village lived a man and his wife who were childless one day however when the husband was away hunting the woman had a baby son she was greatly troubled at her husbands absence because she was unable to let him know of the childs arrival in that country it is the custom for the father to give the baby its name when it is a week old as the time approached for the naming the woman wondered to herself what name she could give the child if her husband did not return in time to her amazement the child himself answered my name is quarcoo bah boni as he was only a week old she was astonished to hear him talk the next day she got a greater surprise she had been grumbling because her husband was not there to go to the farm for her and fetch food the baby announced i will go to the farm—which he did when he was a few weeks old she was one day very busy she laid him down on the bed while she went on with her task in a few minutes several boys came up to her in great anger your son has been beating us and ill treating us in the street said they my son she cried why my son is only a tiny baby he is lying asleep on my bed to convince them she went indoors to show them the baby imagine her surprise when he was nowhere to be seen she had to apologize to the boys and beg them to forgive the child shortly after he came in and put himself to bed | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
in the olden days all the animals of the world lived together in friendship they had no one to rule over them and judge them in consequence many very wicked deeds were constantly being done as no one needed to fear any punishment at last they all met together to discuss this bad state of affairs and as a result they decided to choose a king the great difficulty was how to choose him lion was the first animal suggested but all opposed him because they said he was too fierce wolf was next named—but the sheep and goats refused to have him because he was their foe | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
in the olden times there stood in the kings town a very great tree this tree was so huge that it began to overshadow the neighbouring fields the king decided to have it cut down he caused his servants to proclaim throughout the country that any one who succeeded in cutting down the tree with a wooden axe should have an elephant in payment people thought it would be impossible to cut down such a great tree with an axe of wood spider however decided to try by cunning to gain the elephant he accordingly presented himself before the king and expressed his readiness to get rid of the tree a servant was sent with him to keep watch and to see that he only used the wooden axe given him spider however had taken care to have another made of steel hidden in his bag he now began to fell the tree | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
a hunter who was terribly poor was one day walking through the forest in search of food coming to a deep hole he found there a leopard a serpent a rat and a man these had all fallen into the trap and were unable to get out again seeing the hunter they begged him to help them out of the hole at first he did not wish to release any but the man the leopard he said had often stolen his cattle and eaten them the serpent very frequently bit men and caused their death the rat did no good to any one he saw no use in setting them free however these animals pleaded so hard for life that at last he helped them out of the pit each in turn promised to reward him for his kindness—except the man | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
a man hunting one day in the forest met a tiger at first each was afraid of the other but after some talking they became quite friendly they agreed to live together for a little time first the man would live with the tiger in his forest home for two weeks then the tiger would come and live in the mans home the tiger behaved so well to the man during his visit that the man felt he had never been so well treated in all his life then came the time for the tiger to return home with the man | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
the omanhene is the chief of a village a certain omanhene had three sons who were very anxious to see the world they went to their father and asked permission to travel this permission he readily gave it was the turn of the eldest to go first he was provided with a servant and with all he could possibly require for the journey after travelling for some time he came to a town where lived an omanhene who loved riddles being a stranger the traveller was according to custom brought by the people before the chief the latter explained to him that they had certain laws in their village one law was that every stranger must best the omanhene in answering riddles or he would be beheaded he must be prepared to begin the contest the following morning next day he came to the assembly place and found the omanhene there with all his attendants the omanhene asked many riddles as the young man was unable to answer any of them he was judged to have failed and was beheaded after some time the second son of the omanhene started on his travels by a strange chance he arrived at the same town where his brother had died he also was asked many riddles and failed to answer them accordingly he too was put to death | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
long long ago there dwelt in a town two brothers whose bad habits brought them much trouble day by day they got more deeply in debt their creditors gave them no peace so at last they ran away into the woods they became highway robbers but they were not happy their minds were troubled by their evil deeds at last they decided to go home make a big farm and pay off their debts gradually they accordingly set to work and soon had quite a fine farm prepared for corn as the soil was good they hoped the harvest would bring them in much money unfortunately that very day a bushfowl came along being hungry it scratched up all the newly planted seeds and ate them the two poor brothers on arriving at the field next day were dismayed to find all their work quite wasted | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
farmer mybrow was one day looking about for a suitable piece of land to convert into a field he wished to grow corn and yams he discovered a fine spot close to a great forest—which latter was the home of some fairies he set to work at once to prepare the field having sharpened his great knife he began to cut down the bushes no sooner had he touched one than he heard a voice say who is there cutting down the bushes mybrow was too much astonished to answer the question was repeated this time the farmer realized that it must be one of the fairies and so replied i am mybrow come to prepare a field fortunately for him the fairies were in great good humour he heard one say let us all help farmer mybrow to cut down the bushes the rest agreed to mybrows great delight the bushes were all rapidly cut down with very little trouble on his part he returned home exceedingly well pleased with his days work having resolved to keep the field a secret even from his wife | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
