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once upon a time there was a famine in the land of the animals one day the lizard was passing by a farm when he saw the farmer approach a rock the lizard hid and watched as the farmer rolled the rock away to reveal the entrance into a cave the farmer went inside and came out a few minutes later with a handful of yams a...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
there was a famine in the animal kingdom and ijapa the tortoise was finding that food was hard to come by however he found out that all the birds in the forest were preparing for the great annual bird feast in the sky and those who had been lucky enough to attend this annual event could testify to the abundance of food...	nigerian folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
there was a famine in the animal kingdom this famine had lasted so long that any existing source of food had been completely depleted the animals knew they had to do something real quick or they would all die off one by one they called a meeting where every animal was in attendance and they determined that they had to ...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
ijapa the tortoise was not always a bald animal he used to have hair on his head however due to unfortunate circumstances which the tortoise brought upon his own head literally speaking he lost it all it happened a very long time ago long before the tortoise broke his back but that is another story altogether the dog a...	nigerian folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
ijapa the tortoise and his wife yorinbo have been married for a long time but do not have a child this made yorinbo very sad he decided to seek help from a medicine man the medicine man prepared a powerful potion that would make yonribo pregnant he mixed it into a delicious smelling beef stew and handed it to ijapa the...	nigerian folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
once there was a king who had been trying very hard to capture the elephant for his personal collection but that prize had proved elusive all the hunters in the kingdom had tried but failed to capture the elephant so the king promised anyone who could capture the elephant half of his kingdom the tortoise heard about th...	nigerian folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
this is the story of how the world was created according to the yorubas of west africa the entire world was filled with water when god decided to create the world god sent his messenger obatala to perform the task of creating the world obatala brought along his helper a man named oduduwa as well as a calabash full of e...	nigerian folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
one day the tortoise was walking along a forest path when he came across a palm tree that had plenty of palm kernel fruits the tortoise was hungry and the fruits looked juicy and ripe to eat if only he could reach one of them he got hold of a long stick and successfully shook some of the fruits off the tree unfortunate...	nigerian folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
there was a great king who ruled in the village of gbogan a long long time ago at a time when animals could talk the king took very ill for a long period of time and was at the point of death after several attempts by medicine men from within the kingdom to heal the king failed ikumejakako the dreaded herbalist who dwe...	nigerian folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
once upon a time there was a famine in the land of kurumi in southwestern nigeria everyone was looking rather thin and unhealthy because very limited food was available however the tortoise observed that his friend the dog has looking very rosy and fat he wondered what the secret of the dogs well being was and decided ...	nigerian folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
a very long time ago in a little village somewhere in the western part of the country now known as nigeria was a king who had three wives but no children he needed a male heir to succeed him on the throne and he was worried he decided to seek help from the ifa priest as he was growing old and time was short the ifa pri...	nigerian folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
three brothers were traveling through the dense rain forest jungle they had been traveling on foot for almost a full day and night was falling they needed a suitable place to rest for the night a place where they would be safe from prowling animals of the night they were in luck because before darkness fell they spotte...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
one day ijapa the tortoise became determined to make sure that he was the wisest creature in the whole universe he did not want any other creature challenging his superior wisdom so he decided to gather all the wisdom in the world for himself he went round the world collecting all the wisdom into a gourd which he hung ...	nigerian folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
tortoise and monkey were having a discussion when monkey began to boast about how he would become king of all the animals saying of all the animals i am most like man so i should be king tortoise replied you cannot be king for lion is king and is very powerful monkey replied yet man has power over lion and i am most li...	nigerian folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
a long time ago the chipmunk looked no different from the squirrel he had no stripes this story tells how he got the distinguishing stripes that we know today in the deep jungle where all the animals lived a season of very heavy rains had caused the forest to grow so thick that it was difficult for the animals to mov...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
there was a man named kiigbo kiigba who lived a very long time ago in a little yoruba village like many of the villagers he was a very hardworking farmer but he had one major flaw he was very stubborn in fact his name in yoruba means one who does not hear nor accept since he neither listens to anybody nor consider any...	nigerian folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
