Be careful What You Say

A Story in a Nutshell: "Lord take me home" cried the the man after dropping a heavy load of wood. The death angel immediately appeared "You asked for me?" The man replied "Yes, I need your help putting this load back on my shoulders!"

Moral: We don't always mean what we say.

Hidden Treasure

Hidden Treasures

Each week a poor man would ride his camel to the same stream to drink. The camel would move the pebbles in the stream around to make a deeper place to drink. The poor man would pick up the stones and take them home with him.  One day a traveler convinced the poor man to sell his farm and seek the riches of the city. The man wandered the earth searching for riches but dies in rags and in poverty. The man who bought his farm found the stones the poor man left and preserved them.  A merchant came to his home one day and told the man the stones were in fact diamonds.  The owner immediately became a millionaire.  The first man had great wealth but sold it unaware of its value, and spent his whole life looking for what he already had.  The second man made use of what he had.  Moral: Your life is a treasure, how will you respond to it.

The Liar's Contest

Anansi the spider had a run in with a mosquito, a fly, and a moth.  To determine a winner, Anansi challenged them to a liar's contest.  Mosquito tells a story of how he plants and harvests his father's crops because  he was very ill.  And to think he did all of this work before he was even born.  Anansi believed the story.  Fly's story was he attacked a tiger turning him inside out, freeing a sheep that the tiger swallowed whole.  Anansi believed fly's story. Moth told of his hunting expedition where he killed, then cooked an antelope in a high tree.  He was so full he could not climb down the tree to go home. So he got a rope from his house and lowered himself down from the tree and went home.  Again Anansi believed the story.  Now Anansi told this story. He found a coconut and planted it. Over night the plant produced a tree with three coconuts. Chopping open the coconuts from each flew a mosquito, a fly, and a moth.  Because the coconuts belonged to him its treasure belonged to him. So he decided to each them.  But they flew away.  Anansi told them it was his lucky day because they were his mosquito, fly and moth.  Knowing they had lost the contest the three flew away in different directions.  Now if Anansi catches them in his web he eats them as a reward for winning the liar's contest.

The Moss Covered Princess

A great and mighty King died leaving behind a wife and daughter.  The King's brother became king.  Although he took this brother's wife and daughter into his home, he treated them with cruelty.  Afraid his brother's daughter was more beautiful than his own daughter he order that she be clothed in the skin of the Nya Nya Bulemba.  The magical creature from swamp skin was covered in green moss and had long fangs.  The magical skin permanently wrapped around the princess and she was forced into the fields to scare away the birds.  The King then gave his daughter a beautiful leopard-skin skirt. Even though she was banished to the fields, the moss covered princess and the king's daughter became friends. One day the beautiful princess was captured by a large bird that carried her away to a far far kingdom in the north.  At first sight the king fell in love with her and married her.  Her father never knew what happened to his daughter and mourned his loss.  One day Bulemba met a old man carrying a stick. He gave her the stick and told her it was magic.  If she waved the stick in the air the bird would scatter without her chasing them. He also told her if she carried the stick in the water her true body would return while she bathed.  But she must never let go of the stick or the magic would be lost.  One day a King came through the village looking for a wife.  He saw Nya Nya Bulemba in the field. He watched as she entered the water and her green skin floated away.  The young king saw her beauty and took her for his wife. He did not care about the curse.  On the day of the wedding Nya Nya Bulemba stepped in the pool to bathe.  Her green skin came off and a bird swooped down and took the skin away.  When she appeared at the wedding all agreed that she was the most beautiful queen the village had ever known.

The Two Skins of the Spider Woman

King Eyamba of Calabar was was very powerful, but he had no children. He had more than 100 wives, but no children.  His advisers suggested that he marry the daughter of the spider, because the spider people have many children.  The king didn't want to marry the spider woman because she was not beautiful.  But he married her anyway.  The spider woman had a secret, she had two skins.  One was ugly and hairy and the other was beautiful.  She promised her mother that see would never show anyone her beautiful skin until they loved demonstrated their love for her.  She only wore her beautiful skin at night, while she was alone, never in the day.  Each day she brought her new husband food and drink and spoke to him with kindness and wisdom.  Soon the King fell in love the Spider's daughter, that night she came to his hut dressed in her beautiful skin. The King could not believe how beautiful she was in her other skin. But it really didn't matter to him how she looked on the outside, it was her inner beauty that impressed the king most. Soon the King had many children with the daughter of the spider. Moral: True beauty is visible through eyes of the heart.

The Journey

There were two friends on a long journey.  While walking by the beach one of the friends offended the other.  The offended friend was both hurt and angry.  He responded by writing "Today my friend has offended me."   Soon the waves washed the words away and the two continued on their journey. While crossing  a dangerous mountain pass the offended friend slipped and almost fell to his death, but his friend caught him and saved him.  He took a stone and carved in the mountain "Today my Friend Saved My Life"  Confused his companion asked why he wrote his offence in the sand and this comment was etched in stone?  The friend replied, " Your offence was written in sand because it would soon be forgotten, you kindness was written in stone and on my heart so it will never be forgotten"  Moral: Choose wisely the things you plan remember.

The King's Magic Djembe

There once lived a great king in the region of Segou.  His kingdom never knew war, because of his magic djembe.  When he played the drum, food magically appeared. To avoid war he would invited delegations to his village for a feast.  His enemies became friends with full bellies. The drum's magic came with rules,  The drummer must always share the food that magically appeared, and never play the drum after midnight.  300 jinn would appear and beat the drummer and his guests with sticks until dawn if the rules were broken.  A blacksmith wanted the drum so bad that he tricked the King into giving it to him.  But the King never told him the drum's rules.  At first the blacksmith played the drum and shared with those who came to feast with him.  The more he played the more people came to eat.  Not wanting to share his food any longer the Blacksmith waited for many of his guest to leave before he played the drum. From the darkness appeared  300 jinn who beat the drummer and his guests until morning.  When the King awoke the next morning his drum sat in front of his hut.  On top of the drum was a bag of kola nuts as an offering to the King. Moral: To whom much is given much is required.