once upon a time a big lion the king of the forest decided that all old animals must be put to death so that there would be only young and strong animals in the forest and that no useless animals occupied the space and ate the food reserved for the young ones naturally all old and infirm animals were killed mercilessly but one clever old hare called kalulu escaped the punishment and hid himself in a cave out of sight of the others only the son of kalulu knew of the whereabouts of kalulu when all was done the forest became normal for a time and the animals forgot all about the lions cruel decision and deeds one day however while the lion was asleep he kept his mouth wide open as he had a bad cold a long snake passing by thinking it to be a hole entered the lions mouth and made itself very comfortable in the lions throat the lion could not roar to add to his discomfiture whenever the snake changed position inside his threat the lion experienced terrible pain therefore he announced in sign language that if anyone charmed the snake out of his mouth the lion would reward him richly | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
kalulu the hare being a strict vegetarian liked to grow his own vegetables he planted rows and rows of cabbages carrots lettuce turnips and other juicy vegetables and tended them regularly he was so agile and hard working that he had a regular supply of different kinds of fresh vegetables all the year round indeed because of this other animals envied him once while he was preparing his garden to plant some pumpkins a big elephant towering over the garden fence happened to pass by he became curious to know what kalulu was doing being a pure vegetarian himself his mouth began to water at the sight of the ripe juicy maize cobs that were swinging gracefully in the wind controlling his greed he just looked over the fence and greeted kalulu good afternoon brother kalulu he said smiling busy as usual i presume kalulu returned the friendly greeting as he continued with the work this is pumpkin season you know he said cheerfully so i am planting pumpkins before it gets too late i see said the elephant i am very fond of pumpkins myself could you possibly help to plant some in my garden too he asked very innocently | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
it is often said hard work and humility earn respect and power respect and power can make one proud and vain pride and vanity cause the downfall of all this statement proved true in the case of kalulu at one time kalulu as you know was a hard—working and clever hare every one respected his wisdom this went to his head and he started boasting of his agility and good judgement he even went to the extent of criticizing some of the other animals and particularly teased the old tortoise who was already three times as old as kalulu himself he named the tortoise a slogger a plodder and a crawler while he bragged of his own speed of movement this annoyed the old tortoise immensely therefore he thought and thought for a long time to find a way to put the hare in his proper place one day he called kalulu and said kalulu young man you have been calling me names because of my slowness however i would like to compare my speed with yours would you therefore run a race with me kalulu laughed aloud run a race indeed he exclaimed without doing any such thing we know who will win | 0 | nigerian folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
one summer it was unbearable in the forest the water holes had all dried up making it hot and uncomfortable as a result the animals thirsted for water when conditions became worse the lion the king of the forest ordered that one of the water—holes be scooped and dug deeper he also insisted that every animal in the forest must take part in the digging because every one of them needed the water all the animals obeyed the royal command they started digging day and night on a shift arrangement as the king of the forest the lion also graciously took part in the work but there was one cunning hyena who avoided the hard work when some of them were on the day shift the hyena pretended that he was to be on the night shift when the night shift started he always said that he had already done his share of the work on the day shift this trick held good for a few days however the animals soon understood the ruse of the cunning hyena and reported the matter to their king the lion declared that the hyena should not be allowed to drink from the water hole when it was completed within a few days time the water—hole was dug deep enough and to everybodys delight a spring gushed forth they soon made it into a well so that the water would not be wasted the lion asked some animals to take turns and guard the well day and night so that the lazy hyena could not have any water to drink however the crafty hyena cheated each of them and managed to drink his fill of water and escaped punishment this annoyed and vexed everyone this is where our hero kalulu the hare comes into the picture kalulu had put in his full share of hard work and had therefore a right to express his views he got into one of his boastful moods our guards are rather dreamy he remarked | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
chief mukulu had a problem the people in his chiefdom were not happy they were afraid to get out of their huts to go and work in the fields or go to the river to fetch water they were afraid to let their children play out of their sight all the while they remained huddled in groups and were startled and worried at the slightest rustling of the leaves all this because of a big snake this snake had killed and eaten several of the villagers but chief mukulu could do nothing to kill it he had sent his best hunters to kill the snake and every time he sent out someone all that remained of him later was just a big bulge in the snakes belly naturally the ordinary people were terrified to move out of their houses the snake took residence on a large tree the chief wanted to cut it down so that the snake would move away but none could undertake the big task as the snake pounced on any one who approached the tree chief mukulu then thought of leaving the village and setting up his chiefdom in a different area it was a difficult decision because he was not sure of finding another suitable spot his chiefdom was then situated in a beautiful valley surrounded by all kinds of fruit bearing trees the soil was good for cultivation a clear river was flowing near by from which his people could draw water all through the year who would be so foolish as to leave such a spot for fear of a stupid snake in exasperation chief mukulu abandoned the idea of moving away instead he announced that he would give away his daughter threshya in marriage to anyone who would kill the snake this was a great inducement many men came forward to kill the snake only to meet their doom all this time our hero kalulu the hare had been hearing stories and rumours of the snakes atrocities he also wished to try his luck therefore on a fine morning he went to chief mukulus chiefdom with his two pets a dog and a goat and stopped at the market place | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