a long time ago in a little village there lived a man who had two wives and two daughters one daughter from each wife bisi was the daughter of the first wife and was only a few months older than the second wifes daughter ranti the family lived together in the same compound so the girls often played together but bisi w...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
a very long time ago there was a village where many of the women were barren they desperately wanted children and decided to ask the spirit that lived inside the big iroko tree for help one by one they went to visit the iroko tree to beg the iroko tree spirit for help the iroko tree asked each of the women who showed u...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
this is a very old story told when the world was young it is about how mr ananse the sly and greedy one among all the animals in the forest outsmarted himself as the story goes ananse that is still his name but did you know that his first name was kweku because he was born on a wednesday one day ananse collected all...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
one of the few animals that was able to outsmart kweku ananse kweku being his first name because he was born on a wednesday was adun the plains baboon and although this happened a very long long time ago baboon and ananse are still enemies and it is said that one of the reasons baboon scratches a lot is that he often f...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
there was a king who had a daughter named bola bola had never spoken a word and the king was very distressed he had done all that he could to make bola speak powerful medicine men had brewed her all kinds of herbs and recited incantations but nothing worked the king promised his daughter and half his kingdom to anybody...	nigerian folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
there was a man who had two wives the senior wife was called the iyale while the junior wife was called the iyawo the senior wife the iyale was very mean to the iyawo she made life very hard for the iyawo such that the iyawo never had enough food to feed her children or nice clothes to wear the nicer the iyawo was the ...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
a farmer and his wife had one son named ajadi they were not rich but they never lacked for food for no matter how bad times got they always managed to grow enough food to feed their small family with a little left over to trade ajadis parents looked forward to the day he would join them in their farming profession with...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
this story took place a long time ago at a time when fire was scarce and only those who were very skilled at controlling fire had it whenever they wanted others who needed fire would go to such people to tap some fire from them but there was a little village where they only man who could control fire was also a monster...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
olómúroro was a greedy monster who preyed on little children he was not a good looking creature but children did not seem scared of him because he sang so sweetly he would approach the children with song and then take their food away tojo was one of the little children that olómúroro preyed upon toyos father was a farm...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
a long time ago in the village of ipetumodu there lived a poor woman this woman was so poor that she did not have any soup for her eba the eba is a starchy paste made from cassava flour and it is rather unappetizing to eat all by itself across the street from this poor woman lived another woman who cooked egusi soup e...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
back in the days when tortoise could talk and the animals ruled the forest famines were frequent and those animals who could not survive the drought would wither and die there was one such period when the tortoise had become lean he had survived as long as he could on his wit but he soon began to suffer like all the ot...	nigerian folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
if you live in the rain forest climates of west africa you will be very familiar with the buzz of the mosquito in your ears on hot humid evenings even if theres only one mosquito and only one person in an area as large as a football field the mosquito always seems to find that persons ear and buzz in it if youve slappe...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
tortoise and hare were chatting when tortoise declared i bet i can beat you in a race hare was stunned for a minute he wasnt sure he heard tortoise correctly did you say something about a race hare asked tortoise elaborated i challenge you to a race and i want all the animals present to witness your defeat hare started...	nigerian folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
there was a man with three sons and a precious cow the man was was very proud of his cow because she gave birth to a healthy calf every year one day the man asked his eldest son to take the cow grazing the son took the cow to the fields where green grass grew and then to the water hole for a nice long drinklater the ma...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
in the olden days all the stories which men told were stories of nyankupon the chief of the gods spider who was very conceited wanted the stories to be told about him accordingly one day he went to nyankupon and asked that in future all tales told by men might be anansi stories instead of nyankupon stories nyankupon ag...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
there once lived in fanti land a man named father anansi he possessed all the wisdom in the world people came to him daily for advice and help one day the men of the country were unfortunate enough to offend father anansi who immediately resolved to punish them after much thought he decided that the severest penalty he...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
near anansis miserable little hut there was a fine palace where lived a very rich man called nothing nothing and anansi proposed one day to go to the neighbouring town to get some wives accordingly they set off together nothing being a rich man wore a very fine velvet cloth while anansi had a ragged cotton one while th...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
