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the insect answered i am sent by the moon to men to tell them that as she dies and dying lives they also shall die and dying live the hare said as thou art an awkward runner let me go to take the message with these words he ran off and when he reached men he said i am sent by the moon to tell you as i die and dying perish in the same manner ye shall also die and come wholly to an end then the hare returned to the moon and told her what he had said to men the moon reproached him angrily saying darest thou tell the people a thing which i have not said

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

the hare went to the men and said like as i die and do not rise to life again so you shall also die and not rise to life again when he returned the moon asked him what hast thou said i have told them like as i die and do not rise to life again so you shall also die and not rise to life again what said the moon hast thou said that

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

instead however of delivering this message as given the hare either out of forgetfulness or malice told mankind that as the moon rose and died away so man should die and rise no more the hare having returned to the moon was questioned as to the message delivered and the moon having heard the true state of the case became so enraged with him that she took up a hatchet to split his head falling short however of that the hatchet fell upon the upper lip of the hare and cut it severely hence it is that we see the hare lip

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

run then said the moon and tell men that as i die and am renewed so shall they also be renewed

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

he then sent for the chameleon and said go chameleon and tell men that they shall not die the chameleon went but it walked slowly and loitered on the way eating of a shrub called bukwebezane when it had been away some time god sent the salamander after it ordering him to make haste and tell men that they should die

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

the blind man feeling and smelling them said they are not game but cattle the blind man afterwards recovered his sight and going with the hunter to this hole saw that they were cows with their calves he then quickly built a kraal fence made of thorns round them and anointed himself just as hottentots in their native state are still wont to do when the other who now with great trouble had to seek his game came and saw this he wanted to anoint himself also look here said the other you must throw the ointment into the fire and afterwards use it

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

there they found lizard lying on his back the farmer asked lizard if it was he who brought tortoise to his cave the lizard was shocked and said it was not possible as he had been feeling unwell and lying on his back all day the farmer grabbed the tortoise and threw him against the wall and the tortoise lay on the floor with a broken shell the tortoise cried out to the insects of the forest who helped him pick up and glue the pieces of his shell together and that was how the tortoise ended up with a broken shell

nigerian folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

tortoise begged the birds to give a message to his wife he asked his wife to lay out as many mattresses as she could find so he could have a soft landing the birds who were still angry asked his wife to bring out all the furniture in the house and that was what she did the tortoise jumped from the sky but instead of landing on a soft mattress he landed on wood furniture and his shell broke into many pieces his wife collected these pieces and glued them together and that is why the tortoise does not have a smooth shell

nigerian folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

he heard the song dog was singing then he saw a rope being dropped from the sky with which the dog climbed to the sky the following day the tortoise went to the same spot and disguising his voice like the dogs he sang the song he had heard the dog sing the day before a rope dropped from the sky and the tortoise began to climb this rope at this same time the dog was just approaching the same spot and he saw the tortoise climbing to the sky the dog immediately started to sing to his mother this time he sang that he was not the one climbing the rope and his mother should cut the rope dogs mother got a pair of scissors and cut the rope sending the tortoise crashing to the ground this caused tortoise shell to break into several pieces he managed to glue these pieces together but that is how the tortoise ended up with the rough shell we know today

nigerian folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

when the dogs came in the tortoise told them he would be leaving they dogs asked him to stay with them for lunch as they had some porridge cooking the tortoise tried to make excuses to leave immediately but the dogs kept him trying to convince him to stay eventually the porridge was so hot that the tortoise just had to pull off his hat everybody was shocked when he pulled of his hat to reveal steaming hot porridge the porridge had burned his scalp so badly that all his hair fell off and in fact never grew back again

nigerian folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

as the tortoise continued on his way home his stomach began to ache his stomach ached so badly he decided to return to the medicine man to seek some help by the time he got to the medicine man his stomach was huge and hard and ached so much that he could hardly talk but he managed to confess what he had done and plead for help unfortunately the medicine man could not help him and ijapa the tortoise had to face the consequence of his action his stomach continued to grow and ache and after several days of pure agony ijapa died

nigerian folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

the more the elephant heard the more excited he became the tortoise adorned the elephant with colorful beads and beating a gong he sang songs praising the elephant while he led the way into the village soon they approached the trap and the tortoise being smaller and lighter walked over the trap the elephant who was following him fell through the sticks and leaves into the deep hole the tortoise had dug and that was how the tiny tortoise captured the huge elephant and earned half of the kings kingdom

nigerian folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

later when obatala got out of his drunken haze he discovered that oduduwa had already performed his task and he was very upset god however gave him another task to perform to create the people that would populate the earth and that was how the world was created in a place now called ile ife

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

you have eaten my palm kernels you have to give them back here are your palm kernels the spirit said he had not eaten them as he had just arrived and was only picking them up the tortoise counted the palm kernels and insisted that some were missing and accused the spirit of lying he demanded compensation for the missing palm kernels the spirit again offered to give him a special drum this time the tortoise picked the biggest drum he could find he needed a drum big enough for the elephant and the bigger the drum would also produce more food it took the tortoise several days to drag the big drum back to the surface so that he was very tired and hungry he picked up his new drum stick and beat the drum instead of food a thousand whips appeared the tortoise alarmed started to run to his house but the whips followed him and whipped him all the way home

nigerian folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

as the tortoise and the elephant approached the palace news of the capture of the elephant spread like wild fire everybody came out of their houses and started following the duo to the palace joyous and joining in tortoises songs this all created an atmosphere of festivities reinforcing the belief in the elephants mind that he was to be made king elephant your story must be true the people are really joyous to see me tortoise you know i wouldnt lie to you cant you see them singing that your reign shall be long as the throne finally came into sight the elephant lumbered into it majestically amidst dancing and singing he sat on the throne and instantly the ground gave way beneath him and he fell into the pit the kings warriors immediately descended upon him with spears and clubs and butchered him once the king had taken a sip of the elephant broth made for him he became instantly well and fulfilled his promise towards the tortoise

nigerian folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

at ten minutes to six the dog put his basket on his head and started heading home the tortoise noticed this shouted after the dog tortoise wait for me wait for me i cant carry my basket alone its to heavy i need you to assist me put it on my head however the dog refused to listen and made haste to avoid the farmer then the tortoise started crying and singing asking the dog to come back to help him lift his basket or else he the tortoise would start a raucous that will attract he farmers attention which will mean the death of both of them but the dog by then had long gone the farmer arrived his farm and met the tortoise with a basketful of his yam crying and singing he promptly descended on the tortoise crying thief thief immediately a crowd gathered around and the tortoise was brought before the king who decreed that the tortoise be hanged in the market square

nigerian folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

every woman would cook the best pot of stew she had ever cooked in her whole life a thousand and one ingredients and all manner of spices went into every pot except for one pot the one belonging to the village outcast she lived in a little shack at the edge of the village and she had no money to buy ingredients for a pot of stew she herself lived on fruits and vegetables that picked from her daily forages into the forest when it was time for every woman to assemble in the market square she placed what vegetables she could get into a pot with some water the aroma around the market square was overwhelming there were miles of sizzling delicious pots of stew when the king to be arrived everyone fell silent as he made his way from one pot to the other tasting his way down the line this went on for the whole day exhausted he reached the last pot behind which sat an unkept woman with ragged clothing he tasted the content of her pot and burst into song singing and proclaiming that this was his mother thus the wicked deed of many years past was uncovered and the two wicked wives were banished from the village

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

they would each sing this song in yorubati m ba je koko arugbo if i ate the the old womans cocoyam ki okun gbe mi ki okun la mi let the sea take me ki okun gbe mi si erigidi ofun let the sea take me to the first two brothers walked confidently across the river singing the song but the youngest brother was so scared as he walked and sang his step faltered several times and he eventually fell into the river

nigerian folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

then he realized how futile his effort was he had collected all the wisdom in the world yet the snail had proven wiser than him he threw the gourd unto the ground where it broke into several pieces allowing all the wisdom in it to escape back into the world from that day there was a saying that the tortoise is wise but the snail is wiser

nigerian folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

lion immediately headed to monkeys house when he saw monkey he asked him give me sweet feces monkey was confused and gave lion a blank stare lion roared at him i said give me sweet feces monkey was terrified and defecated on the spot it was not sweet and lion was mad he started to beat monkey while ordering him to make sweet feces until monkeys bottom was all swollen and red since then monkey has shelved his ambition to become king of all the animals

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

the following morning when this nasty deed was discovered the animals were rightly upset they tried to catch the chipmunk but none could as the chipmunk was hopping from tree to tree faster than anyone could catch him the animals decided to banish the chipmunk from the jungle for he had misused their trust and kindness now banished from his former home the chipmunk went to live amongst people later on during one of the several meetings that the animals hold in the jungle somebody asked if anyone knew what the chipmunk did with the stolen money and it was said he never put it to any good use but bought new stripes instead all shook their heads in pity