the lion the king of the forest had once again become aggressive terrorizing the poor animals in the forest he had killed most of the grass eating animals for his food as their number steadily decreased other carnivorous animals began worrying about their own livelihood they tried to advise the king to exercise restraint in his eating habits this angered the lion all the more he felt that being the king of the forest he had every right to do what he pleased and scorned anyone who dared to criticize his actions besides the animals the lion also attacked human beings he raided lonely villages and killed many innocent peeple once while he was on such a raid he was wounded in his paw by the spear of a hunter for a few days thereafter he was confined to his cave this gave time for the other animals to come together and discuss ways and means to teach the lion a polite lesson many different plans some fantastic and some impracticable were suggested and so the animals did not come to any satisfactory solution to their problem in the meantime the lion got better and started on his rampage again one day he had just killed and feasted on a zebra having found a shady nook he was taking a cosy nap there when kalulu the hare spotted him from a distance he remembered his own bright idea that he had put forth at the meeting he decided to put it into practice and ran home to get a strong gunny bag tucking the bag under his arm he reached the place where the lion was asleep he was disturbed as kalulu made a noise stepping on dried crunchy leaves and busied himself collecting firewood and twigs what is going on there the lion asked in annoyance i am collecting firewood for you sir kalulu replied politely i do not need any retorted the lion what gave you that crazy idea soon you will feel hungry sir said kalulu and you may need the fire sir the lion laughed aloud if i feel hungry i will need food and not fire he said still laughing because he was much amused by kalulus simplicity precisely sir said kalulu humbly have you ever thought of cooking your food before eating it sir why no said the lion in surprise now you can try sir on the fire i will be lighting for you you can cook your food sir i dont see any food you are seeing sir what do you mean | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
once kalulu the hare was greatly annoyed to hear that a neighbouring chief and his daughter were causing great concern to the young men of the chiefdom the chiefs daughter was a very pretty maiden and many young men felt it a great honour to be able to marry her however as the chief and his daughter were very vain they felt that none of the young men was worthy of the girls hand in marriage and decided to punish all those who dared to press their suit therefore they devised a very cruel test to eliminate them to carry out this test the chief called all his subjects together into his courtyard and seated them in a large circle in the centre of this circle a huge earthen pot of water was kept boiling the eager young men were asked to line up and to come one by one to take up a bowl of boiling water from the pot and to drink it bravely in one pull in order to prove their deep love for the young lady no need to say that it was an impossible thing to do at the very first sip all the young men scalded their lips and tongues so terribly that they could only drop the bowl suddenly and run away in great pain and shame the chief and his daughter laughed aloud to see them thus humiliated for the young men were rendered speechless and foodless for many days to come this was the story which came to kalulus ears and he decided to teach a severe lesson to the cruel chief and his vain daughter so he came to the chiefs village to attend the next session when a new set of suitors were to be tested kalulu took his place in the line of young men when his turn came he went to the pot of boiling water took out a bowl of water and placed it on the ground beside him then he started bowing down respectfully left and right and all around greeting all the assemblage so far the villagers were used to seeing silent young men who came quietly to the boiling water took a bowlful tasted it and ran away in a great hurry | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
according to an early zambian belief the sky was like a roof over the earth it was so low that the people could reach and touch it at certain places it was even hanging down loose like a mosquito net that we use over our beds at night the gods and spirits of our forefathers lived inside this sky and they could always listen to the prayers songs chatter and squabbles taking place on earth the sky was so low that the people could talk to the gods and get their wishes fulfilled immediately | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
chipila and zongwe were friends they lived in adjacent huts and owned adjacent pieces of land they helped each other with the tilling hoeing sowing and reaping they were such good friends that peeple called them the twin gods one day the twin gods were tilling zongwes land they sang and chatted merrily as they worked suddenly zongwe felt dizzy he ignored it for a while but the heat was oppressive and he fainted chipila his friend helped him into his hut and made him comfortable he then called the village elders in to look after zongwe when they assured chipila that it was nothing serious chipila went back to zongwes land to resume tilling so that they would not lose precious time as he tilled he found that a particular spot on the ground sounded peculiarly hollow he tilled a little more and discovered a rotting piece of wood he heaved it upwards to remove it from the ground as he did so he was amazed to find underneath a narrow ditch with lined walls it was roomy and held four gourds chipila wondered who could have left them there his first thought was that zongwes elders must have buried gourds of sugar cane liquor to ferment there and then had forgotten them in that case he thought he should not disturb them until they were ready to be drunk and yet his curiosity spurred him on he wanted to know what was inside he carefully removed the skin cap that covered the mouth of the first gourd his eyes grew round with awe the gourd was full of cowrie shells this was indeed a great treasure that the ancestors of zongwe had buried there zongwe must be the descendant of a very great family | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
a long time ago deep in the african jungle there was a glade where a certain tribe of people had built their huts and lived peacefully in their midst were a skinny old man and his wife a skinny old woman these two were always complaining of their hunger and poverty naturally all the good neighbours took pity on them and often invited them to share a meal with them however whenever they visited a hut they made it a point to steal something to keep for themselves soon the kind neighbours started suspecting the old couple their suspicion was confirmed one day when the skinny old couple stole a leather bag full of cowrie shells from a sick man the sick man was too sick to get up from bed when the couple stole into the hut and carried the bag away in those days the cowrie shells were used in the place of money and a bag full of cowrie shells meant a very great fortune hence it would be a very great loss for the sick man to lose them even in his delirious condition the sick man recognized the old couple and shouted with all his might for help | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