there had been a long and severe famine in the land where anansi lived he had been quite unable to obtain food for his poor wife and family one day gazing desperately out to sea he saw rising from the midst of the water a tiny island with a tall palm tree upon it he determined to reach this tree—if any means proved pos...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
in a town not very far from anansis home lived a great king this king had three beautiful daughters whose names were kept a secret from everybody except their own family one day their father made a proclamation that his three daughters would be given as wives to any man who could find out their names anansi made up his...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
there had been a great famine in the land for many months meat had become so scarce that only the rich chiefs had money enough to buy it the poor people were starving anansi and his family were in a miserable state one day anansis eldest son—kweku tsin—to his great joy discovered a place in the forest where there were ...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
there came once such a terrible famine in the land that a grain of corn was worth far more than its weight in gold a hungry spider was wandering through the forest looking for food to his great joy he found a dead antelope knowing that he would not be allowed to reach home in safety with it he wrapped it up very carefu...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
a hard working squirrel had after much labour succeeded in cultivating a very fine farm being a skilful climber of trees he had not troubled to make a roadway into his farm he used to reach it by the trees one day when his harvests were very nearly ripe it happened that spider went out hunting in that neighbourhood dur...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
egya anansi was a very skilful farmer he with his wife and son set to work one year to prepare a farm much larger than any they had previously worked they planted in it yams maize and beans—and were rewarded by a very rich crop their harvest was quite ten times greater than any they had ever had before egya anansi was ...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
there had been another great famine throughout the land the villagers looked thin and pale for lack of food only one family appeared healthy and well this was the household of anansis cousin anansi was unable to understand this and felt sure his cousin was getting food in some way the greedy fellow determined to find o...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
a man in one of the villages had a very beautiful daughter she was so lovely that people called her morning sunrise every young man who saw her wanted to marry her three in particular were very anxious to have her for their wife her father found it difficult to decide among them he determined to find out by a trick whi...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
the famine had lasted nearly three years kweku tsin being very hungry looked daily in the forest in the hope of finding food one day he was fortunate enough to discover three palm kernels lying on the ground he picked up two stones with which to crack them the first nut however slipped when he hit it and fell into a ho...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
it happened one day that a poor akim man had to travel from his own little village to accra—one of the big towns on the coast this man could only speak the language of his own village—which was not understood by the men of the town as he approached accra he met a great herd of cows he was surprised at the number of the...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
there once lived upon the earth a poor man called ohia whose wife was named awirehu this unfortunate couple had suffered one trouble after another no matter what they took in hand misfortune seemed to lie in wait for them nothing they did met with success they became so poor that at last they could scarcely obtain a cl...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
a few hundred years ago the chief mauri god determined to have a splendid yam festival he therefore sent his messengers to invite all his chiefs and people to the gathering which was to take place on fida friday on the morning of that day he sent some of his servants to the neighbouring towns and villages to buy goats ...	nigerian folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
a village hunter had one day gone farther afield than usual coming to a part of the forest with which he was unacquainted he was astonished to hear a voice singing he listened this was the song it is man who forces himself on things not things which force themselves on him the singing was accompanied by sweet music—whi...	nigerian folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
kwofi was the eldest son of a farmer who had two wives kwofis mother had no other children when the boy was three years old his mother died kwofi was given to his stepmother to mind after this she had many children kwofi of course was the eldest of all	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
a certain old lady had a very fine flock of sheep she had fed and cared for them so well that they became famous for their fatness in time a wicked wolf heard of them and determined to eat them night after night he stole up to the old dames cottage and killed a sheep the poor woman tried her best to save her animals fr...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
in a big town lived a very rich gentleman the fame of his wealth soon spread a clever thief heard of it and determined to have some for himself he managed to hide himself in a dark corner of the gentlemans room—while the latter was counting his bags of money as soon as the old gentleman left the room to fetch something...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