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

kiigbo who just now had the opportunity to look at the one yam he had dug up realized that it was not yet ripe for harvest and in fact all the yams that had been dug up were not yet ready for harvest as a good farmer kiigbo kiigba would have examined a few yams and decided whether to give the yams more time to mature or continue with the harvest but now it was too late and his entire crop of yams had been ruined by these helpful spirits kiigbo kiigba cried woe is me as he hit his head with both hands in sorrow the spirits asked who are you and what are you doing he cried i am kiigbo kiigba and i am hitting my head in sorrow alright we will help you the spirits answered and immediately a hundred hands appeared and started to beat kiigbo kiigba on his head

nigerian folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

she hoped the old man would still be at the river as she picked up a pitcher and headed to the river luckily for her he was there looking exactly as ranti had described him she went to him and asked baba which way to the magic garden the old man showed her and he also told her to pick the rotten fruit not the golden one bisi dumped her pitcher and headed to the garden she saw the tree with the rotten fruit and the one with the golden fruit and she said to herself that old man must think im stupid these golden fruit are mine she picked a couple of golden fruits as many as she could carry in her hands and went on her way when she got home she went into her bedroom and closed her doors as she did not want anyone stumbling in to discover her riches she threw the fruits hard at the floor to break them but instead of riches snakes worms rodents and all manners of horrible things appeared

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

oluronbi offered her child omo re a pón bí epo her beautiful child olúrónbí ò jo jo ìrókò jo jo the last two lines are just chorus

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

finally ananse sat on a branch of the tree holding the pot of wisdom i thought i had all the wisdom in the world he thought to himself i thought i had it all in my pot but my own son has wisdom not in my pot then he made a statement that we still use today no one person can have all the wisdom in the world on his way down he dropped the pot and it smashed into many pieces and scatted all the wisdom all over the world

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

seeing that the bananas were all yellow and ripe kweku ananse wanted them all for himself kweku ananse did not want the share the bananas and after heated arguments about how to share ananse came up with the idea of keeping the ripened bananas while baboon kept the stump of the plant kweku ananse picked his and kept the ripe bananas because he wanted to eat those delicious bananas right away without sharing it with his friend adun ananse made a big mistake which he did not know because he was thinking how smart he was he did not know that baboon knew all about how banana plants grew so baboon took his stump home planted it and waited patiently time went by and one day when ananse visited adun he saw a very healthy banana tree growing in baboons yard it was laden with ripe and juicy bananas when he asked where it came from baboon explained that unknown to ananse banana trees are peculiar and special in that without seed they just grow new shoots from the roots called rhizomes adzanka as the ga people call it and that was the secret to the banana tree that kweku ananse did not know and had to learn the hard way now baboon had all the bananas he could eat each time the fruit matured so baboon refused to share the fruits of the banana tree with ananse and up to now all we can say is that it cured kweku ananse from eating bananas he learned a lesson

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

into the wood of the buffalo i went with the buffalo kayin kayin and tortoise has come to accuse me of stealing honey to eat kayin kayin when they arrived at the palace the king and all who were gathered were amazed to hear bola sing my daughter who has never been heard to speak speaks today the king cried as he had promised he gave half his kingdom to tortoise and tortoise married the kings daughter

nigerian folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

then she went away to make as if she was gathering firewood when she got back her baby was gone she looked up and saw her baby in the clutches of the bird perched high up on the tree give me corals gold and precious stones and give me back my baby she called to the bird the bird threw down a bundle the iyale eagerly ran towards this bundle but instead of coral beads or gold or precious stones she found stones you stupid bird give me corals gold and precious stones and give me back my baby she called to the bird again this time the bird threw down a bag of rubbish the iyale screamed at the bird demanding corals gold and precious stones but this time the bird threw down a bag containing the bones of the iyales baby

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

ajadi and his father went into the palace where they found the king scowling on his throne who let you in here the king bellowed ajadi brought out the bird and it began to sing tín tín to jantó mo gbé ye kékeré tó lóun ó pa mí tín tín to jantó the king got up and began to dance all those in attendance began to dance the kings wives came out of their rooms to find out what was happening and they all began to dance all the princes and princesses began to dance the mood in the palace which had been somber for years was miraculously transformed everyone danced until they were weary and could dance no more the sun would soon set and ajadi and his father wanted to go back home but the king did not want them to take the bird away he was so happy that he offered the farmer half of his kingdom in exchange for the bird and that was how the farmer and his wife through their son ajadi the hunter became rich

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

child èru eyín re ó wá fi sénu káló then the father sent his third fourth fifth sixth and seventh child one after the other but none of them returned so the father went in search of his children when he got to the monsters house he asked for his children and the monster told him that his children had been naughty the monster said they had come to look at his teeth rather than get fire which is why he ate them when the father heard this he brought out his axe killed the monster and slit his belly where he rescued all seven children

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

by now the parents suspected something else was eating tojos food and they needed to put a stop to it the following morning tojos mother put his food at the top of a high shelf where tojo could not reach it and she went to the market as usual tojos father too picked his cutlass and hoe and set out for the farm but this time he turned back home to hide in a place where he could watch tojo and the bowls at the top of the shelf olómúroro arrived as usual and tojos father watched the exchange between olómúroro and tojo this time when olómúroro asked tojo where his food was he pointed to the top of the shelf olómúroro asked tojo to step on a stool to get the bowls of food but tojo still could not reach the bowls olómúroro asked him to use a long stick to get the bowls so tojo got a long stick and poked at the bowls the bowls came clattering down and shattered on the floor as olómúroro bent his head down to lick the food off the floor tojos father leapt out with his cutlass and killed olómúroro that was how hundreds of children who had been getting thin mysteriously started to grow and get chubby again

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

the egusi woman told the oba the oba heard the story and agreed that the poor woman should indeed be punished for stealing soup aroma and he ordered the egusi woman to carry out the punishment she stole your aroma therefore you shall flog her shadow the oba told the egusi woman you shall flog her shadow forty times and she was given the big stick with which she would carry out her justice the egusi woman wielding her big stick to beat the poor womans shadow felt very foolish she felt so foolish that she asked the poor woman for forgiveness and offered to give her real egusi soup from that day on

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

the animals were angry go back and get another one they yelled at the tortoise for the third time tortoise flew with borrowed feathers to the ocean over many rivers to see the water goddess he cried out to her help me my family starves igbako is broken again please give me another one the water goddess came out and asked him did you break your promise and share the igbako with others oh no replied tortoise i would never do that i kept my promise yet igbako broke well then ill give you something else this time a rod built so strong it shall not break said the water goddess she gave tortoise a rod and returned into the ocean rod what is your duty asked tortoise to which the rod replied i whip the disobedient i whip the greedy till their skin is white with pain and the rod began to whip tortoise i shared my big igbako i shared my small igbako i shall not keep this rod for myself tortoise said to himself and he picked the rod and his borrowed feathers and flew back home when he got home he gathered his family in the room and asked the rod rod what is your duty the rod replied i whip the disobedient i whip the greedy till their skin is white with pain the entire tortoise family received a good whipping after that tortoise took the rod to the palace where all the animals were waiting for him after their disappointing feast rod what is your duty tortoise asked again the rod replied i whip the disobedient i whip the greedy till their skin is white with pain every animal present received a whipping as they fled back into the forest

nigerian folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

it was very embarrassing to be talked to like that in front of all the other creatures who were whispering to each other and giggling apparently they all agreed with ear dead before the week is over thought mosquito as he slunk away well see about that and from that day forward whenever mosquito sees ear he flies up to her and says emi re mi o ti ku which in english means here i am i am not dead but who did mosquito eventually marry and how did she get attached to either side of head thats another story i would like to hear

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

muttered hare as he ran past tortoise hare started to run even faster again he turned a corner and saw tortoise walking ahead of him oh no this cannot be happening thought hare as he ran past tortoise he wasnt going to stop to talk anymore he tried to run even faster but he couldnt because he was tired from running so fast then as he turned the corner to run the last stretch of the race he saw tortoise walking across the finish line ahead of him impossible impossible shouted hare as tortoise was declared the winner of the race

nigerian folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

then you ask me if im full the man couldnt believe what he heard ahh youve been lying to me all along he wailed i sent my sons away because of your lies he beat the cow with a stick then he tied her up to a tree and left her to die the man wandered from village to village looking for his sons but with no luck after many years he returned home a sad and tired old man one market day he decided to go to the market to buy himself some food when he got to the edge of the market he was tired that he slumped and fainted people ran to help him the noise attracted everyone everyone including the eldest son who had come to sell some of his farm produce the second son who had come to sell the tools he made and the third son who had accompanied his teacher to the market to buy some food the boys noticed that that was their father who had fainted and at the same time they found one another they were overjoyedwhen the old man was revived he wept with joy at seeing his sons once again he asked for their forgiveness and pleaded with them to come back home my eyes were opened long ago you are more precious to me than a cow

