African Folk Tales Read online

  The king therefore gave his daughter to Rain to be his wife and there was much rejoicing.

  Ever since that time when water quenched flames, there has been enmity between Rain and Fire.

  The Hare and the Crownbird

  ONE DAY the hare and his friend the crownbird went together on a journey. They were going to visit the house of the hare’s uncle.

  They travelled over hills and through valleys, until they came to a river. Beside the river there was an old woman washing herself.

  “Please,” the old woman asked the hare, “help me to wash my back.”

  “I will not,” the hare replied.

  Then the old woman saw the crownbird who was following the hare. “Please,” the old woman asked the crownbird, “help me to wash my back.”

  “Yes, I will,” the crownbird replied and began to help the old woman.

  “Why do you bother yourself on such a task?” the hare said to the crownbird. “I will leave you to do this unrewarding job.”

  So saying, the hare continued on his journey.

  After the crownbird had finished helping the old woman, she said to him, “Dip your wings and your legs into the water of this river.”

  The crownbird did so. Then the old woman told him to remove his wings and legs from the water. He did so. On his legs he discovered bracelets of great value and on the tips of his wings there were precious rings.

  “Dip your beak into the water of this river,” said the old woman.

  The crownbird did so, and when the old woman told him to bring out his beak, he brought out beautiful clothing made of finely woven wool.

  “The bracelets, the rings, the clothing, the horse—all are for you,” said the old woman to the crownbird.

  “Now once again,” the old woman said. “Dip your wings into the water of this river.”

  Again the crownbird did as he was told, and bringing out his wings at the old woman’s command, he found a very beautiful horse standing beside him.

  “The bracelets, the rings, the clothing, the horse—all are for you,” said the old woman to the crownbird. “I am grateful for the way you behaved when I asked you for help.”

  The happy crownbird mounted his new horse. It was a fast one and they soon caught up with the hare.

  “How amazing,” cried the hare. “You have bracelets, rings and fine clothes and you are riding a beautiful horse.”

  “Yes,” replied the crownbird, “all this because of the old woman by the river.”

  Then he told the hare what had happened.

  “Continue on your journey,” the hare cried. “I’m going back to that old woman.”

  So he turned and ran off in the direction of the river.

  When the hare reached the river, the old woman was still there. “Please let me help you,” he said, smiling at her.

  “Shall I take another bath?” the old woman asked angrily. “Shall I ask you again if you will help wash my back?”

  “Yes, yes,” cried the hare. “I will very willingly help you.”

  At first the old woman refused to be helped, but then because the hare continued to beg her to let him help she agreed. When the hare had finished helping her, she told him to put his legs and paws in the water of the river. The hare did so. When he withdrew them, they were covered with old and dirty bracelets and broken rings.

  “Try again,” said the old woman. But when the hare again withdrew his paws from the water of the river he held old and dirty clothing.

  “Try again,” repeated the old woman. But when for the third time the hare withdrew his paws from the water, he brought out the worst of all, a horse which was very ugly, short and thin.

  The hare, with his dirty old bracelets, rings and clothing, mounted on his worthless horse and continued on his journey. The horse moved very slowly. Goats move better than that horse. Night had fallen by the time the hare reached his friend the crownbird at the house of the hare’s uncle.

  “I have learnt my lesson,” the hare admitted. “It is better to give help than to refuse.”

  The Medicine for Getting a Son

  AMAN NAMED Obi and his wife Ngozi regretted that they had no child, for they had been married for many years. Finally, Obi went to a wizard to ask for his advice.

  “Go,” said the wizard, “and bring me the milk of a buffalo, the tears of an elephant, the tooth of a lion, the tail of a monkey and the brains of a lion.”

  Obi left his wife at home and started out in search of all these things the wizard had named. On his way he met a rabbit. He told the rabbit that he needed the milk of a buffalo.

  “I will help you,” said the rabbit, and went without delay to a buffalo he knew.

  “Honoured buffalo,” said the rabbit, “see if you can run like me through the thick bushes which you see there.”

  The rabbit ran up and down making a lot of dust, and jumped right over the thick bushes, but the buffalo did not realise this. He crashed into the thick bushes where his horns became stuck. Whatever he did he could not free himself. The rabbit waved to Obi, who came and milked the trapped buffalo.

  Obi continued his journey. He had not been going long when he found an elephant weeping for the death of his son. Obi again asked the rabbit to help him. The rabbit readily agreed and ran up to the elephant saying, “Honoured elephant, the tears of a prince should not fall on the ground.”

  So saying, the rabbit held a bowl to the elephant’s eyes and collected the tears. He carried the bowl to Obi.

  Obi told the rabbit that he still needed the tooth of a lion and the tail of a monkey. The rabbit ran back to the elephant saying, “The lions and the monkeys are laughing because you are weeping.”

  The rabbit held a bowl to the elephant’s eyes and collected the tears.

  His words made the elephant very angry. He marched quickly up to a lion who lived nearby and attacked him, but he only succeeded in breaking one of the lion’s teeth before the lion ran away. Then the elephant saw some monkeys and before they could run away too he had pulled off one of their tails with his powerful trunk. The rabbit, however, begged the elephant to give him the broken tooth and the tail. The elephant agreed and the rabbit returned to Obi.

  “Here is a lion’s tooth,” said the rabbit, “and here is a monkey’s tail. Now I must go about my own business.”

  Obi thanked the rabbit for his great help, and he and the rabbit parted. While Obi was wondering how he might obtain the brains of a lion, a donkey passed by. Obi decided to follow the donkey to ask his advice but before he could catch up with him a lion suddenly appeared. It was the same lion who had already lost part of his tooth. The lion was still angry and when he saw the donkey he fell on him. The lion was almost ready to kill the donkey when the frightened animal suddenly kicked with all his might and cracked open the lion’s head. His brains were revealed and Obi quickly ran up and took them. “The rest of the lion is yours,” he told the donkey.

  Obi returned to the wizard.

  “Here is the milk of a buffalo,” he said to the wizard. “Here are the tears of an elephant. Here is the tooth of a lion and the tail of a monkey. Here finally are the brains of a lion.”

  “You have done very well,” said the wizard. “Now your wife will have a child, and it will be a son.”

  The wizard mixed together what Obi had brought him, and together these ingredients formed a medicine which Obi gave to his wife Ngozi. Before the end of the year the childless wife had given birth to a son.

  When the son grew to manhood he caught the rabbit and bought the donkey.

  “You helped my father,” said the son, “and now I shall help you.”

  Obi’s son fed and protected the rabbit and the donkey for the rest of their lives.

 

 

 
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