The Fairy Frog

In a land far away, at a time before time was measured, lived a beautiful maiden. She was taller and more beautiful than all of the king's daughters. Her sisters feared that they would never get noticed as long as Tombi-Ende (Tall Maiden) was alive.  The sisters took her to a great pit and buried her alive.  They told the king that she fell into a pit and suffocated and died.  Each girl told a different story of Tombi-Ende's death, so the king did not believe them. But Tombi-Ende was not dead.  The cracks in the ground provided her with enough air to breathe sing out.  As darkness fell a giant frog came to her rescue. He dug her out and swallowed her, and jumped out of the pit.  The frog agreed to carry the princess to her grandmothers village, because it would be safer than her own.  The journey was long and dangerous, but neither human or animal bothered the great frog and the princess inside him.  When the frog returned Tombi-Ende to her grandmother they prepared a feast.  Before the end of the feast the frog had disappeared.  The King sent his son to bring Tombi-Ende home safely.  But the three day journey was made even more difficult because the springs were drying up.  As the two searched for water a giant appeared, offering to help them find water in exchange for the princess.  Out of options they agreed.  The giant took them to a tree and stuck his spear into the ground, and out came a fountain of water.  The two drank there fill. They looked as the giant took his true form as an ogre. As Tombi-Ende cried out in fear, the giant frog leaped out of the fountain.  He opened his mouth and swallowed the ogre and drowned him in the fountain.  The frog accompanied Tombi-Ende and her brother to their father's home.  The king wanted to kill the frog, but Tombi-Ende told him how he saved her life twice.  As she looked on him with compassion, the frog turned in to a handsome prince even taller than Tombi-Ende.  The frog was the son of a great chief, and had been turned into a frog the the ogre until he could win the heart of a beautiful maiden.  Within days the two were married and lived with joy until the end of there story.

PUSH

A skinny 95 lb man is tired of being picked on and seeks heavenly advice to solve his problem.  A voice speaks to the man. "Go and push the rock at the bottom of the hill."  Certain the voice was from God, the man finds the boulder and begins trying to push it up the hill.  The man pushes all day but the boulder does not move. The next morning the voice speaks to him again, "Go an push the rock at the bottom of the hill.  Again the man pushes the boulder but it does not move.  Day after day, week after week, month after month the man pushes the rock.  After a year of pushing that boulder, the man once again seeks heavenly advice. "I asked you to help me with by problem and you sent me to push a rock, I have done it without question. But I don't see why you keep telling me to push a rock that will not budge."  The voice spoke to the man again. "Look in the mirror."  In the mirror was a strong man with ripped muscles. in a year pushing that rock caused a transformation in his body.  The voice spoke again and said, "I had you push the rock not because I wanted the  rock to be changed, but that you could be changed!" Moral: Many obstacles in your life are there to transform your life, not for you to transform them.

Dreaming Under The Baobab Tree

Two friends who lived in poverty decided a change in location may bring a change in their fortune as well.  The two men began their journey looking for a better future.  They traveled for many days and nights, up and down hills and valleys.  There came a time that one friend could travel no further. He stopped in a small village and decided to stay.  The other friend kept going.  That night he found shelter under the Baobab tree. As he slept the tree spoke to him in a dream.  "The King's daughter in the next village is very sick.  Take a leaf from my branches and make her a tea, when she drinks she will be healed."  The next morning the man took the leaf and traveled to the house of the King.  He told the King he was here to heal his daughter.  After many questions the King let the man enter.  He prepared a tea from the leaf of the Baobab tea, and spoon fed her until she was well.  The King rewarded the man with great wealth and also the hand of his daughter in marriage.  One day he was thinking about his traveling companion, so he paid him a visit.  His friend's fortune had not changed, he was still very poor. The rich friend told the story of the dream under the Baobab tree.  Upon leaving he gave his friend a bag of gold sharing his good fortune.  The bag of gold  was not enough for the friend.  That night he found the Baobab tree and slept under the tree hoping for a special dream.  During the night the tree spoke "Leave this place".  But the man refused.  Again the tree spoke "Leave this place!" Again, the man refused.  A third time the tree spoke "Leave this place now!  The man refused a third time. The man refused to listen to the dream that would change his fortune.  In the morning the man was found dead, killed in the night by wild animals.  Moral: Follow your Dreams!

The Hunter and the Crocodile

Donso the hunter was coming back from a hunt when he came across Bamba the Crocodile and his family returning from vacation.  The Crocodiles had been out of the water far too long and needed help to return to the river.  "Can you return us to our home in the river?', asked Bamba.  "I cannot, you crocodiles have a reputation for biting people in the river.  That is a chance I dare not take."  Bamba and his family began to cry.  Moved by the crocodiles tears Donso finally agreed to carry them to river.  He stacked all five crocodiles on top of each other.  Bamba was on the bottom and the baby was on the top. He tied them together and carried them to the river on his head.  Bamba asked Donso to carry them deeper into the river where the current was strongest.  Now in the deep water Bamba took Donso's arm in his mouth and refused to let it go.  The Donso and Bamba both argued for a long time about right and wrong.  Soon Cow,  Horse, Guinea Fowl came to the river to drink.  Donso asked them for help, but each had been disrespected by Man and refused to help.  Finally the clever Hare came to the river.  He listened to Donso's plea for help and explanation for his predicament.  The Hare rounded over on the ground laughing.  "No one your size could put a load of crocodiles on his head. I don't believe it."  "It is true", Bamba insisted.  "Bamba show me how he did it", said Hare.  They all came out of the river and Donso stacked and tied them up just like before.  Hare said to the hunter, "Now take your crocodiles home to your family and make a great feast.  Grateful, Donso invited Hare come his village for the celebration. As Donso entered the village a man told him that his wife had become very ill, and only the tears of a crocodile could save her. Donso then turned to Bamba and promised to free his family in exchange for a few of their tears.  The crocodiles begin to cry tears of joy which the hunter collected and ran home to save his wife. Moral: We must live in harmony each other because need one another to survive.

The Healer

A man shows up in a small town, but the people there had already heard about this man.  He was said to be a healer, he could place his hands on someone and instantly they would be healed.  As soon as the people of this town heard he was in town, they began to line up hoping for a miracle.  The man soon came out to the crowd, healing those who asked.  A homeless man asks the Healer to touch him and give him the ability to read.  The man told the Healer because he couldn't read he couldn't get any work, and his life had no hope with out being able to read. The Healer reached out and placed his hand on his head and prayed for the man to recieve the ability to read.  Grateful the man went away.  A year passed and the Healer returned to same small town.  Once again crowds began to gather to be healed.  The Healer was praying and healing those who were sick, when a voice cried out "HE IS A FAKE!" The voice declared "This man is a Charlatan, he can't heal anyone."  The Healer was looking through out the crowd for man behind the voice.  In the back was a well dressed man.  "Do I know you Sir? "asked the Healer?  "A year ago I came to you for prayer, I asked you to give me the ability to read.  Since that time I have read all kinds of magazine and newspaper articles, and scientific research available about divine healing.  According to all I have read You are a fake!  Moral: Real life can be more amazing and difficult to believe than made-up stories.

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