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

can you not see said spider my eye is sewn up and now i can see such wonderful things that i must sing about them sew up my eyes said the tiger then i too can see these surprising sights spider immediately did so having thus made the tiger helpless he led him straight to nyankupons house nyankupon was amazed at spiders cleverness in fulfilling the three conditions he immediately gave him permission for the future to call all the old tales anansi tales

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

then you could easily climb the tree father anansi turned and said i thought i had all the worlds wisdom in this pot but i find you possess more than i do all my wisdom was insufficient to show me what to do yet you have been able to tell me in his anger he threw the pot down it struck on a great rock and broke the wisdom contained in it escaped and spread throughout the world

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

nothings wife however dissuaded him from going anansi tried again and again and each time she bade her husband not to listen at last nothing determined to go and see this thing as he placed his foot on the first step of course he slipped and down he fell into the hole the noise alarmed the household lights were fetched and nothing was found in the ditch so much wounded by the knives that he soon died his wife was terribly grieved at his untimely death she boiled many yams mashed them and took a great dishful of them round the district to every child she met she gave some so that the child might help her to cry for her husband this is why if you find a child crying and ask the cause you will often be told he is crying for nothing

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

no pot was to be seen anywhere some one must have discovered it his family must be the culprits he would find a means to punish them saying nothing to any one about the matter he waited till morning as soon as it was light he started off towards the shore where the old boat lay getting into the boat it started of its own accord and glided swiftly over the water—straight for the palm tree arrived there anansi attached the boat as before and climbed the tree this time unlike the last the nuts almost fell into his hands when he aimed them at the boat they fell easily into it—not one as before dropping into the water he deliberately took them and threw them over board immediately jumping after them as before he found himself in front of thunders cottage with thunder waiting to hear his tale this he told the old man showing the same sympathy as he had previously done this time however he presented anansi with a fine stick and bade him good bye anansi could scarcely wait till he got into the boat so anxious was he to try the magic properties of his new gift stick stick he said what you used to do for your master do for me also the stick began to beat him so severely that in a few minutes he was obliged to jump into the water and swim ashore leaving boat and stick to drift away where they pleased then he returned sorrowfully homeward bemoaning his many bruises and wishing he had acted more wisely from the beginning

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

the king then ordered them to find the thief no trace of him could be found anywhere anansi then cunningly said to the king i know lizard is a rogue because he stole my three wives from me perhaps he is the thief accordingly the men went to search lizards house there of course they found the remnants of the cock cooked ready to eat and his feathers under the bed they questioned lizard but the poor animal was unable to reply he could only move his head up and down helplessly they thought he was refusing to speak so dragged him before the king to the kings questions he could only return the same answer and his majesty got very angry he did not know that anansi had made the poor animal dumb lizard tried very hard to speak but in vain he was accordingly judged guilty of theft and as a punishment his wives were taken away from him and given to anansi since then lizards have always had a way of moving their heads helplessly backward and forward as if saying how can any one be so foolish as to trust anansi

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

anansi was so frightened that he threw the whole load on the ground and ran away as he ran he called back to morrow i shall go to ekubon—you will not be able to take my meat from me there you thief but kweku had heard where his father intended to go next day—and set the image in his path as before again anansi was obliged to leave his whole load—and again he called out the name of the place where he would go the following day the same thing occurred day after day till all the animals in the wood were killed by this time kweku tsin had become very rich—but his father anansi was still very poor he was obliged to go to kwekus house every day for food when the famine was over kweku gave a great feast and invited the entire village while all were gathered together kweku told the story of his fathers cunning and how it had been overcome this caused great merriment among the villagers anansi was so ashamed that he readily promised kweku to refrain from his evil tricks for the future this promise however he did not keep long

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

mr leopard begged them to set him and his friend free white ant and his family set to work destroyed the tree and set them at liberty leopard and wolf promised the ants that on their return they would spread a feast for them unfortunately spider heard the invitation and made up his mind to benefit by it on the third day which was the very time set by the wolf and leopard spider dressed up his children like the ants they set out singing the ants chorus in order to deceive leopard wolf and leopard welcomed them heartily and spread a splendid feast for them which the spiders thoroughly enjoyed soon after their departure the real ants arrived the two hosts thinking these must be spider and his family poured boiling water over them and killed them all except the father white ant on reaching home again in great anger vowed that he would never again help any one he would take every opportunity to harm property from that day to this white ants have been a perfect pest to man

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

i will now go and get the reward no no no shouted anansi the reward is mine i killed him with two big sticks i will take him to the king very well was the sons reply as you killed him you may take him off set anansi quite pleased with the prospect of getting a reward he reached the kings court only to find the king very angry at the death of his favourite the body of the jester was shut up in a great box and anansi was condemned—as a punishment—to carry it on his head for ever the king enchanted the box so that it could never be set down on the ground the only way in which anansi could ever get rid of it was by getting some other man to put it on his head this of course no one was willing to do at last one day when anansi was almost worn out with his heavy burden he met the ant will you hold this box for me while i go to market and buy some things i need badly said anansi to mr ant i know your tricks anansi replied ant you want to be rid of it oh no indeed mr ant protested anansi indeed i will come back for it i promise mr ant who was an honest fellow and always kept his own promises believed him he took the box on his head and anansi hurried off needless to say the sly fellow had not the least intention of keeping his word mr ant waited in vain for his return—and was obliged to wander all the rest of his life with the box in his head that is the reason we so often see ants carrying great bundles as they hurry along

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

she had been detained one day longer than usual her mother became impatient at her non appearance and angrily said where can adzanumee be she does not deserve that beautiful name she is only a yam a bird singing near by heard the mothers words and immediately flew off to the tree under which adzanumee sat there he began to sing adzanumee adzanumee your mother is unkind—she says you are only a yam you do not deserve your name adzanumee adzanumee the girl heard him and returned home weeping when the woman saw her she said my daughter my daughter what is the matter adzanumee replied o my mother my mother you have reproached me with being a yam you said i did not deserve my name o my mother my mother with these words she made her way toward the yam field her mother filled with fear followed her wailing nay adzanumee adzanumee do not believe it—do not believe it you are my daughter my dear daughter adzanumee but she was too late her daughter still singing her sad little song quickly changed back into a yam when the woman arrived at the field there lay the yam on the ground and nothing she could do or say would give her back the daughter she had desired so earnestly and treated so inconsiderately

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

i am going to take the stone in vain did his friend try to overcome his greed anansi insisted on putting the stone on his head and setting out for the village spider spider put me down said the stone the pig came and drank and went away the antelope came and fed and went away spider spider put me down spider however refused to listen he carried the stone from village to village selling flour until his bag was full of money he then set out for home having reached his hut and feeling very tired he prepared to put the stone down but the stone refused to be moved from his head it stuck fast there and no efforts could displace it the weight of it very soon grew too much for anansi and ground him down into small pieces which were completely covered over by the stone that is why we often find tiny spiders gathered together under large stones

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

they will bind the sand together and keep it from being washed so easily away he did so with great success the roots of the palms kept the sand firmly in its place when the time came again for the sea to overflow it washed just to the line of trees and came no farther thus many lives were saved annually by the kind forethought of the turtle in return—one would think—mankind would protect and cherish this poor animal but no each time a turtle comes to the seashore to lay her eggs among the sand she is caught and killed for the sake of her flesh it is the thought of the ingratitude of mankind to her which makes her beat her breast with her forelegs when she is caught she seems to be saying ah this is all the return i get for my kindness to you

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

he rudely replied indeed i will look at you if i choose and i will have my dinner at your table not at that small one again she said nothing—but she left her dinner untouched anansi ate his own then took hers and ate it also when he had finished she said now go into the garden and choose a drum do not take one which sounds dong dong only take one which says ding ding anansi retorted do you think i will take your advice you witch no i will choose the drum which says dong dong you are just trying to play a trick on me he did as he wished having secured the drum he marched off without so much as a thank you to the old woman no sooner had he reached home than he longed to show off his new power to the villagers he called all to the assembly place telling them to bring dishes and trays as he was going to provide them with food the people in great delight hurried to the spot anansi proudly taking his position in the midst of them began to beat his drum to his horror and dismay instead of the multitude of food stuffs which kweku had summoned anansi saw rushing toward him beasts and serpents of all kinds such creatures had never been seen on the earth before the people fled in every direction—all except anansi who was too terrified to move he speedily received fitting punishment for his disobedience fortunately kweku with his mother and sisters had been at the outer edge of the crowd so easily escaped into shelter the animals presently scattered in every direction and ever since they have roamed wild in the great forests

