The Feast

A Great Warrior Chief wanted to add to his empire.  The problem was there were only a few kingdoms left that had never been conquered by him.  The Chief turned to his Griot for advice on which kingdom to conquer next.  After singing praises of all the King's victories, the Griot sets down his ngoni and advises the king.  "Have a festival for the princes of the three kingdoms.  Offer them food, wine and women in excess.  Let the servants use vulgar language and encourage the princes to do the same.  By the end of the festival I will know which kingdom you should conquer."  The Chief agrees and orders the festival.  At the end of the festival he calls his Griot in to tell him his findings.  "The kingdom from the North will be the easiest to conquer, because their prince was easily corrupted by the food, wine and women the first night of the festival.  The kingdom to the South will be more difficult but can be conquered as well.    Their prince gave in to the temptations after two days into the festival.  Chief, what ever you do, never attack the kingdom to the East.  The prince from the East never gave in to the temptations set before him.  When I asked why he did not give into his desires, he told me,  I am the son of a chief, and no matter where I am or what I do I will always behave as a future Chief.  Moral: No matter how sharp the ax it will never cut it's own handle

The Possum and the Snake

                                                         

Possum was traveling down the highway looking for a place to cross.  He was distracted by all of his fellow possums who didn't make it across the road.  He was so distracted that he bumped in to a snake.  Possum jumped almost three feet in the air and hid behind a tree.  He slowly peaked around the tree to see the snake on the side of road with a brick on his back. Snake asked "Pleeassse help me.  Get thisssss brick offfff my back."  Possum responded nervously "Nnnnnnoo you will bbbite mmmeee.  The snake promised not to bite him.  Possum took the brick of his back.  Of course Snake took a big bite out of  Possum and held on tight.  Rabbit was walking down the same road and saw Snake with a mouth full of Possum. Rabbit spoke "Howdy neighbors," Possum spoke "Hhhhowdy", but all Snake did was mumble because his mouth was full of possum.  :How rude " Rabbit said to Snake.  Snake spoke "Howdy" and Possum jumped free. Rabbit asked what happened.  Snake told him how a brick fell off a truck and landed on his back trapping on the side of the road.  Rabbit had Snake show him just how it happened including placing the brick back on his back.  "Oh I see now." said Rabbit.  Possum and Rabbit left the snake trapped under the brick. Moral: Don't help Snakes

The Rabbit's Thesis

Rabbit sat by a cave typing away on a typewriter.  Mr Fox walked by and asked "What you doing"?  Rabbit said "Working on my thesis". "What's it about?" asked Fox.  "How a rabbit can whoop any fox and have him for breakfast.". “That’s ridiculous ! Any fool knows that rabbits don’t eat foxes!"  "Come inside my cave and see."  Moments later Rabbit came out the cave chewing on a fox bone and wearing a new fox coat. Soon Mr. Alligator came walking by as Rabbit was typing away on his typewriter.  "What you doing?" asked the alligator.  "Working on my thesis" said Rabbit   "What's it about?" he asks. 'How a rabbit can whoop the pants off of any ol' alligator."  That's absurd! says the alligator.  "Come inside my cave and see."  In a few minutes Rabbit walks out chewing on an alligator bone and wearing a new pair of alligator shoes.   By the end of day Rabbit had a new coat, new shoes and a new coon skin cap, Each animal went into the cave and met Lion, Rabbit's advisor. Moral: I doesn't matter how absurb your thesis may sound, what matters is having a good advisor.

The Fisherman and the Crane

 A fisherman befriends a wounded crane and nurses it back to health. After becoming sick, the fisherman meets a mysterious thin pale woman who nurses him back to health.  She makes him a special magical net.  It was obvious that making the net took a lot out of the delicate woman. The net is very strong and seems to attract fish to it.  The new net brings the fisherman  huge success.  But the man becomes greedy and asks for a second net even though it made the woman so weak to knit it.  The fishman hires men to fish a second boat, but his greed made him desire a third boat.  A third boat meant a third net.  The woman agreed to make each net as long as he promised to never enter the room as she worked. But this time he becomes impatient and enters the sewing room and sees a crane weaving a net with her own breast feathers. The Crane turns towards the fisherman and flys out the open window.  The fisherman never saw the crane or the woman ever again. Moral: Greedy choked the puppy.

A Runaway Love Story

Love has never been easy.  Many stuggled to find it, and even more struggled to keep it.  Perhaps there was no greater struggle for love than during slavery times. Afraid of being sold and separated from each other a slave couple made plans to be free. Ellen was fair skinned slave and could pass for white. Her love was a dark shinned man who as a master cabinet maker and also a slave. The two fell in love but Ellen couldn't stand the idea of giving birth to enslaved children. William was often hired out to make cabinets, and was allow to keep a small amount for himself.  He saved the money for the day the couple would run for freedom.  Because Ellen could pass for white, they cut her hair, and dressed her as a white gentleman.  William was his trusty servant. Using the money WIlliam saved they boarded a train to freedom. Pretending to be sick with one arm in a sling the other holding a cane, the southern gentleman requested his slave be allowed to stay close. The couple traveled from Macon, GA to Philadelphia, PA. Freedom! True story of William and Ellen Craft.