muti was an orphan she lost her parents when she was very very small to add to this misfortune she was also not goodlooking as a result no one bothered to care for her or teach her the needs of everyday life she spent most of her time roaming in the village lazing on the grassy fields or just gazing into space some kind people gave her old skins to tie round her body and left overs to eat but there was none to love her it was in this atmosphere that muti grew up into a maiden she started watching people around her while all other girls of her age found good husbands no young man came forward to marry her she felt hurt when people made comments about her unkempt appearance and crude manners when she played with little children they taunted her for being childish if she tried to talk to older women they snubbed her by saying that she was too young to join in the big peoples conversation muti became more and more puzzled and vexed by such treatment until one day she could bear the insult no longer she went to a quiet corner and began to weep suddenly she felt someone gently stroking her hair muti looked up and found an old man standing beside her that is a sorry sight he said why are you so sad my child between sobs muti explained to him everything never mind he consoled her come with me my clever wife will be able to help you he then took muti to his wife who really looked very very clever muti the old woman addressed her sternly you must promise to do whatever i ask you to do in the end if you prove that you deserve a husband i will get you one muti was so eager to get a husband that she promised again and again that she would do any work for the old woman from the next day muti was set to work from morning till night each day and every day she had to clean the hut thatch the roof mend the skin make ropes knit fish nets cook food and do many more chores muti was always puzzled as to how she should begin each chore because she had never had any training before now she was too scared of the old woman to ask for any guidance whenever she found herself in such predicament she thought of the husband she was promised and completed any job assigned to her in her own clumsy way | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
chanda married milika because she was a beautiful girl her modesty and wisdom only added to her beauty they led a very happy life together for five years but they slowly became sad because they did not have any children chandas relatives started persuading him to marry another girl as milika had no children whenever they spoke about this in milikas presence she wept with bitterness but chanda loved her and promised that he would never send her away milika was a sensible girl and she felt it was her duty to see that her husband had children whom he could call his own therefore she searched for a good girl who would deserve to be the second wife for chanda soon she came across a hunters daughter called eneli who satisfied all the qualities she was looking for milika asked chanda to take eneli as his second wife at first chanda refused but milikas repeated requests and tears made him agree in the end the marriage was celebrated amidst great rejoicing among chandas relatives for chanda was a rich man and could afford two wives eneli came to live with chanda and milika a year later eneli gave birth to a son the elders and relatives showered presents and honour on eneli while milika was left to do all the washing and fetching and cooking for all the visitors who came and went as they pleased she worked so much so that she had scarcely any time left even to look at the new born baby this saddened her she wanted to hold him and fondle him but she had no time to add to this eneli was complaining that the child took all her time and so she could not attend to any household chores any more therefore it was decided that milika should look after all the housework while eneli attended to the pleasant job of looking after her little son and her husband chanda began loving eneli more and more because she had given him a son there came a time when he even forgot that milika was in the same house she was being treated as a mere housemaid who looked after the comfort of others at times she had to put up with harsh words however she stayed in the same house because she felt that a womans place was with her own husband in a few years time eneli bore many more children and became the honoured lady of the house while milika remained virtually a housemaid when the children were growing up drought struck the land | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
long long ago in the middle of a dark forest in the congo there lived a jackal he was big and strong and all the other animals were afraid of him at nightfall every evening he would take his gold tipped bamboo spear and go out hunting one night as he set out into the forest the moon up in the sky was watching him as he hunted among the trees with his gold tipped spear in a few hours time he had killed two kudus and a wild pig the moon became jealous of the jackals success and planned to steal the spear so the next night as the jackal returned home after killing four bushbucks the moon came out from behind a cloud and watched him to see where he hid his spear she saw him hiding it behind a cupboard the next day an owl knocked at the jackals door it was really the moon in disguise what do you want | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
there was once a woman a hunters wife living in a little village deep in the woods she was very clever in making dolls and other figures out of clay wood—gum or bees wax she used to give them away to little children in her village during the rainy season her husband would collect a number of honeycombs and store the honey in earthen pots or gourds the woman gathered the wax from the combs and used it for her own amusement once she had gathered enough wax to mould two beautiful maidens as large as real human beings when the work was completed she was herself so struck with their beauty and grace that she wished intensely for them to come alive and sing and talk to her in all her prayers to her ancestral spirits she asked for this boon sure enough the ancestral spirits listened to her plea and the wax maidens came alive this was a great occasion for the whole village to celebrate life became very pleasant for the hunter and his wife when they had these two daughters of their own after a long time when everyone had accepted the wax maidens as normal human beings a young farmer from another village happened to see them when they were sitting in the cool shade under a tree not knowing who they really were he wondered that such wax like pale beauties could exist in the world full of admiration for them he returned to his own village since that day he could think of nothing else he wondered if they were strange beautiful spirits who haunted young men or whether they were real human beings whom one could marry he was all the more thoughtful because he was a married man and wondered whether his first wife would allow him to marry more wives | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
