Where Animals Talk: West African Folk Lore TalesNassau, Robert Hamill
Philosophy
Where Animals Talk: West African Folk Lore Tales
Nassau, Robert Hamill
Animals -- Folklore; Tales -- Africa, West
He carried the Drum with him clear back to the foot of the coco
tree. He tied it with a rattan to the tree, and then said to the Drum,
"Ngâmâ! do as they said!" Instantly, the Drum set out a long table,
and put on all sorts of food. Tortoise felt very glad and happy for
the abundance of food. So he ate and ate, and was satisfied. Again
he said, "Ngâmâ! do as they said!" And Drum took back the table and
the food to itself up the tree, leaving a little food at the foot;
and then came back to the hand of Tortoise. He put this little food
in his traveling-bag, and gathered from the ground the coco-nuts
he had left lying there in the morning, and started to go back to
his town. He stopped at a spot a short distance in the rear of the
town. So delighted was he with his Drum that he tested it again. He
stood it up, and with the palm of his hand struck it, tomu! A table
at once stood there, with all kinds of food. Again he ate, and also
filled his traveling-bag. Then he said to a tree that was standing
near by, "Bend down!" It bowed; and he tied the Drum to its branch;
and went off into the town. The coco-nuts and the mushrooms he handed
to his women and children. After he had entered his house, his chief
wife said to him, "Where have you been all this long while since
the morning?" He replied evasively, "I went wandering clear down
to the beach to gather coco-nuts. And, this day I saw a very fine
thing. You, my wife, shall see it!" Then he drew out the food from
the bag, potatoes, and rice, and beef. And he said, "The while that
we eat this food, no one must show any of it to Njâ." So, they two,
and his other wife and their family of children ate.
Soon day darkened; and they all went to go to sleep. And soon another
day began to break. At day-break, Tortoise started to go off to the
place where was the Drum. Arrived there, he went to the tree, and said
to the Drum, "Ngâmâ! do as they said!" The Drum came rapidly down to
the ground, and put out the table all covered with food. Tortoise took
a part, and ate, and was satisfied. Then he also filled the bag. Then
said he to the Drum, "Do as you did!" And Drum took back the things,
and went up the tree. On another day, at day-break, he went to the
tree and did the same way.
On another day, as he was going, his eldest son, curious to find
out where his father obtained so much food, secretly followed
him. Tortoise went to where the Drum was. The child hid himself, and
stood still. He heard his father say to the tree, "Bend!" And its top
bent down. The child saw the whole process, as Tortoise took the Drum,
stood it up, and with the palm of his hand, struck it, ve! saying,
"Do as you have been told to do!" At once a table stood prepared,
at which Tortoise sat down and ate. And then, when he had finished,
saying, "Tree! bend down," it bent over for Drum to be tied to it. He
returned Drum to the branch; and the tree stood erect.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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