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Fables and traditional tales
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The Tiger and the Peacock
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Once there were two creatures, a peacock and a tiger. The tiger was a sly and fierce creature. His favourite food was raw antelope and there was nothing he liked better than a juicy carcass to chew on. His friend the peacock on the other hand, was a good natured and friendly creature. Her favourite meal was millet seed.
Though their personalities were poles apart they seemed to get on with each other. One day the tiger invited the peacock for lunch. The tiger asked the peacock to sit down on a log whilst he prepared the meal. The lunch was a big juicy carcass of antelope and a side plate of salad. The tiger tucked in and the peacock sat in disbelief. The tiger asked, in her mischievous way, why she was not eating. The peacock replied sadly that she did not eat meat or salad and left with an empty stomach.
The next morning at sunrise the peacock asked the tiger to breakfast. She had organised two small bowls filled to the brim with millet. The peacock started to munch away and she had a grin on her face because she was going to have her revenge. The tiger said miserably that he only liked to eat meat and left muttering to himself. Hopefully that taught him a lesson.
The moral of the story is to treat others how you want them to treat you and to think of others before you act.
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How the Leopard got his Spots
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In the beginning, when the world was very young, leopards did not have any spots. They were plain and dull in colour.
One day, a leopard was strolling along the vast plains of Namibia in Africa, when he noticed a little tortoise. The leopard went over to the tortoise and asked him why he looked so sad on such a fine day. The tortoise replied, ‘I cannot reach the juicy fruits from that tall tree, for I am too short.’
The leopard took a gigantic leap up onto one of the branches of the tree and tossed down a fruit to the ground. ‘Thank you very much,’ said the tortoise with a smile, ‘this will quench my thirst. Now I would like to do something for you dear friend.’
‘I want to be different from all the other animals. I want to be noticed in the crowd,’ said the leopard.
‘Alright,’ said the tortoise, ‘you must come with me and cross the Blue Hills to the Magic Mud Pool by the Lampopo River, so that I can make you different from all the other creatures.’
When the leopard and the tortoise arrived at the pool, the tortoise told the leopard to lie down and relax. As the leopard dozed in the warm sun, the tortoise carefully walked over his back, to and fro, stepping in and out of the Magic Mud Pool as he went.
When the leopard woke up, the tortoise told him to look at his reflection in the river. As the water cleared, the leopard saw that he was no longer a plain and dull creature. Instead he looked proudly at his beautiful brown patterned coat. How graceful he looked, truly a King of Cats.
And this is how, my friends, the leopard came to have his spots.
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How the Moon and Stars Came to the World
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At the beginning of time the world was beautiful with flowers and creatures. There was one problem, however. The night was as bright as the day as the sun shone all the time and refused to go to bed. People could not sleep and the magical fireflies did not glow.
Ceweden was a man from Africa, who was always interested in how he could solve this problem. One night Ceweden took some sticks from a near by tree and started to draw two circles, one behind the other – a plan of his idea. He then took lumps of rock and started to stick them together with layers of resin that he had collected in a little pot. Soon he had a sphere of rock, which he thought could be used as a shade for the sun.
The next morning he took his favourite birds outside into the daylight. They waited until night and then tried to lift the gigantic shade and put it in place in front of the sun. Finally the birds clasped their beaks firmly on the rock and Ceweden held it tightly in his hands. The rock was lifted and thrown up into the air so strongly that it did not come back down but stayed in space where the gods held onto it and put it exactly where it was needed. The rock glowed, but with a much fainter glow than the sun it shaded.
Ceweden’s other birds became jealous and tried to criticise his plan. They said that the rock would not be able to give out enough light for all those people and animals that needed to be out at night. Ceweden decided to grab handfuls of light from the sun and place them in the sky. He was, however, very angry about the complaining birds and decided to give them away to the gods as a gift to say thank you. After that, Ceweden named the shade the moon and the handfuls of light from the sun the stars. The moon and stars were named after the birds that had helped him. Most nights the moon was shaped like a letter C for Ceweden.
And that is why, my dear friend, the moon shades the sun each night and the stars shine like tiny, sparkling little lights.
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The Crocodile and the Rabbit
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The rabbit and the crocodile lived very near to each other. The crocodile was a very sly creature, always cruel and naughty and often mean to his friends. However the rabbit was a kind, gentle, well behaved creature who was always pleasant to all the other animals.
One day the crocodile decided to invite the rabbit for a meal. The rabbit was delighted and accepted the invitation. On the appointed day he hopped along happily down to the river to find the crocodile. The crocodile was waiting patiently for rabbit to arrive, and soon after he had appeared the crocodile slid into the water and called to the rabbit to join him. Before the rabbit could reply the crocodile swam under the water and began eating his meal. The rabbit watched the crocodile eating his delicious food but was aware that he couldn’t join him as he was unable to swim. He walked home starving with his tummy rumbling.
The next day the rabbit asked the crocodile to come and have tea at his place. The crocodile was pleased to accept, and surprised that the rabbit was inviting him after treating him so badly. When the crocodile approached the rabbit’s home he looked around and couldn’t see him anywhere. Then he heard a noise coming from a hole in the ground. The rabbit popped his head out and had food all around his mouth. The crocodile was feeling very hungry by now, but he couldn’t fit down the rabbit’s hole. He turned away and stomped home in a temper.
The moral of the fable is to treat others the way you want them to treat you.
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Welcome
Upper II (Year 5)
Sayers Croft
Fables