this story took place a long time ago when strange things used to happen off and on in those days a man and his wife lived in a country full of happy people the couple had four healthy sons but they yearned for a little daughter when the wife was expecting their fifth child they hoped it would be different this time a girl child for example the man and his wife prayed day and night repeating the same words please god make it different this time make it different this time they could not say anything else when finally the day came when the mother went into labour the father fell on his knees requesting all the gods and spirits to remember their prayer and make it different in a few hours time the mother was safely delivered of a handsome baby and an old nurse brought the news to the father glad news master she informed him politely it is indeed different this time different gasped the father in exultation god be thanked a thousandfold yes different announced the old woman solemnly the lady of this house has just given birth to a handsome little puppy dog what the father was at first greatly shocked at this news he stood petrified for some time but when once he set eyes on the cute little puppy dog all his anger vanished and his heart melted with tender love for the soft helpless creature days went by and all the family cherished the little puppy dog because of his lovable gentle nature he followed his elder brothers wherever they went and guarded his fathers home and property with devotion even as a baby he was no trouble to his mother as he was the most obedient child anyone could ever want all the world adored him when the boys grew up to be strong handsome young men the father bade them to seek their fortune in the wide world on their own merit because he said it would not be manly for them to stay protected in the parental home any more he gave them good advice and his blessings later he also gave each of his sons a hoe and a sharp knife with which to fend for himself the mother tied up some food in five identical bundles for them and sent them on their way now the little puppy dog had grown up to be a very strong animal almost resembling a lion but his nature remained as gentle as before | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
there was once a king who was very powerful he had great influence over the wild beasts and animals now the tortoise was looked upon as the wisest of all beasts and men this king had a son named ekpenyon to whom he gave fifty young girls as wives but the prince did not like any of them the king was very angry at this and made a law that if any man had a daughter who was finer than the princes wives and who found favour in his sons eyes the girl herself and her father and mother should be killed now about this time the tortoise and his wife had a daughter who was very beautiful the mother thought it was not safe to keep such a fine child as the prince might fall in love with her so she told her husband that her daughter ought to be killed and thrown away into the bush the tortoise however was unwilling and hid her until she was three years old one day when both the tortoise and his wife were away on their farm the kings son happened to be hunting near their house and saw a bird perched on the top of the fence round the house the bird was watching the little girl and was so entranced with her beauty that he did not notice the prince coming | 0 | nigerian folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
many years ago there was a calabar hunter called effiong who lived in the bush killed plenty of animals and made much money every one in the country knew him and one of his best friends was a man called okun who lived near him but effiong was very extravagant and spent much money in eating and drinking with every one until at last he became quite poor so he had to go out hunting again but now his good luck seemed to have deserted him for although he worked hard and hunted day and night he could not succeed in killing anything one day as he was very hungry he went to his friend okun and borrowed two hundred rods from him and told him to come to his house on a certain day to get his money and he told him to bring his gun loaded with him now some time before this effiong had made friends with a leopard and a bush cat whom he had met in the forest whilst on one of his hunting expeditions and he had also made friends with a goat and a cock at a farm where he had stayed for the night but though effiong had borrowed the money from okun he could not think how he was to repay it on the day he had promised at last however he thought of a plan and on the next day he went to his friend the leopard and asked him to lend him two hundred rods promising to return the amount to him on the same day as he had promised to pay okun and he also told the leopard that if he were absent when he came for his money he could kill anything he saw in the house and eat it the leopard was then to wait until the hunter arrived when he would pay him the money and to this the leopard agreed the hunter then went to his friend the goat and borrowed two hundred rods from him in the same way | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
eyamba i of calabar was a very powerful king he fought and conquered all the surrounding countries killing all the old men and women but the able bodied men and girls he caught and brought back as slaves and they worked on the farms until they died this king had two hundred wives but none of them had borne a son to him his subjects seeing that he was becoming an old man begged him to marry one of the spiders daughters as they always had plenty of children but when the king saw the spiders daughter he did not like her as she was ugly and the people said it was because her mother had had so many children at the same time however in order to please his people he married the ugly girl and placed her among his other wives but they all complained because she was so ugly and said she could not live with them the king therefore built her a separate house for herself where she was given food and drink the same as the other wives every one jeered at her on account of her ugliness but she was not really ugly but beautiful as she was born with two skins and at her birth her mother was made to promise that she should never remove the ugly skin until a certain time arrived save only during the night and that she must put it on again before dawn now the kings head wife knew this and was very fearful lest the king should find it out and fall in love with the spiders daughter so she went to a ju ju man and offered him two hundred rods to make a potion that would make the king forget altogether that the spiders daughter was his wife this the ju ju man finally consented to do after much haggling over the price for three hundred and fifty rods and he made up some medicine which the head wife mixed with the kings food for some months this had the effect of making the king forget the spiders daughter and he used to pass quite close to her without recognising her in any way when four months had elapsed and the king had not once sent for adiaha for that was the name of the spiders daughter she began to get tired and went back to her parents her father the spider then took her to another ju ju man who by making spells and casting lots very soon discovered that it was the kings head wife who had made the ju ju and had enchanted the king so that he would not look at adiaha he therefore told the spider that adiaha should give the king some medicine which he would prepare which would make the king remember her he prepared the medicine for which the spider had to pay a large sum of money and that very day adiaha made a small dish of food into which she had placed the medicine and presented it to the king directly he had eaten the dish his eyes were opened and he recognised his wife and told her to come to him that very evening so in the afternoon being very joyful she