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
On other days, Tortoise came to the tree, and did the same way, eating;
and returning to his house; on all such occasions, bringing food for
his family. One day, the son, who had seen how to do all those things,
came to the tree, and said to it, "Bow down." It bowed; and he did
as his father had done. So Drum spread the table. The child ate, and
finished eating. Then said he to Drum, "Put them away!" And the table
disappeared. Then he took up the Drum, instead of fastening it to the
tree, and secretly carried it to town to his own house. He went to call
privately his brothers, and his father's women, and other members of
the family. When they had come together in his house, at his command,
the Drum did as usual; and they ate. And when he said to the Drum,
"Put away the things!" it put them away.
Tortoise came that day from the forest where he had been searching
for the loved mushrooms for his family. He said to himself, "Before
going into the town, I will first go to the tree to eat." As he
approached the tree, when only a short distance from it, the tree
was standing as usual, but the Drum was not there! He exclaimed,
"Truly, now, what is this joke of the tree?" As he neared the foot
of the tree, still there was no Drum to be seen! He said to the tree,
"Bow down!" There was no response! He passed on to the town, took his
axe, and returned at once to the tree, in anger saying, "Lest I cut
you down, bend!" The tree stood still. Tortoise began at once with his
axe chopping, Ko! ko! The tree fell, toppling to the ground, tomu! He
said to it, "You! produce the Drum, lest I cut you in pieces!" He split
the tree all into pieces; but he did not see the Drum. He returned to
the town; and, as he went, he walked anxiously saying to himself, "Who
has done this thing?" When he reached his house, he was so displeased
that he declined to speak. Then his eldest son came to him, and said,
"O! my father! why is it that you are silent and do not speak? What
have you done in the forest? What is it?" He replied, "I don't want
to talk." The son said, "Ah! my father! you were satisfied when you
used to come and eat, and you brought us mushrooms. I am the one who
took the Drum." Tortoise said to him, "My child, now bring out to us
the Drum." He brought it out of an inner room. Then Tortoise and the
son called together all their people privately, and assembled them in
the house. They commanded the Drum. It did as it usually did. They
ate. Their little children took their scraps of potatoes and meat
of wild-animals, and, in their excitement, forgot orders, and went
out eating their food in the open street. Other children saw them,
and begged of them. They gave to them. Among them were children of
Leopard, who went and showed the meat to their father.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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