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

while the ladder was being made the men killed and ate all the cattle they needed—reserving all the bones for kweku tsin at his express desire when all was ready the young man gathered the bones into a great sack he also procured the dragons fiddle and placed it by his side everything was now ready kweku tsin threw one end of the ladder up to the sky it was caught and held the dragons victims began to mount one after the other kweku remaining at the bottom by this time however the monsters powerful eyesight showed him that something unusual was happening at his abode he hastened his return on seeing his approach kweku tsin also mounted the ladder—with the bag of bones on his back and the fiddle under his arm the dragon began to climb after him each time the monster came too near the young man threw him a bone with which being very hungry he was obliged to descend to the ground to eat kweku tsin repeated this performance till all the bones were gone by which time the people were safely up in the heavens then he mounted himself as rapidly as possible stopping every now and then to play a tune on the wonderful fiddle each time he did this the dragon had to return to earth to dance—as he could not resist the magic music when kweku was quite close to the top the dragon had very nearly reached him again the brave youth bent down and cut the ladder away below his own feet the dragon was dashed to the ground but kweku was pulled up into safety by the gods the latter were so pleased with his wisdom and bravery in giving freedom to his fellowmen that they made him the sun the source of all light and heat to the world his father anansi became the moon and his friends the stars thereafter it was kweku tsins privilege to supply all these with light each being dull and powerless without him

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

she took the idea into her head that ohia and awirehu—when together—were in the habit of laughing at her nothing was further from their thoughts but she refused to believe so whenever she saw them together she would stand and listen outside the door to hear what they were saying of course she never succeeded in hearing anything about herself at last one evening ohia and awirehu had gone to bed the latter was fast asleep when ohia heard a conversation which amused him very much a couple of mice in one corner of the room were arranging to go to the larder to get some food as soon as their master—who was watching them—was asleep ohia thinking this was a good joke laughed outright his lame wife heard him and rushed into the room she thereupon accused him of making fun of her again to awirehu the astonished husband of course denied this but to no purpose the jealous woman insisted that if he were laughing at an innocent joke he would at once tell it to her this ohia could not do without breaking his promise to king tiger his refusal fully confirmed the lame womans suspicions and she did not rest till she had laid the whole matter before the chief he being an intimate friend of ohia tried to persuade him to reveal the joke and set the matter at rest ohia naturally was most unwilling to do anything of the sort the persistent woman gave the chief no peace till he summoned her husband to answer her charge before the assembly finding no way of escape from the difficulty ohia prepared for death he first called all his friends and relatives to a great feast and bade them farewell then he put his affairs in order—bequeathed all his gold to the faithful awirehu and his property to his son and servants when he had finished he went to the assembly place where the people of the neighbourhood were gathered together he first took leave of the chief and then commenced his tale he related the story of his many misfortunes—of his adventure with the deer and of his promise to king tiger finally he explained the cause of his laughter which had annoyed his wife in so speaking he fell dead as the tiger had warned him he was buried amid great mourning for every one had liked and respected him the jealous woman who had caused her husbands death was seized and burnt as a witch her ashes were then scattered to the four winds of heaven and it is owing to this unfortunate fact that jealousy and selfishness are so widespread through the world where before they scarcely existed

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

there he lay before the gate with the pile of palm trees on top of him when the rain ceased and the gates were opened the people were amazed to see this great mound in front of the gate where before there had been nothing they fetched spades and began to shovel it away when they came to the bottom of the pile there lay klo his earthenware pot and the dust had caked together and formed quite a hard cover on his back he was taken into the palace—and by the use of many wonderful medicines he was restored to life but since that date he has never been able to stand upright he has been a creeping creature with a great shell on his back

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

as the last ray of the setting sun faded he was beheaded the instant this had happened the tortoise spoke the people looked at one another in troubled wonder our brother spoke truth then and we have killed him the tortoise however went on to explain he brought his punishment on himself i led a happy life in the forest singing my little song he was not content to come and listen to me he had to tell my secret which did not at all concern him to all the world had he not tried to make a show of me this would never have happened it is man who forces himself on things not things which force themselves on him

nigerian folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

all at once one of the gods appeared in the village carrying a great bag over his shoulder he summoned all the villagers together with these words oh my villagers i come with a bag of death for you thereupon he began to distribute the contents of his bag among them when he came to kwofi he said oh my son kwofi there was never sufficient meat for you neither is there any death as he said these words every one in the village died except kwofi he was left to reign there in peace which he did very happily

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

all denied having seen it he made up his mind that he must die in the meantime the king had laid the ring in one of the dishes in his palace and promptly forgot about it when the seventh morning had arrived he sent messengers far and wide to summon the people to come and see a man punished for disobeying the kings orders then he commanded his servants to set the palace in order and to take the dishes out of his room and wash them the careless servants—never looking to see if the dishes were empty or not took them all to a pool near by among them was the dish containing the ring of course when the dish was being washed out fell the ring into the water—without being noticed by the servants the palace being all in readiness the king went to fetch the ring it was nowhere to be found and he was obliged to go to the assembly without it when every one was ready the poor man maku mawu was called to come forward and show the ring he walked boldly up to the king and knelt down before him saying the ring is lost and i am prepared to die only grant me a few hours to put my house in order at first the king was unwilling to grant even that small favour but finally he said very well you may have four hours then you must return here and be beheaded before the people the innocent man returned to his home and put everything in order then feeling hungry he thought i may as well have some food before i die i will go and catch a fish in the pool he accordingly took his fish net and bait and started off to the very pool where the kings dishes had been washed very soon he caught a fine large fish cutting it open to clean it his delight may be imagined at finding the lost ring inside it at once he ran off to the palace crying i have found the ring i have found the ring when the people heard him they all shouted in joy he named himself rightly maku mawu for see—the death god has chosen for him that only will he die so the king had no excuse to harm him and he went free

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

the judge at last grew angry and dismissed the court the thief went home in great glee next day the wise man came to him for his half of the stolen money but he could get no answer but moo from the thief and at last in despair he had to go home without a penny the ungrateful robber kept everything for himself the wise man regretted very much that he had saved the thief from his just punishment but it was now too late

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

the latter warned him that he must always be careful when he saw the ram go backward he kept this in mind and from that day watched the ram very closely some time afterward it rained making the floor of the house very slippery the leopard called the ram as usual to dine with him as he was coming the ram slipped backward on the wet floor the leopard seeing this thought the other was about to kill him calling to his son to follow he sprang with all his might over the wall of the house and fled to the woods the ram called him back but he did not listen from that time leopards have made their abode in the woods while rams have remained at home

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

he went straight to her home and found her absent never thinking of her kindness to him—leopard only remembered that he was hungry—he ate all her kittens puss on discovering this dreadful fact was so angry that she refused to have anything more to do with the great creature consequently the leopard has never been able to learn how to catch animals that pass him on the right side quarcoo bah boni

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

i am very tired wolf took the load at once they had not gone far when wolf began to think of all the nice things in the basket and he also said he was going to rest a little while in the shade having got rid of the others in this way he hastily opened the basket he was greeted by quarcoo in the same way as goat had been and speedily closed the basket and followed the others in this way each animal got his turn of carrying the basket and each was punished for his greed finally elephants turn came when he rejoined the others and asked some one to relieve him of his load they cried out if you do not want to carry it any farther throw it away he did so and they all took to their heels they ran for several miles and only stopped when they came to a huge tree in whose shade they sat down to rest being quite breathless quarcoo however had got there before them he had quietly stepped out of the basket taken a short cut across country and arrived at the tree some time before them he guessed that they would probably rest there—so he climbed up into the branches there he remained hidden among the leaves while the animals sat on the ground below there they discussed quarcoo and all the trouble he had caused them they blamed goat for having been the one to persuade them to take the boy as a servant goat being the youngest of the company had the domestic work to do and he had welcomed the idea of help goat indignantly denied being the cause of all their troubles saying if i am really to blame for the admission of quarcoo—let him appear before us quarcoo promptly jumped down from the tree and stood in front of them they were so alarmed at his appearance they scattered in all directions the wolf ran to the woods—the tiger into the heart of the forest the elephant to nigeria the lion to the desert and the goat to the abode of human beings that is the reason why they live now in these various places instead of all together as they did previously

nigerian folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

according to the agreement they had made they had no choice but to make chameleon king but none of the animals were satisfied with the choice so as soon as the meeting was over all scattered in every direction and left chameleon quite alone he was so ashamed that he went and made his home at the top of a very high tree on a mountain in the dead of night you may hear him calling his attendants to come and stay with him but he is left quite alone a king without subjects is no king to lose an elephant for the sake of a wren is a very foolish thing to do

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

i will tie my elephant to this tree while i catch the bird this he did but when he tried to seize the latter it flew off he chased it for some time without success well well said he my family will just have to go without dinner i will now go back and get my elephant he returned to the spot where he had left the animal but to his dismay the latter had escaped spider was obliged to go home empty handed and he as well as his family went dinnerless that day

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

he told them faithfully the source of his income but no one believed him he was condemned to die the following day at noon next morning while preparations were being made for his execution word was brought to the prison that the kings eldest son had been bitten by a serpent and was dying any one who could cure him was begged to come and do so the hunter immediately thought of the powder which his serpent friend had given him and asked to be allowed to use it at first they were unwilling to let him try but finally he received permission the king asked him if there were anything he needed for it and he replied a traitors blood to mix it with his majesty immediately pointed out the wicked fellow who had accused the hunter and said there stands the worst traitor for he gave up the kind host who had saved his life the man was at once beheaded and the powder was mixed as the serpent had commanded as soon as it was applied to the princes wound the young man was cured in great delight the king loaded the hunter with honours and sent him happily home