went down to the river and washed and when she returned she put on her best cloth and went to the kings palace directly it was dark and all the lights were out she pulled off her ugly skin and the king saw how beautiful she was and was very pleased with her but when the cock crowed adiaha pulled on her ugly skin again and went back to her own house this she did for four nights running always taking the ugly skin off in the dark and leaving before daylight in the morning in course of time to the great surprise of all the people and particularly of the kings two hundred wives she gave birth to a son but what surprised them most of all was that only one son was born whereas her mother had always had a great many children at a time generally about fifty the kings head wife became more jealous than ever when adiaha had a son so she went again to the ju ju man and by giving him a large present induced him to give her some medicine which would make the king sick and forget his son and the medicine would then make the king go to the ju ju man who would tell him that it was his son who had made him sick as he wanted to reign instead of his father | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
efriam duke was an ancient king of calabar he was a peaceful man and did not like war he had a wonderful drum the property of which when it was beaten was always to provide plenty of good food and drink so whenever any country declared war against him he used to call all his enemies together and beat his drum then to the surprise of every one instead of fighting the people found tables spread with all sorts of dishes fish foo foo palm oil chop soup cooked yams and ocros and plenty of palm wine for everybody in this way he kept all the country quiet and sent his enemies away with full stomachs and in a happy and contented frame of mind there was only one drawback to possessing the drum and that was if the owner of the drum walked over any stick on the road or stept over a fallen tree all the food would immediately go bad and three hundred egbo men would appear with sticks and whips and beat the owner of the drum and all the invited guests very severely efriam duke was a rich man he had many farms and hundreds of slaves a large store of kernels on the beach and many puncheons of palm oil he also had fifty wives and many children the wives were all fine women and healthy they were also good mothers and all of them had plenty of children which was good for the kings house every few months the king used to issue invitations to all his subjects to come to a big feast even the wild animals were invited the elephants hippopotami leopards bush cows and antelopes used to come for in those days there was no trouble as they were friendly with man and when they were at the feast they did not kill one another all the people and the animals as well were envious of the kings drum and wanted to possess it but the king would not part with it one morning lkwor edem one of the kings wives took her little daughter down to the spring to wash her as she was covered with yaws which are bad sores all over the body the tortoise happened to be up a palm tree just over the spring cutting nuts for his midday meal and while he was cutting one of the nuts fell to the ground just in front of the child the little girl seeing the good food cried for it and the mother not knowing any better picked up the palm nut and gave it to her daughter directly the tortoise saw this he climbed down the tree and asked the woman where his palm nut was she replied that she had given it to her child to eat then the tortoise who very much wanted the kings drum thought he would make plenty palaver over this and force the king to give him the drum so he said to the mother of the child i am a poor man and i climbed the tree to get food for myself and my family then you took my palm nut and gave it to your child i shall tell the whole matter to the king and see what he has to say when he hears that one of his wives has stolen my food for this as every one knows is a very serious crime according to native custom ikwor edem then said to the tortoise i saw your palm nut lying on the ground and thinking it had fallen from the tree i gave it to my little girl to eat but i did not steal it my husband the king is a rich man and if you have any complaint to make against me or my child i will take you before him | 0 | nigerian folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
ituen was a young man of calabar he was the only child of his parents and they were extremely fond of him as he was of fine proportions and very good to look upon they were poor people and when ituen grew up and became a man he had very little money indeed in fact he had so little food that every day it was his custom to go to the market carrying an empty bag into which he used to put anything eatable he could find after the market was over at this time offiong was king he was an old man but he had plenty of wives one of these women named attem was quite young and very good looking she did not like her old husband but wished for a young and handsome husband she therefore told her servant to go round the town and the market to try and find such a man and to bring him at night by the side door to her house and she herself would let him in and would take care that her husband did not discover him that day the servant went all round the town but failed to find any young man good looking enough she was just returning to report her ill success when on passing through the market place she saw ituen picking up the remains of corn and other things which had been left on the ground | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
mbotu was a very famous king of old town calabar he was frequently at war and was always successful as he was a most skilful leader all the prisoners he took were made slaves he therefore became very rich but on the other hand he had many enemies the people of itu in particular were very angry with him and wanted to kill him but they were not strong enough to beat mbotu in a pitched battle so they had to resort to craft the itu people had an old woman who was a witch and could turn herself into whatever she pleased and when she offered to kill mbotu the people were very glad and promised her plenty of money and cloth if she succeeded in ridding them of their worst enemy the witch then turned herself into a young and pretty girl and having armed herself with a very sharp knife which she concealed in her bosom she went to old town calabar to seek the king | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
a bush rat called oyot was a great friend of emiong the bat they always fed together but the bat was jealous of the bush rat when the bat cooked the food it was always very good and the bush rat said how is it that when you make the soup it is so tasty the bat replied i always boil myself in the water and my flesh is so sweet that the soup is good | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
