The Tortoise Shell Other African Stories

Three African Tales: The Tortoise Shell; Why the Frog Has No Tail; The Sun, the Moon, and the Water.

African culture is closely tied up to its affinity to nature. It is not surprising, therefore, that fables comprise many of African folktales from past to present. Ibiye Omieibi-Davids¿s wonderful storytelling is demonstrated in African Tortoise Tales, a collection of memorable African fables set to capture the hearts and minds of children the world over. ¿The Tortoise and the Sardine¿ tells why stubborness leads to unfortunate situations that may affect someone forever. ¿The Tortoise and the Magic Drums¿ shows that greed brings nothing but misery, and ¿The Tortoise and the Stone Man¿ depicts that evil schemes and bad actions when uncovered will not escape punishment. Nine other interesting stories delve in varied themes like arrogance and humility, trust and betrayal, and loyalty and camaraderie. Accompanied by beautiful illustrations, African Tortoise Tales is a book children and adults alike would enjoy reading for years.

This children's storybook contains five African folktales. The first story explains How the Tortoise Got Its Rough Shell. The animals had a summit with the supreme being, Eke, in the sky. Greed and lack of altruism cost the Tortoise dearly, as he crash-landed onto the roof of his hut from the sky. His broken shells were mended by Snail, but the result was a tortoise with rough shells. Altruism and concern for others are the morals of this story. The second story which extols the pride of motherhood is on The Farmer Who Buried His Mother Alive. Donealot, the successful farmer, had no choice other than to bury his persistently sick mother in the evil forest at night with the help of his friend, Conscience. The spirits of the evil forest brought his mother back home to a remorseful son with a sobering message, "You can never do enough for your mother." Encounters of the Lion and the Tortoise is the third story. In two separate incidents, Tortoise outwits Lion. The animals that were on their way to work for Lion never got there. Instead, Tortoise intercepted and entertained them all day with his melodious music. Wiseone, the youngest son of Tortoise, survived a murder attempt by Lion. Agunta, Lion's son, was killed instead. Wiseone returns home to a heroic welcome, with a reminder to all of us that wits usually prevail over raw strength, and that slow and steady wins the race. The story of The Two Mischievous Brothers describes how two brothers, Kofi and Uka, conspired to swindle people. On market days, Uka would transform himself into a bull, and his brother Kofi took him to the market. Unsuspecting buyers would exchange the bull for other animals. Uka, the bull, escaped from the buyer and transformed himself back into a human, only to be resold to someone else. The two brothers ran out of luck when Nkume, the buyer with magical powers, beat them to their game. The moral of the story is that it does not pay to be a cheat. The fifth story, Vengeance of the God of Justice - Amadioha, explains the ordeal Chuk went through at the hands of his wicked stepmother, Dab. This heir to the throne of the ancient city of Kaa survived numerous physical and emotional abuses from Dab. He was buried alive for a crime he never committed. Only the timely intervention of the god of justice - Amadioha brought him back from the grave. The moral of the story is that we should be careful not to maltreat the less-privileged in our society, because the natural law of justice is sure to catch up with us if we treat others unfairly.

The Hare and Baboon and other Stories is a collection of 7 fables from 7 different countries on the African continent: Nigeria, Togo, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Angola, Cameroon, and Cote d'Ivoire. These tales are filled with the warmth of Africa and offer a glimpse into the cultures they are set in. They are filled with talking animals and adventurous quests. They generally include morals that teach us to be better people. Among other things, the stories explain how the tortoise's shell became cracked, and how fire came to earth. Each story is accompanied by an original illustration painted by the artist Thamba Tabvuma.

An African folklore about the story of the greedy Tortoise/ Turtle. Before now the Tortoise has always had a very beautiful and smooth shell. Discover through this African folklore, how the Tortoise cracked his shell and ever since it's has remained cracked.

Tutu the tortoise wants to play, run, jump and swim with her friends, so she takes off her shell and leaves it under a tree. As night falls, she looks for her shell - but it has gone Who could have taken it? Tutu cries and her friends gather round to help her.