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

by and by the man came along when he saw the tiger lying as he thought dead he was terribly troubled he began to cry and mourn for his friend and sat there all night long with tigers cub to watch that no harm should befall the body when morning came and tiger was quite assured that his friend had had nothing at all to do with the shot he was very glad he got up then to the mans great astonishment and explained why he had pretended to be dead go home said tiger and remember me always in future for your sake i will never touch a man unless he first meddles with me

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

imagining that the man before him was the strangers servant and never dreaming that it was the stranger himself he roused the sleeper and promised him a large reward if he would give him the solution to the riddle the young man replied that he would tell the answer if the omanhene would bring him the costume which he always wore at the assembly the ruler was only too pleased to go and fetch it for him when the young man had the garments quite safely he explained the riddle fully to the crafty omanhene he said that as they were leaving home the mother of his master made him cankey in order to find out if the cankey were good they gave half to a vulture the latter died three panthers which tasted the vulture also died a little of the panthers roasted flesh killed seven robbers the omanhene was delighted to have found out the answer he warned the supposed servant not to tell his master what had happened in the morning all the villagers assembled together again the omanhene proudly gave the answer to the riddle as if he himself had found it out but the young man asked him to produce his ceremonial dress which he ought to be wearing in assembly this of course he was unable to do as the young man had hidden it carefully away the stranger then told what had happened in the night and how the ruler had got the answer to the riddle by cheating the assembly declared that the omanhene had failed to find out the riddle and must die accordingly he was beheaded—and the young man was appointed omanhene in his place

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

in the darkness he did not see the stump of a tree which the overseers had cut down in the road he fell and broke his leg by this means the debts were transferred to the tree stump not knowing this a party of white ants came along next morning and began to eat into the tree when they had broken it nearly to the ground the tree told them that now the debts were theirs as they had killed it the ants being very wise held a council together to find out how best they could make money they decided each to contribute as much as possible with the proceeds one of their young men would go to the nearest market and buy pure linen thread this they would weave and sell and the profits would go to help pay the debts this was done from time to time all the linen in stock was brought and spread out in the sunshine to keep it in good condition when men see this linen lying out on the ant hills they call it mushroom and gather it for food

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

who is there picking the yams came the question again it is i mybrows wife this is my husbands field and i have a right to pick out came the fairies let us all help mybrows wife to pluck her corn and yams said they before the frightened woman could say a word the fairies had all set to work with a will and the corn and yams lay useless on the ground being all green and unripe the harvest was now utterly spoiled the farmers wife wept bitterly but to no purpose she returned slowly home not knowing what to say to her husband about such a terrible catastrophe she decided to keep silence about the matter accordingly next day the poor man set off gleefully to his field to see how his fine crops were going on his anger and dismay may be imagined when he saw his field a complete ruin all his work and foresight had been absolutely ruined through his wifes forgetfulness of her promise

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

at once the lion felt a great relief from pain roaring with joy he hugged kalulu to his chest dear friend he called with great emotion name your price now and i will grant it this very minute the hare modest as all hares go said your majesty i need nothing for myself i only request a boon for the sake of others please grant that all old animals are allowed to live because at a time of need like this when the young animals find themselves helpless to solve the problem an old and experienced animal would still be of some help the lion realized his previous mistake and immediately agreed to this request thereafter all animals were allowed to live for ever and ever

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

but in the quiet dark night the cosy hole in the pumpkin made him drowsy and he soon fell asleep presently there was a thumping and a—plucking arising from the neighbourhood before kalulu could wake up his pumpkin was raised high up in the air and pushed deep into a warm tunnel kalulu woke up with a start to find himself drum pumpkin and all swallowed whole by the large thieving elephant at first he did not know what to do suddenly an idea flashed into his mind with great difficulty he crept out of the pumpkin and started beating the drum loudly and jumping violently about inside the elephant thus causing the poor beast immense terror and terrible pain the elephant abruptly stopped eating and ran home groaning with pain and horror after giving him a long dose of discomfort and worry kalulu at last stopped the big elephant was so exhausted that he fell asleep immediately kalulu quietly climbed up the elephants throat and slid down his tusk and ran home happy to breathe the fresh air again from that day the elephant developed a great dislike for pumpkins because he thought that they did not agree with his stomach and caused him nightmares this affected his blood pressure more than ever therefore he stopped stealing any more of kalulus pumpkins kalulu was thus rid of the old thief

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

for there is one more stone to go kalulu gritted his teeth his indignation spurred him on to run faster than ever before hopping mad with anger he sped towards the sixth and last milestone at the sixth stone what did he see but the old tortoise standing with a broad grin stretched across his wrinkled face i thought you would never arrive i started growing a little weary waiting for you i polished up my shell a bit and picked out all the thorns from my tired feet kalulu did not want to hear any more he felt utterly humiliated for he believed it was one and the same tortoise who ran with him and defeated him in the race kalulu hid his face in shame ran home and curled up in his bed he wished and wished that he had never boasted and had never teased anyone and never brought shame on himself he never teased anyone again because he learned that even humble looking people have some hidden talents in them which because of their modesty they do not wish to flaunt in public

nigerian folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

poor nitwits they need to sleep after all this digging and what not i see said kalulu deep in thought would you like to try some of this potion the hyena offered then you will realize the foolishness of spending so much time and energy digging a well keeping a watch day and night and wasting much needed sleep next time if we have a drought the witch doctor is the very person who would put us right kalulu was quite taken in by the tall claims of the hyena slowly all his plans to catch the hyena were shattered i dont mind trying your potion kalulu agreed but i must keep watch as per instructions the hyena told kalulu that only one drop of the potion should be put deep inside the throat so that the throat would stay wet for many days there was no use putting it just on the tongue to achieve this one had to bend his head far backwards and open the mouth very wide faithfully kalulu did all this to receive the potion in his throat during his efforts he tipped backwards and toppled over in a split second the hyena drew out a rope from his bag tied up kalulu from head to foot and left him lying there my brother kalulu he laughed no potion in the whole world would quench my thirst as the water in this well does he kept on laughing as he drank his fill and ran away from the spot before it was daybreak next morning when the other animals discovered kalulu in his unenviable state they could only laugh and laugh because he had been well punished for his boastfulness in the end it was left to a tortoise to catch the crafty hyena he never paid any heed to the prattle ef the hyena but pretended to be a stone when the hyena approached the well he just put out his head and caught hold of the hyenas foot in between his teeth and kept him there until the others came to his aid with great rejoicings the hyena was imprisoned

nigerian folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

he could not bear to see the innocent animals being nagged by the stubborn hare deciding to put an end to their suffering he slithered down the tree to exchange the food in front of them just as he came down kalulu raised the axe with one blow he cut the snakes head off his body that was the end of the snake an unexpected cry of admiration from the people reached the sky the people who had come to watch one type of wonder saw another wonder — that of kalulu killing the snake hurrah for kalulu the wonder maker they chanted carry him to the chief the chief listened to their narration with great attention and offered threshya as wife to kalulu how can i marry a girl laughed kalulu it will look as ridiculous as a dog eating grass give her in marriage to a man everyone understood the point and joined in the laughter kalulu looked around there he spotted a handsome hefty young hunter give her to this young man kalulu suggested the chief was happy to do so threshya was overjoyed to get a human husband the hunter in his turn was deeply grateful to kalulu as he had never expected to be the husband of a chiefs daughter he promised that he would never ever hunt and kill any hare kalulu left the place with his pets while chief mukulus problem was satisfactorily solved

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

demanded the lion this time in panic the sack seems to have made you lighter than air sir kalulu appeared to be more and more worried i cannot get you down without help sir to prevent you from rising any further i have secured the rope to the tree sir then do something quickly the lion urged yes sir i shall run to the witch doctor and get him in person to come and remove the magic sir i am sorry sir it is all my fault sir with these words he ran away not to the witch doctor but to the other animals to whom he explained what had happened all the animals came there to watch the fun the wild buffalo changed his voice and pretended to be the witch doctor lion the king of the forest he called you have used my sack without my permission if you went to regain your original weight you should promise me something if you refuse you will get lighter still and fly away from your kingdom i promise anything the frightened lion shouted in dismay just get me out of here to regain your normal weight you must revert to normal eating habits yes i promise that said the lion meekly just one meal a day understand yes yes just one meal a day and sparingly too the lion was impatient you are a good soul your weight is restored announced the witch doctor kalulu signalled to the other animals to go away when they were all gone he brought the sack down and let the lion out where is the witch doctor he asked cautiously he has vanished into air sir kalulu explained it is one of his magic powers sir to disappear when his work is over the lion did not want to know any more of the magic he was sick and tired of it without further ado he moved away to keep his promise to the witch—doctor kalulus trick thus brought order back to the forest

