African Heroes, Legends and Myths

Mbe the tortoise considered himself the wisest of all creatures, he had proven this over and over again but as he grew older, he became paranoid What if some one becomes wiser than i am, who would respect me then.. The tortoise came up with a plan, he would gather all the wisdom in the world and lock it away and so his journey around the globe began First he visited the kings of birds and stole the secret of flight, then he went to the great Python from whom he stole the secret of stealth. From the Elephant he stole strength, from the Lion he stole ferocity. He tricked the giant Rat to teach him the secret of dungeons and the Antelope taught him the usefulness of grass After the tortoise was done visiting all the creatures and kingdoms of the world and stealing what ever knowledge they had, he was finally pleased. He gathered the wisdom into a gourd and hung it on his neck, then he resolved to hide the wisdom he had gathered at the top of the world's tallest palm tree. It...

Once upon a time, the tortoise had hair on his head until ....well, one fateful act of greediness The king had become so prosperous that he decided to host a feast for the all the animals, so he sent the tortoise out give the announce. They should all be at his palace before sunset But the tortoise was never one who liked to share meals with others, this feast should be for him alone, he thought. After all it was him who provided all the wealth of wisdom that helped the king to become so successful The tortoise went out and announced Tortoise: The king has decided to host a feast for everyone, you all are invited to the palace. Make sure sure you arrive after sunset  The day of the feast came and bowls of hot meals were served but the tortoise was the only one around to devour them. This was exactly what he wanted, so he rejoiced Bowl by bowl, the tortoise ate and drank but sunset would soon be upon him and the animals would begin to show up. The tortoise had no plan...

Once upon a time, the Tortoise was slow and he knew he was slow... But he did not like the fact that he was never invited to compete in a race even though other animals like the Caterpillar whom he considered slow were often invited to compete. So, he decided to end it

Once upon a time, a great king ruled the kingdom of Gbogan, after winning several great victories for his people he became ill due to accumulated injuries. All the medicine men in the kingdom and neighbouring kingdoms tried to treat him but to no avail. Finally it was concluded that Ikumejakako, the most dreaded amongst herbalist should be consulted, so the king sent his chief to the evil forest to fetch the man who was once banished for his daring methods

Once upon a time, the ear was the most radiant beauty in the whole world. It was normal that every one wanted to marry her, the ear had become used to prospective grooms challenging themselves to a duel. She was just too beautiful, the poor, weak and small creatures knew to stay away, all except the mosquito. The mosquito had mad crush for her

A long time ago, there lived a very beautiful hen. Her parents were very poor and in dept, so it was decided that who ever was able afford her ridiculously high bride price would be her groom

Once upon a time there lived a girl named Obaledo, she was very beautiful and she was the talk of her village. At a time when monsters roamed about at night stealing whatever they desired most from people, adults and teenagers alike knew to play by the rules if they hope to remain intact

Once upon a time all animals lived in peace with Leopard as their king. Amongst these animals only Dog had sharp teeth and claws, so he was mocked for being different. Dog learned early on to keep to himself. While the animals played and had fun together, he would remain in his cave. He would show up only on important occasions Soon the rains came and Deer who was always so filled with ideas went to the king

"Long, long ago, when the world was young, all the animals lived together in one country. In those days there were not as many tortoises as there are today but only one tortoise, Mbe, the ancestor of all tortoises..." In this idyllic world, a time of famine comes. Tortoise, in desperation, journeys out in search of food. At last he comes upon a palm tree with "thrice four hundred" ripe palm fruits. Atop this palm tree, one of the fruits slips from Tortoise's hand. Unwilling to give up even one of these succulent fruits, Tortoise descends. But the fruit has fallen into a hole, and Tortoise follows.

A man takes his family of two wives--the senior wife with many children and the other wife with just one--to work on their distant farm at the border of the human and the spirit lands. They are careful to return home before nightfall when the spirits come out to tend their own crop of yams. Upon returning home, however, the only son of the younger wife finds that he has forgotten his flute in the fields. It is a flute he made with his own hands, and he is determined to retrieve it despite his parents' pleas to stay home.

Once upon a time, a feast was organized for birds in the sky. Tortoise persuaded birds that he would love to go with them but the birds refused to allow Tortoise go with them because besides not being a bird he had a reputation for being cunning and greedy