How the baboon’s bottom got swollen and red African Folktale
How the baboon’s bottom got swollen and red is a lovely African folktale. African folktales are stories forming part of an oral storytelling tradition shaped by the tongues of African elders passed down from one generation to the next.
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How the baboon’s bottom got swollen and red
African Folktale
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How the baboon’s bottom got swollen and red African Folktale
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 like man so I should be
king”!
Tortoise felt threatened by this claim, not
knowing what might happen if monkey decided to start acting like man. You see,
tortoise was not powerful, but what he lacked in strength, he made up in wit
and he knew and understood every animal’s behavior so that he could outwit them
all.
But if the monkey was going to start acting in unpredictable ways, he did
not want any of that. Tortoise decided to act quickly to put monkey back in his
proper place.
Tortoise went home to prepare some fried
black-eyed pea patties into which he added secret spices. When he was done, he
put the fried black-eyed peas patties in a basket and took it to lion’s house
where he placed it just outside his door and left to hide behind a tree.
The fried black-eyed peas patties were warm and
its aroma hung in the air so that lion soon came out to see where it was coming
from. He picked one fried black-eyed pea patty and ate it and this patty was
better than any patty he had ever eaten before. He ate another one, and then
another one until all the patties was gone.
Lion had a huge appetite and these were the best
fried black-eyed pea patties he had ever had, so he wanted some more. “Who made
these patties?” he bellowed but there was no answer. He searched the
surrounding area and quickly found tortoise.
He grabbed Tortoise by the neck
and asked him “How did these fried black-eyed peas patties get here”. Tortoise
quivered and shook and frighteningly said “I promised not to tell”. But lion
insisted he tell “or else…”, so Tortoise confessed that it came from Monkey but
it is a secret. He told lion that that monkey made the fried black-eyed pea
patties and would not share the recipe, he keeps it a secret.
Lion immediately headed to Monkey’s house. When
he saw Monkey, he asked him “Give me the fried black-eyed pea patty recipe”.
Monkey was confused because he could not cook and gave lion a blank stare.
Lion
roared at him “I said give it to me!” Monkey was terrified and made a batch of
the patties. Lion sampled monkeys dish and found out he was tricked, it did not
taste like fried black-eyed peas patties at all! It was not delicious and lion
was mad.
He started to beat Monkey while ordering him to hand over his secret
recipe to make fried black-eyed pea patties. Lion did not stop beating monkey’s
bottom until it was all swollen and red.
Since then, Monkey has shelved his
ambition to become king of all the animals but his bottom remains red and
swollen as a reminder to never challenge the king.