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

all the while he hoped that the upstart would miserably fail in the boiling water test this part settled kalulu took one look at the bowl of boiling water which still looked quite hot i am to die he wailed pointing to the bowl dramatically let me go home and take leave of my beloved parents for i may never see them again without waiting for the chiefs permission he darted towards the bush in a great leap while the sympathetic assembly waited for his next move it was indeed a very interesting turn adding excitement to the usual dull procedures of the previous years some onlookers even shouted bravo kalulu or buck up kalulu or kalulu the greatest or god be with you kalulu and so on after a sufficient lapse of time kalulu emerged from the bush in a great flutter took up the bowl of boiling water from the ground and in one draught drank up and emptied the whole contents the crowd went into a mad frenzy of songs and dancing congratulating kalulu in good cheer all those young men who were waiting their turn behind kalulu heaved a sigh of relief for they need not undergo the ordeal any more but the chiefs face went pale while that of his pretty daughter grew angry and ashamed for after all their tricks to eliminate the unsuitable young men she was now landed with this nobody of a hare she felt very much humiliated and burst into tears kalulu thought it punishment enough for her and asked her to choose a human man in a sensible way this question settled kalulu made sure that the chief too stood by the promise he had given to kalulu thereafter there was peace and plenty in that land

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

so much so that the gods had to have an urgent meeting called and decided that the sky must be raised quite high if they wanted to be safe from the thoughtlessness of the talkative women at a moments notice they raised the sky so high that the women of the earth could insult the gods no more ever since then the sky has remained where we see it today along with the sky the gods too stay far away from the easy reach of any ordinary human beings so you see this is how the foolish chatter of silly unthinking women drove the sky and the gods far away from us

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

this bag attracted the attention of greedy chipila his wish to fill his gourd grew chipila began to watch for the moment when he could steal zongwes bag and run to the cave his chance came early one morning when zongwe was fast asleep kind trusting zongwe had left the bag unattended in the corner of the hut chipila crept out of his bed grasped the bag with both hands and quietly left the hut chipilas greed had made him forget that it was zongwe who had fed and sheltered him all along his greed blinded him completely in a short time chipila found himself in the cave he hurriedly undid the string from the bag and eagerly poured all the contents into the fourth gourd instantly the gourd filled up to the brim and overflowed while some of the cowries scattered all around him what a great relief how glad he was hee hee hee ha ha ha chipila laughed with great satisfaction until the cave echoed with his laughter i have done it i have done it he repeated several times hee hee hee ha ha came another laugh from within the cave chipila turned round to see who it was there in front of him stood the most evil looking spirit any human had ever seen chipilas mouth and eyes opened wide with awe for that was truly the spirit of an ancestor a greedy old man though he might have been hee hee hee my son continued the spirit with a ghastly smile you have indeed done it i have been waiting all these years for someone to fill the fourth gourd for me now my wish is fulfilled and i am deeply thankful to you laughing aloud the greedy spirit vanished into thin air taking all the four gourds with it

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

they stared at each other for a moment then the woman said i believe i too am growing a tail indeed you are growing a tail like mine exclaimed the skinny old man those were the last human words they ever spoke to each other because all their speech afterwards turned into chattering and gibbering they no longer resembled their former human selves as their tails grew longer and longer they learned to jump from tree to tree one day while fighting over a fruit they dropped the bag of cowries down on the ground it never occurred to them to pick it up again because by then they had completely forgotten the value of the cowrie shells the villagers waiting at the foot of the tree picked the bag up and shared the contents among themselves as the sick man had already died being tired of the long wait soon afterwards the scraggy old couple disappeared into the thick jungle today when monkeys come near the huts the people jeer at them and say that they are the descendants of the skinny old couple who stole the bag of cowrie shells long ago

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

strangely enough the fish man was very active and energetic the simple reason was that while everything else perished only the red berries that he ate were growing in plenty muti made a sacrifice to stay with him while her neighbours went away she grew thinner every day as she could not find even a drop of water to quench her thirst one day it was especially very hot muti felt she would die if she did not find something to wet her tongue her eyes fell on the basket that her tiny husband had brought in it was full of the juicy red berries she watched for the moment when he would be away as soon as he went out she shelled a handful of the berries and shoved them into her mouth with trembling fingers she no longer heeded the old womans warnings her hunger and thirst had driven her to do this desperate thing oh but what a relief from thirst how tasty they were why did she ever keep away from them so long these dreams lasted only for a few minutes she heard the husband come into the hut hastily she tried to hide the shells behind the cooking pots however his sharp eyes had seen her and he understood what she had just done he stood stone for a moment as if stunned muti my wife he groaned all his energy failing him look what you have done you have deceived me now we must part with those words he ran towards the dry river muti followed him frantically crying and yelling for him to stop she apologized over and over again as she ran behind him but the fish man had gone he had once again changed into a fish and dug into the sand to find water muti was heart broken she melted into her own tears and mingled with the dry sand

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

milika promised that and took them home her heart was filled with gratitude the boys grew up to be hunters and farmers milikas children were admired by all the people they brought her honour riches and happiness soon it was time for them to get married milika gave away her two daughters in marriage to the neighbouring chieftains the first two sons married beautiful young girls and set up their own homes wherever she went milika was treated with great respect because of her children but there was just one worry in her heart chanda and his second wife eneli had never returned to the house to see her glorious life she had never had the opportunity to show off in front of them besides the youngest son and the youngest daughter still remained unsettled when these two young children were also properly settled to a good life she thought she would go in search of her husband and eneli and show them how she had thrived in spite of their ill treatment of her as days went by she grew more and more impatient this impatience grew into exasperation and finally anger why dont you two ever get settled she scolded them one day are you not old enough to marry and start a life of your own and raise a family the boy and the girl looked up in great sorrow our human mother has scolded us they chanted plaintively in unison we born of the fruit must go back to the fruit this chant grew louder and louder before milika could understand its meaning her angry words had drawn all her children to the house from far and wide they were all chanting the same words over and over again when the sixth one also arrived at the scene they all linked hands and walked towards the monkey fruit tree still chanting the same doleful words they all entered into one of the fruits one by one and thus disappeared from all human eyes the whole village came to watch them disappear but none could do anything to get them back

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

so the next day she knocked again at the jackals door but this time without a disguise what do you want asked the jackal in his usual gruff voice it is so cold up there in the sky replied the moon please let me sleep in one of your cosy beds tonight after his bad experience the jackal was reluctant to grant the moons request but her charming manner soon made him change his mind so that night when all was quiet the moon took the gold tipped spear for the third time she managed to get out of the jackals house but in the garden she fell over a bucket the jackal woke up but was not quick enough to catch the moon this time as she was already high up in the sky the gold tipped spear had a magic power that enabled the jackal to hunt successfully but now without it he was helpless he became thin and sickly and the only food he got was the left overs from other animals meals so to this day the jackal climbs a hill at night and howls at the moon to make her return his spear

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

but the hard work severely told on the poor helpless creatures the waxen beauty began to wear from their face and hands they became lean and listless nevertheless the revengeful wife drove them into the field to till the land the elder one ran to the field in great alarm the younger maiden begged for mercy because she feared her sister would surely melt away in the hot sun nonsense retorted the first wife no woman ever melts away by working in the sun under the midday sun the elder maiden actually began to melt the wax dripped down from her body and ran on the soil the young sister watched helplessly because she could not go to her rescue by evening she had melted so much that only a big toe from her foot remained on the field in the cool of the evening the young one ventured out to collect the toe and placed it in a pot of cold water not wishing to stay in the house any longer she went to her mothers house lamenting her sisters fate when the young husband returned in the evening his first wife was still enjoying her leisure believing the wax maidens to be at work but the food was not cooked the field was not tilled and the wax maidens were nowhere to be seen frantic with anxiety for the safety of his beloved wax maidens the young husband ran to the village of the maidens only to learn the sad news and to see the only remaining wax toe of the beauty due to the long walk and her heavy heart the young sister too had melted into a grotesque lump of wax beyond anyones recognition tearing off into the dark night an anguished cry escaped the lips of the distracted husband as he blindly ran into the woods never to return

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

she had never seen any one of that stature in the neighbourhood her heart pounding with excitement and fear she approached the man to have a closer look she took a few steps forward but suddenly she stepped on something soft and warm as she bent down to examine the object she screamed oh my pet my dear dog is dead and tearfully she gathered the animal in her arms strange to say it felt very light her scream alerted the working young man he came running to her please give me back my skin quick he urged at once everything became clear to nalishebo the handsome young benefactor was none other than the dog himself by some magic power this young man could get in and out of the dog skin as he chose he had been keeping this power a secret for many years but nalishebo accidentally discovered it that night the young man begged nalishebo not to divulge the secret to anyone because if many others knew of it his power would wane and he would be condemned to remain a dog for ever such things could not be hidden from prying eyes for long as her sisters and others suspected that she entertained a secret lover the young girl thought of a plan to bring the matter to the open at least to protect her own good name in those days it was considered very important that the daughters of the chief set an exemplary example for the other maidens of a chiefdom if nalishebo was proved to be a wanton maiden she could be punished severely nalishebo realized that the secret of the young man would be out some day and he would be condemned to be a dog for ever on the other hand if she protected the secret much longer the chief and the elders of the country would punish her for her wayward behaviour therefore when next time the young man came out of the dog skin at night she crept up behind him to steal the skin when he was hard at work she burned the dog skin to ashes it was a pity though to have to destroy such a smooth healthy lovely skin that she adored all along this she had to do in order to retain the young man in his human form for ever and to extricate herself from the false stories in this way nalishebo broke the spell and married the fifth young brother and they all lived happily ever after