effiong edem was a native of cobham town he had a very fine daughter whose name was afiong all the young men in the country wanted to marry her on account of her beauty but she refused all offers of marriage in spite of repeated entreaties from her parents as she was very vain and said she would only marry the best looking man in the country who would have to be young and strong and capable of loving her properly most of the men her parents wanted her to marry although they were rich were old men and ugly so the girl continued to disobey her parents at which they were very much grieved the skull who lived in the spirit land heard of the beauty of this calabar virgin and thought he would like to possess her so he went about amongst his friends and borrowed different parts of the body from them all of the best from one he got a good head another lent him a body a third gave him strong arms and a fourth lent him a fine pair of legs at last he was complete and was a very perfect specimen of manhood he then left the spirit land and went to cobham market where he saw afiong and admired her very much about this time afiong heard that a very fine man had been seen in the market who was better looking than any of the natives she therefore went to the market at once and directly she saw the skull in his borrowed beauty she fell in love with him and invited him to her house | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
king effiom of duke town calabar was very fond of pretty maidens and whenever he heard of a girl who was unusually good looking he always sent for her and if she took his fancy he made her one of his wives this he could afford to do as he was a rich man and could pay any dowry which the parents asked most of his money having been made by buying and selling slaves effiom had two hundred and fifty wives but he was never content and wanted to have all the finest women in the land some of the kings friends who were always on the look out for pretty girls told effiom that the cocks daughter was a lovely virgin and far superior to any of the kings wives directly the king heard this he sent for the cock and said he intended to have his daughter as one of his wives the cock being a poor man could not resist the order of the king so he brought his daughter who was very good looking and pleased the king immensely when the king had paid the cock a dowry of six puncheons of palm oil the cock told effiom that if he married his daughter he must not forget that she had the natural instincts of a hen and that he should not blame adia unen his daughter if she picked up corn whenever she saw it the king replied that he did not mind what she ate so long as he possessed her the king then took adia unen as his wife and liked her so much that he neglected all his other wives and lived entirely with adia unen as she suited him exactly and pleased him more than any of his other wives | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
okun archibong was one of king archibongs slaves and lived on a farm near calabar he was a hunter and used to kill bush buck and other kinds of antelopes and many monkeys the skins he used to dry in the sun and when they were properly cured he used to sell them in the market the monkey skins were used for making drums and the antelope skins were used for sitting mats the flesh after it had been well smoked over a wood fire he also sold but he did not make much money okun archibong married a slave woman of dukes house named nkoyo he paid a small dowry to the dukes took his wife home to his farm and in the dry season time she had a son about four months after the birth of the child nkoyo took him to the farm while her husband was absent hunting she placed the little boy under a shady tree and went about her work which was clearing the ground for the yams which would be planted about two months before the rains every day while the mother was working a big ape used to come from the forest and play with the little boy he used to hold him in his arms and carry him up a tree and when nkoyo had finished her work he used to bring the baby back to her | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
many years ago when king eyo was ruler of calabar the fish used to live on the land he was a great friend of the leopard and frequently used to go to his house in the bush where the leopard entertained him now the leopard had a very fine wife with whom the fish fell in love | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
there was once an old mother sheep who had seven lambs and one day the bat who was about to make a visit to his father in law who lived a long days march away went to the old sheep and asked her to lend him one of her young lambs to carry his load for him at first the mother sheep refused but as the young lamb was anxious to travel and see something of the world and begged to be allowed to go at last she reluctantly consented so in the morning at daylight the bat and the lamb set off together the lamb carrying the bats drinking horn when they reached half way the bat told the lamb to leave the horn underneath a bamboo tree directly he arrived at the house he sent the lamb back to get the horn when the lamb had gone the bats father in law brought him food and the bat ate it all leaving nothing for the lamb when the lamb returned the bat said to him hullo you have arrived at last i see but you are too late for food it is all finished | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
when eyo iii was ruling over all men and animals he had a very big palaver house to which he used to invite his subjects at intervals to feast after the feast had been held and plenty of tombo had been drunk it was the custom of the people to make speeches | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
when ambo was king of calabar the elephant was not only a very big animal but he had eyes in proportion to his immense bulk in those days men and animals were friends and all mixed together quite freely at regular intervals king ambo used to give a feast and the elephant used to eat more than any one although the hippopotamus used to do his best however not being as big as the elephant although he was very fat he was left a long way behind as the elephant ate so much at these feasts the tortoise who was small but very cunning made up his mind to put a stop to the elephant eating more than a fair share of the food provided he therefore placed some dry kernels and shrimps of which the elephant was very fond in his bag and went to the elephants house to make an afternoon call when the tortoise arrived the elephant told him to sit down so he made himself comfortable and having shut one eye took one palm kernel and a shrimp out of his bag and commenced to eat them with much relish when the elephant saw the tortoise eating he said as he was always hungry himself you seem to have some good food there what are you eating | 0 | nigerian folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
in the olden days there was a very fine young hen who lived with her parents in the bush one day a hawk was hovering round about eleven oclock in the morning as was his custom making large circles in the air and scarcely moving his wings his keen eyes were wide open taking in everything for nothing moving ever escapes the eyes of a hawk no matter how small it may be or how high up in the air the hawk may be circling this hawk saw the pretty hen picking up some corn near her fathers house | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
many years ago the sun and water were great friends and both lived on the earth together the sun very often used to visit the water but the water never returned his visits at last the sun asked the water why it was that he never came to see him in his house the water replied that the suns house was not big enough and that if he came with his people he would drive the sun out | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
when adiaha umo was queen of calabar being very rich and hospitable she used to give big feasts to all the domestic animals but never invited the wild beasts as she was afraid of them at one feast she gave there were three large tables and she told the cow to sit at the head of the table as she was the biggest animal present and share out the food | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
ansa was king of calabar for fifty years he had a very faithful cat as a housekeeper and a rat was his house boy the king was an obstinate headstrong man but was very fond of the cat who had been in his store for many years | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
in the olden days the thunder and lightning lived on the earth amongst all the other people but the king made them live at the far end of the town as far as possible from other peoples houses the thunder was an old mother sheep and the lightning was her son a ram | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
the bush cow and the elephant were always bad friends and as they could not settle their disputes between themselves they agreed to let the head chief decide the cause of their unfriendliness was that the elephant was always boasting about his strength to all his friends which made the bush cow ashamed of himself as he was always a good fighter and feared no man or animal when the matter was referred to the head chief he decided that the best way to settle the dispute was for the elephant and bush cow to meet and fight one another in a large open space he decided that the fight should take place in the market place on the next market day when all the country people could witness the battle when the market day arrived the bush cow went out in the early morning and took up his position some distance from the town on the main road to the market and started bellowing and tearing up the ground as the people passed he asked them whether they had seen anything of the big big one which was the name of the elephant a bush buck who happened to be passing replied i am only a small antelope and am on my way to the market how should i know anything of the movements of the big big one the bush cow then allowed him to pass | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
ekpo and etim were half brothers that is to say they had the same mother but different fathers their mother first of all had married a chief of duke town when ekpo was born but after a time she got tired of him and went to old town where she married ejuqua and gave birth to etim both of the boys grew up and became very rich ekpo had a cock of which he was very fond and every day when ekpo sat down to meals the cock used to fly on to the table and feed also ama ukwa a native of old town who was rather poor was jealous of the two brothers and made up his mind if possible to bring about a quarrel between them although he pretended to be friends with both one day ekpo the elder brother gave a big dinner to which etim and many other people were invited ama ukwa was also present | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
many years ago the hippopotamus whose name was isantim was one of the biggest kings on the land he was second only to the elephant the hippo had seven large fat wives of whom he was very fond now and then he used to give a big feast to the people but a curious thing was that although every one knew the hippo no one except his seven wives knew his name at one of the feasts just as the people were about to sit down the hippo said you have come to feed at my table but none of you know my name if you cannot tell my name you shall all of you go away without your dinner | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
in the beginning of the world when the creator had made men and women and the animals they all lived together in the creation land the creator was a big chief past all men and being very kindhearted was very sorry whenever any one died | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
there was once a very fat woman who was made of oil she was very beautiful and many young men applied to the parents for permission to marry their daughter and offered dowry but the mother always refused as she said it was impossible for her daughter to work on a farm as she would melt in the sun at last a stranger came from a far distant country and fell in love with the fat woman and he promised if her mother would hand her to him that he would keep her in the shade at last the mother agreed and he took his wife away when he arrived at his house his other wife immediately became very jealous because when there was work to be done firewood to be collected or water to be carried the fat woman stayed at home and never helped as she was frightened of the heat | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
many years ago there was a great famine throughout the land and all the people were starving the yam crop had failed entirely the plantains did not bear any fruit the ground nuts were all shrivelled up and the corn never came to a head even the palm oil nuts did not ripen and the peppers and ocros also gave out the leopard however who lived entirely on beef did not care for any of these things and although some of the animals who lived on corn and the growing crops began to get rather skinny he did not mind very much in order to save himself trouble as everybody was complaining of the famine he called a meeting of all the animals and told them that as they all knew he was very powerful and must have food that the famine did not affect him as he only lived on flesh and as there were plenty of animals about he did not intend to starve he then told all the animals present at the meeting that if they did not wish to be killed themselves they must bring their grand mothers to him for food and when they were finished he would feed off their mothers the animals might bring their grandmothers in succession and he would take them in their turn so that as there were many different animals it would probably be some time before their mothers were eaten by which time it was possible that the famine would be over but in any case he warned them that he was determined to have sufficient food for himself and that if the grandmothers or mothers were not forthcoming he would turn upon the young people themselves and kill and eat them this of course the young generation who had attended the meeting did not appreciate and in order to save their own skins agreed to supply the leopard with his daily meal the first to appear with his aged grandmother was the squirrel the grandmother was a poor decrepit old thing with a mangy tail and the leopard swallowed her at one gulp and then looked round for more | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
there was once an old woman who was very poor and lived in a small mud hut thatched with mats made from the leaves of the tombo palm in the bush she was often very hungry as there was no one to look after her in the olden days the moon used often to come down to the earth although she lived most of the time in the sky the moon was a fat woman with a skin of hide and she was full of fat meat | 0 | west african folktale | folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling |
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