a ram once decided to make a clearing in the woods and build himself a house a leopard who lived near also made up his mind to do the very same thing unknown to each other they both chose the same site ram came one day and worked at the clearing leopard arrived after ram had gone and was much surprised to find some of ...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
at one time leopards did not know how to catch animals for food knowing that the cat was very skilful in this way leopard one day went to cat and asked very politely if she would teach him the art cat readily consented the first thing leopard had to learn was to hide himself among the bushes by the roadside so that he ...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
once upon a time in a certain village lived a man and his wife who were childless one day however when the husband was away hunting the woman had a baby son she was greatly troubled at her husbands absence because she was unable to let him know of the childs arrival in that country it is the custom for the father to gi...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
in the olden days all the animals of the world lived together in friendship they had no one to rule over them and judge them in consequence many very wicked deeds were constantly being done as no one needed to fear any punishment at last they all met together to discuss this bad state of affairs and as a result they de...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
in the olden times there stood in the kings town a very great tree this tree was so huge that it began to overshadow the neighbouring fields the king decided to have it cut down he caused his servants to proclaim throughout the country that any one who succeeded in cutting down the tree with a wooden axe should have an...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
a hunter who was terribly poor was one day walking through the forest in search of food coming to a deep hole he found there a leopard a serpent a rat and a man these had all fallen into the trap and were unable to get out again seeing the hunter they begged him to help them out of the hole at first he did not wish to ...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
a man hunting one day in the forest met a tiger at first each was afraid of the other but after some talking they became quite friendly they agreed to live together for a little time first the man would live with the tiger in his forest home for two weeks then the tiger would come and live in the mans home the tiger be...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
the omanhene is the chief of a village a certain omanhene had three sons who were very anxious to see the world they went to their father and asked permission to travel this permission he readily gave it was the turn of the eldest to go first he was provided with a servant and with all he could possibly require for the...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
long long ago there dwelt in a town two brothers whose bad habits brought them much trouble day by day they got more deeply in debt their creditors gave them no peace so at last they ran away into the woods they became highway robbers but they were not happy their minds were troubled by their evil deeds at last they de...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
farmer mybrow was one day looking about for a suitable piece of land to convert into a field he wished to grow corn and yams he discovered a fine spot close to a great forest—which latter was the home of some fairies he set to work at once to prepare the field having sharpened his great knife he began to cut down the b...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
once upon a time a big lion the king of the forest decided that all old animals must be put to death so that there would be only young and strong animals in the forest and that no useless animals occupied the space and ate the food reserved for the young ones naturally all old and infirm animals were killed mercilessly...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
kalulu the hare being a strict vegetarian liked to grow his own vegetables he planted rows and rows of cabbages carrots lettuce turnips and other juicy vegetables and tended them regularly he was so agile and hard working that he had a regular supply of different kinds of fresh vegetables all the year round indeed beca...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
it is often said hard work and humility earn respect and power respect and power can make one proud and vain pride and vanity cause the downfall of all this statement proved true in the case of kalulu at one time kalulu as you know was a hard—working and clever hare every one respected his wisdom this went to his head ...	nigerian folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
one summer it was unbearable in the forest the water holes had all dried up making it hot and uncomfortable as a result the animals thirsted for water when conditions became worse the lion the king of the forest ordered that one of the water—holes be scooped and dug deeper he also insisted that every animal in the fore...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
chief mukulu had a problem the people in his chiefdom were not happy they were afraid to get out of their huts to go and work in the fields or go to the river to fetch water they were afraid to let their children play out of their sight all the while they remained huddled in groups and were startled and worried at the ...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
the lion the king of the forest had once again become aggressive terrorizing the poor animals in the forest he had killed most of the grass eating animals for his food as their number steadily decreased other carnivorous animals began worrying about their own livelihood they tried to advise the king to exercise restrai...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
once kalulu the hare was greatly annoyed to hear that a neighbouring chief and his daughter were causing great concern to the young men of the chiefdom the chiefs daughter was a very pretty maiden and many young men felt it a great honour to be able to marry her however as the chief and his daughter were very vain they...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
according to an early zambian belief the sky was like a roof over the earth it was so low that the people could reach and touch it at certain places it was even hanging down loose like a mosquito net that we use over our beds at night the gods and spirits of our forefathers lived inside this sky and they could always l...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
chipila and zongwe were friends they lived in adjacent huts and owned adjacent pieces of land they helped each other with the tilling hoeing sowing and reaping they were such good friends that peeple called them the twin gods one day the twin gods were tilling zongwes land they sang and chatted merrily as they worked s...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
a long time ago deep in the african jungle there was a glade where a certain tribe of people had built their huts and lived peacefully in their midst were a skinny old man and his wife a skinny old woman these two were always complaining of their hunger and poverty naturally all the good neighbours took pity on them an...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
muti was an orphan she lost her parents when she was very very small to add to this misfortune she was also not goodlooking as a result no one bothered to care for her or teach her the needs of everyday life she spent most of her time roaming in the village lazing on the grassy fields or just gazing into space some kin...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
chanda married milika because she was a beautiful girl her modesty and wisdom only added to her beauty they led a very happy life together for five years but they slowly became sad because they did not have any children chandas relatives started persuading him to marry another girl as milika had no children whenever th...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
long long ago in the middle of a dark forest in the congo there lived a jackal he was big and strong and all the other animals were afraid of him at nightfall every evening he would take his gold tipped bamboo spear and go out hunting one night as he set out into the forest the moon up in the sky was watching him as he...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
there was once a woman a hunters wife living in a little village deep in the woods she was very clever in making dolls and other figures out of clay wood—gum or bees wax she used to give them away to little children in her village during the rainy season her husband would collect a number of honeycombs and store the ho...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
this story took place a long time ago when strange things used to happen off and on in those days a man and his wife lived in a country full of happy people the couple had four healthy sons but they yearned for a little daughter when the wife was expecting their fifth child they hoped it would be different this time a ...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
there was once a king who was very powerful he had great influence over the wild beasts and animals now the tortoise was looked upon as the wisest of all beasts and men this king had a son named ekpenyon to whom he gave fifty young girls as wives but the prince did not like any of them the king was very angry at this a...	nigerian folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
many years ago there was a calabar hunter called effiong who lived in the bush killed plenty of animals and made much money every one in the country knew him and one of his best friends was a man called okun who lived near him but effiong was very extravagant and spent much money in eating and drinking with every one u...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
eyamba i of calabar was a very powerful king he fought and conquered all the surrounding countries killing all the old men and women but the able bodied men and girls he caught and brought back as slaves and they worked on the farms until they died this king had two hundred wives but none of them had borne a son to him...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
efriam duke was an ancient king of calabar he was a peaceful man and did not like war he had a wonderful drum the property of which when it was beaten was always to provide plenty of good food and drink so whenever any country declared war against him he used to call all his enemies together and beat his drum then to t...	nigerian folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
ituen was a young man of calabar he was the only child of his parents and they were extremely fond of him as he was of fine proportions and very good to look upon they were poor people and when ituen grew up and became a man he had very little money indeed in fact he had so little food that every day it was his custom ...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
mbotu was a very famous king of old town calabar he was frequently at war and was always successful as he was a most skilful leader all the prisoners he took were made slaves he therefore became very rich but on the other hand he had many enemies the people of itu in particular were very angry with him and wanted to ki...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
a bush rat called oyot was a great friend of emiong the bat they always fed together but the bat was jealous of the bush rat when the bat cooked the food it was always very good and the bush rat said how is it that when you make the soup it is so tasty the bat replied i always boil myself in the water and my flesh is s...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
effiong edem was a native of cobham town he had a very fine daughter whose name was afiong all the young men in the country wanted to marry her on account of her beauty but she refused all offers of marriage in spite of repeated entreaties from her parents as she was very vain and said she would only marry the best loo...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
king effiom of duke town calabar was very fond of pretty maidens and whenever he heard of a girl who was unusually good looking he always sent for her and if she took his fancy he made her one of his wives this he could afford to do as he was a rich man and could pay any dowry which the parents asked most of his money ...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