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

he would therefore forgive his son when the people saw the girl they agreed that she was very fine and quite worthy of being the princes wife and begged the king to cancel the law he had made altogether and the king agreed and as the law had been made under the egbo law he sent for eight egbos and told them that the order was cancelled throughout his kingdom and that for the future no one would be killed who had a daughter more beautiful than the princes wives and gave the egbos palm wine and money to remove the law and sent them away then he declared that the tortoises daughter adet should marry his son and he made them marry the same day a great feast was then given which lasted for fifty days and the king killed five cows and gave all the people plenty of foo foo and palm oil chop and placed a large number of pots of palm wine in the streets for the people to drink as they liked the women brought a big play to the kings compound and there was singing and dancing kept up day and night during the whole time the prince and his companions also played in the market square when the feast was over the king gave half of his kingdom to the tortoise to rule over and three hundred slaves to work on his farm the prince also gave his father in law two hundred women and one hundred girls to work for him so the tortoise became one of the richest men in the kingdom the prince and his wife lived together for a good many years until the king died when the prince ruled in his place and all this shows that the tortoise is the wisest of all men and animals

nigerian folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

the death of the leopard meant that four of the hunters creditors were now disposed of as the bush cat had killed the cock the goat had driven the bush cat away who thus forfeited his claim and in his turn the goat had been killed by the leopard who had just been slain by okun this meant a saving of eight hundred rods to effiong but he was not content with this and directly he heard the report of the gun he ran out from where he had been hiding all the time and found the leopard lying dead with okun standing over it then in very strong language effiong began to upbraid his friend and asked him why he had killed his old friend the leopard that nothing would satisfy him but that he should report the whole matter to the king who would no doubt deal with him as he thought fit when effiong said this okun was frightened and begged him not to say anything more about the matter as the king would be angry but the hunter was obdurate and refused to listen to him and at last okun said if you will allow the whole thing to drop and will say no more about it i will make you a present of the two hundred rods you borrowed from me this was just what effiong wanted but still he did not give in at once eventually however he agreed and told okun he might go and that he would bury the body of his friend the leopard directly okun had gone instead of burying the body effiong dragged it inside the house and skinned it very carefully the skin he put out to dry in the sun and covered it with wood ash and the body he ate when the skin was well cured the hunter took it to a distant market where he sold it for much money and now whenever a bush cat sees a cock he always kills it and does so by right as he takes the cock in part payment of the two hundred rods which the hunter never paid him

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

the young man then walked round the square and bowed to the king and the people and asked the question am i not worthy to be the son of any chief in the country and all the people answered yes the boy then brought his sister out into the middle leading her by the hand she was a beautiful girl and well made when every one had looked at her he said is not my sister worthy to be any chiefs daughter and the people replied that she was worthy of being any ones daughter even the kings then he called his mother adiaha and she came out looking very beautiful with her best cloth and beads on and all the people cheered as they had never seen a finer woman the boy then asked them is this woman worthy of being the kings wife and a shout went up from every one present that she would be a proper wife for the king and looked as if she would be the mother of plenty of fine healthy sons then the boy pointed out the jealous woman who was sitting next to the king and told the people his story how that his mother who had two skins was the spiders daughter how she had married the king and how the head wife was jealous and had made a bad ju ju for the king which made him forget his wife how she had persuaded the king to throw himself and his sister into the river which as they all knew had been done but the water ju ju had saved both of them and had brought them up then the boy said i leave the king and all of you people to judge my case if i have done wrong let me be killed on the stone by the egbos if on the other hand the woman has done evil then let the egbos deal with her as you may decide when the king knew that the wrestler was his son he was very glad and told the egbos to take the jealous woman away and punish her in accordance with their laws the egbos decided that the woman was a witch so they took her into the forest and tied her up to a stake and gave her two hundred lashes with a whip made from hippopotamus hide and then burnt her alive so that she should not make any more trouble and her ashes were thrown into the river the king then embraced his wife and daughter and told all the people that she adiaha was his proper wife and would be the queen for the future when the palaver was over adiaha was dressed in fine clothes and beads and carried back in state to the palace by the kings servants that night the king gave a big feast to all his subjects and told them how glad he was to get back his beautiful wife whom he had never known properly before also his son who was stronger than all men and his fine daughter the feast continued for a hundred and sixty six days and the king made a law that if any woman was found out getting medicine against her husband she should be killed at once then the king built three new compounds and placed many slaves in them both men and women one compound he gave to his wife another to his son and the third he gave to his daughter they all lived together quite happily for some years until the king died when his son came to the throne and ruled in his stead

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

that night they all feasted and enjoyed themselves but one of the sons who was very greedy thought to himself i wonder where my father gets all this good food from i must ask him so in the morning he said to his father tell me where do you get all this foo foo and soup from but his father refused to tell him as his wife who was a cunning woman said if we let our children know the secret of the foo foo tree some day when they are hungry after we have got our daily supply one of them may go to the tree and gather more which will break the ju ju but the envious son being determined to get plenty of food for himself decided to track his father to the place where he obtained the food this was rather difficult to do as the tortoise always went out alone and took the greatest care to prevent any one following him the boy however soon thought of a plan and got a calabash with a long neck and a hole in the end he filled the calabash with wood ashes which he obtained from the fire and then got a bag which his father always carried on his back when he went out to get food in the bottom of the bag the boy then made a small hole and inserted the calabash with the neck downwards so that when his father walked to the foo foo tree he would leave a small trail of wood ashes behind him then when his father having slung his bag over his back as usual set out to get the daily supply of food his greedy son followed the trail of the wood ashes taking great care to hide himself and not to let his father perceive that he was being followed at last the tortoise arrived at the tree and placed his calabashes on the ground and collected the food for the day the boy watching him from a distance when his father had finished and went home the boy also returned and having had a good meal said nothing to his parents but went to bed the next morning he got some of his brothers and after his father had finished getting the daily supply they went to the tree and collected much foo foo and soup and so broke the ju ju at daylight the tortoise went to the tree as usual but he could not find it as during the night the whole bush had grown up and the foo foo tree was hidden from sight there was nothing to be seen but a dense mass of prickly tie tie palm then the tortoise at once knew that some one had broken the ju ju and had gathered foo foo from the tree twice in the same day so he returned very sadly to his house and told his wife he then called all his family together and told them what had happened and asked them who had done this evil thing they all denied having had anything to do with the tree so the tortoise in despair brought all his family to the place where the foo foo tree had been but which was now all prickly tie tie palm and said my dear wife and children i have done all that i can for you but you have broken my ju ju you must therefore for the future live on the tie tie palm so they made their home underneath the prickly tree and from that day you will always find tortoises living under the prickly tie tie palm as they have nowhere else to go to for food

nigerian folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

he also ordered eight egbos to attend armed with matchets when the case was tried ituen was found guilty and the king told the eight egbo men to take him into the bush and deal with him according to native custom the egbos then took ituen into the bush and tied him up to a tree then with a sharp knife they cut off his lower jaw and carried it to the king when the queen heard the fate of her lover she was very sad and cried for three days this made the king angry so he told the egbos to deal with his wife and her servant according to their law they took the queen and the servant into the bush where ituen was still tied up to the tree dying and in great pain then as the queen had nothing to say in her defence they tied her and the girl up to different trees and cut the queens lower jaw off in the same way as they had her lovers the egbos then put out both the eyes of the servant and left all three to die of starvation the king then made an egbo law that for the future no one belonging to ituens family was to go into the market on market day and that no one was to pick up the rubbish in the market the king made an exception to the law in favour of the vulture and the dog who were not considered very fine people and would not be likely to run off with one of the kings wives and that is why you still find vultures and dogs doing scavenger in the market places even at the present time

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

he therefore got his fighting men together and took them in canoes by the creeks to old town taking care that no one carried word to calabar that he was coming the morning following the murder of mbotu his people were rather surprised that he did not appear at his usual time so his head wife knocked at his door not receiving any answer she called the household together and they broke open the door when they entered the room they found the king lying dead on his bed covered in blood but his head was missing at this a great shout went up and the whole town mourned although they missed the pretty stranger they never connected her in their minds with the death of their king and were quite unsuspicious of any danger and were unprepared for fighting in the middle of the mourning while they were all dancing crying and drinking palm wine the king of itu with all his soldiers attacked old town taking them quite by surprise and as their leader was dead the calabar people were very soon defeated and many killed and taken prisoners