okun archibong was one of king archibongs slaves and lived on a farm near calabar he was a hunter and used to kill bush buck and other kinds of antelopes and many monkeys the skins he used to dry in the sun and when they were properly cured he used to sell them in the market the monkey skins were used for making drums...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
many years ago when king eyo was ruler of calabar the fish used to live on the land he was a great friend of the leopard and frequently used to go to his house in the bush where the leopard entertained him now the leopard had a very fine wife with whom the fish fell in love	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
there was once an old mother sheep who had seven lambs and one day the bat who was about to make a visit to his father in law who lived a long days march away went to the old sheep and asked her to lend him one of her young lambs to carry his load for him at first the mother sheep refused but as the young lamb was anxi...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
when eyo iii was ruling over all men and animals he had a very big palaver house to which he used to invite his subjects at intervals to feast after the feast had been held and plenty of tombo had been drunk it was the custom of the people to make speeches	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
when ambo was king of calabar the elephant was not only a very big animal but he had eyes in proportion to his immense bulk in those days men and animals were friends and all mixed together quite freely at regular intervals king ambo used to give a feast and the elephant used to eat more than any one although the hippo...	nigerian folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
in the olden days there was a very fine young hen who lived with her parents in the bush one day a hawk was hovering round about eleven oclock in the morning as was his custom making large circles in the air and scarcely moving his wings his keen eyes were wide open taking in everything for nothing moving ever escapes ...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
many years ago the sun and water were great friends and both lived on the earth together the sun very often used to visit the water but the water never returned his visits at last the sun asked the water why it was that he never came to see him in his house the water replied that the suns house was not big enough and t...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
when adiaha umo was queen of calabar being very rich and hospitable she used to give big feasts to all the domestic animals but never invited the wild beasts as she was afraid of them at one feast she gave there were three large tables and she told the cow to sit at the head of the table as she was the biggest animal p...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
ansa was king of calabar for fifty years he had a very faithful cat as a housekeeper and a rat was his house boy the king was an obstinate headstrong man but was very fond of the cat who had been in his store for many years	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
in the olden days the thunder and lightning lived on the earth amongst all the other people but the king made them live at the far end of the town as far as possible from other peoples houses the thunder was an old mother sheep and the lightning was her son a ram	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
the bush cow and the elephant were always bad friends and as they could not settle their disputes between themselves they agreed to let the head chief decide the cause of their unfriendliness was that the elephant was always boasting about his strength to all his friends which made the bush cow ashamed of himself as he...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
ekpo and etim were half brothers that is to say they had the same mother but different fathers their mother first of all had married a chief of duke town when ekpo was born but after a time she got tired of him and went to old town where she married ejuqua and gave birth to etim both of the boys grew up and became very...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
many years ago the hippopotamus whose name was isantim was one of the biggest kings on the land he was second only to the elephant the hippo had seven large fat wives of whom he was very fond now and then he used to give a big feast to the people but a curious thing was that although every one knew the hippo no one exc...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
in the beginning of the world when the creator had made men and women and the animals they all lived together in the creation land the creator was a big chief past all men and being very kindhearted was very sorry whenever any one died	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
there was once a very fat woman who was made of oil she was very beautiful and many young men applied to the parents for permission to marry their daughter and offered dowry but the mother always refused as she said it was impossible for her daughter to work on a farm as she would melt in the sun at last a stranger cam...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
many years ago there was a great famine throughout the land and all the people were starving the yam crop had failed entirely the plantains did not bear any fruit the ground nuts were all shrivelled up and the corn never came to a head even the palm oil nuts did not ripen and the peppers and ocros also gave out the leo...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling
there was once an old woman who was very poor and lived in a small mud hut thatched with mats made from the leaves of the tombo palm in the bush she was often very hungry as there was no one to look after her in the olden days the moon used often to come down to the earth although she lived most of the time in the sky ...	west african folktale	folk tale; cultural education; narrative components; storytelling

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