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

when his wife looked into the pot and saw the dead body of her husband boiling she was very angry and reported the matter to the king who gave orders that the bat should be made a prisoner every one turned out to catch the bat but as he expected trouble he flew away into the bush and hid himself all day long the people tried to catch him so he had to change his habits and only came out to feed when it was dark and that is why you never see a bat in the daytime

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

she then made a ju ju and called the winds to come and convey afiong to her home at first a violent tornado came with thunder lightning and rain but the skulls mother sent him away as unsuitable the next wind to come was a gentle breeze so she told the breeze to carry afiong to her mothers house and said good bye to her very soon afterwards the breeze deposited afiong outside her home and left her there when the parents saw their daughter they were very glad as they had for some months given her up as lost the father spread soft animals skins on the ground from where his daughter was standing all the way to the house so that her feet should not be soiled afiong then walked to the house and her father called all the young girls who belonged to afiongs company to come and dance and the feasting and dancing was kept up for eight days and nights when the rejoicing was over the father reported what had happened to the head chief of the town the chief then passed a law that parents should never allow their daughters to marry strangers who came from a far country then the father told his daughter to marry a friend of his and she willingly consented and lived with him for many years and had many children

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

and this was done and aida unen returned to her parents that night the kings third wife who was a friend of adia unens talked the whole matter over with the king and explained to him that it was entirely owing to the jealousy of his head wife that adia unen had been disgraced she also told him that the whole thing had been arranged beforehand in order that the king should get rid of adia unen of whom all the other wives were jealous when the king heard this he was very angry and made up his mind to send the jealous woman back to her parents empty handed without her clothes and presents when she arrived at her fathers house the parents refused to take her in as she had been given as a wife to the king and whenever the parents wanted anything they could always get it at the palace it was therefore a great loss to them she was thus turned into the streets and walked about very miserable and after a time died very poor and starving the king grieved so much at having been compelled to send his favourite wife adia unen away that he died the following year and when the people saw that their king had died of a broken heart they passed a law that for the future no one should marry any bird or animal

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

on the whole king archibong had the best of the fighting and drove king duke back when the fighting was at its hottest the other chiefs sent out all the egbo men with drums and stopped the fight and the next day the palaver was tried in egbo house king archibong was found guilty and was ordered to pay six thousand rods to king duke he refused to pay this amount to duke and said he would rather go on fighting but he did not mind paying the six thousand rods to the town as the egbos had decided the case they were about to commence fighting again when the whole country rose up and said they would not have any more fighting as archibong said to duke that the womans death was not really the fault of his slave okun archibong but of effiong edem who made the false report when duke heard this he agreed to leave the whole matter to the chiefs to decide and effiong edem was called to take his place on the stone he was tried and found guilty and two egbos came out armed with cutting whips and gave him two hundred lashes on his bare back and then cut off his head and sent it to duke who placed it before his ju ju from that time to the present all apes and monkeys have been frightened of human beings and even of little children the egbos also passed a law that a chief should not allow one of his men slaves to marry a woman slave of another house as it would probably lead to fighting

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

this he did and the king held a big palaver at which the leopard stated his case quite shortly but when the fish was put upon his defence he had nothing to say so the king addressing his subjects said this is a very bad case as the fish has been the leopards friend and has been trusted by him but the fish has taken advantage of his friends absence and has betrayed him the king therefore made an order that for the future the fish should live in the water and that if he ever came on the land he should die he also said that all men and animals should kill and eat the fish whenever they could catch him as a punishment for his behaviour with his friends wife

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

in the morning when he woke up the bat was more hungry than ever and in a very bad temper so he sought out his mother in law and started scolding her and asked her why she had not brought his food as he had told her to do she replied she had brought his food and that he had eaten it but this the bat denied and accused the tortoise of having eaten the food the woman then said she would call the people in and they should decide the matter but the tortoise slipped out first and told the people that the best way to find out who had eaten the food was to make both the bat and himself rinse their mouths out with clean water into a basin this they decided to do so the tortoise got his tooth stick which he always used and having cleaned his teeth properly washed his mouth out and returned to the house when all the people had arrived the woman told them how the bat had abused her and as he still maintained stoutly that he had had no food for five days the people said that both he and the tortoise should wash their mouths out with clean water into two clean calabashes this was done and at once it could clearly be seen that the bat had been eating as there were distinct traces of the palm oil and foo foo which the tortoise had put inside his lips floating on the water when the people saw this they decided against the bat and he was so ashamed that he ran away then and there and has ever since always hidden himself in the bush during the daytime so that no one could see him and only comes out at night to get his food the next day the tortoise returned to the mother sheep and told her what he had done and that the bat was for ever disgraced the old sheep praised him very much and told all her friends in consequence of which the reputation of the tortoise for wisdom was greatly increased throughout the whole country

nigerian folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

the fight was over in a very few minutes as the worms were bitten in pieces by the sharp pincer like mouths of the driver ants the few worms who survived squirmed away and buried themselves out of sight king eyo decided that the driver ants were easy winners and ever since the worms have always been afraid and have lived underground and if they happen to come to the surface after the rain they hide themselves under the ground whenever anything approaches as they fear all people

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

he was much surprised when the king of the forest returned his salutation and very much flattered also the elephant said look here worm i have mislaid my eyes will you lend me yours for a few days i will return them next market day the worm was so flattered at being noticed by the elephant that he gladly consented and took his eyes out which as every one knows were very small and gave them to the elephant when the elephant had put the worms eyes into his own large eye sockets the flesh immediately closed round them so tightly that when the market day arrived it was impossible for the elephant to get them out again to return to the worm and although the worm repeatedly made applications to the elephant to return his eyes the elephant always pretended not to hear and sometimes used to say in a very loud voice if there are any worms about they had better get out of my way as they are so small i cannot see them and if i tread on them they will be squashed into a nasty mess ever since then the worms have been blind and for the same reason elephants have such small eyes quite out of proportion to the size of their huge bodies

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

he made up his mind at once that he would obtain justice from the king and flew off to calabar where he told the whole story and asked for immediate redress so the king sent for the parents of the hen and told them they must repay to the hawk the amount of dowry they had received from him on the marriage of their daughter according to the native custom but the hens parents said that they were so poor that they could not possibly afford to pay so the king told the hawk that he could kill and eat any of the cocks children whenever and wherever he found them as payment of his dowry and if the cock made any complaint the king would not listen to him from that time until now whenever a hawk sees a chicken he swoops down and carries it off in part payment of his dowry

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

when the water was level with the top of a mans head the water said to the sun do you want more of my people to come and the sun and moon both answered yes not knowing any better so the water flowed on until the sun and moon had to perch themselves on the top of the roof again the water addressed the sun but receiving the same answer and more of his people rushing in the water very soon overflowed the top of the roof and the sun and moon were forced to go up into the sky where they have remained ever since

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

at last all the dishes were finished and the fly having been given no food by the cow went supperless to bed the next day the fly complained to the queen who decided that as the cow had presided at the feast and had not given the fly his share but had pointed to her eye for the future the fly could always get his food from the cows eyes wherever she went and even at the present time wherever the cows are the flies can always be seen feeding off their eyes in accordance with the queens orders

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

when the cat told the king he called the girl before him and had her flogged the rat he handed over to the cat to deal with and dismissed them both from his service the cat was so angry at this that she killed and ate the rat and ever since that time whenever a cat sees a rat she kills and eats it

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

ever since when the lightning is angry he commits damage as before but you can hear his mother the thunder rebuking him and telling him to stop sometimes however when the mother has gone away some distance from her naughty son you can still see that he is angry and is doing damage but his mothers voice cannot be heard

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

then the chief told the monkey he might take one of the ripe plantains hanging up in the verandah the monkey did not want telling twice as he was very fond of plantains he soon tore off the skin and holding the plantain in both hands took bite after bite from the end of it looking at it carefully after each bite then the chief remarked that the elephant and the bush cow ought to have arrived by that time as they were going to have a great fight directly the monkey heard this he remembered what it was he wanted to tell the chief so having swallowed the piece of plantain he had placed in the side of his cheek he said ah i that reminds me and then after much chattering and making all sorts of funny grimaces finally made the chief understand that the elephant and bush cow instead of fighting where they had been told were having it out in the bush on the main road leading to the market and had thus stopped most of the people coming in when the chief heard this he was much incensed and called for his bow and poisoned arrows and went to the scene of the combat he then shot both the elephant and the bush cow and throwing his bow and arrows away ran and hid himself in the bush about six hours afterwards both the elephant and bush cow died in great pain ever since when wild animals want to fight between themselves they always fight in the big bush and not on the public roads but as the fight was never definitely decided between the elephant and the bush cow whenever they meet one another in the forest even to the present time they always fight

west african folktale

folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling