African Folk Tales

Title

en_US African Folk Tales

Description

Charlotte and Wolf Leslau

Creator

en_US Leslau, Charlotte See all items with this value

Contributor

en_US Dotzenko, Grisha

Date

2020-01-23T17:39:53Z

2019-06

en_US 1963

Date Available

2020-01-23T17:39:53Z

Date Issued

en_US 1963

Abstract

en_US Among the 25 stories here decorated with two-color brown and black designs, I notice three that I would say are fables. "The Marriage of the Mouse" (17) from Ethiopia is the familiar story of finding a suitable partner. This telling is unusual in that the family of a beautiful white male mouse is seeking a proper wife for their son. "The Man with Two Wives" (46) from Kenya tells of a man who, in a time of hunger, wants to eat the best he can from his two wives. He goes to the first but she says that she is not quite ready. He thus goes to the second, who says the same. And so he returns to the first, who says that, since he had gone to the second, she gave the food to their hungry child. When he goes to the second wife, he hears the same. He eventually starves to death. "Nature Cannot Be Changed" (53) from Sierra Leone is the funny story of a monkey and a rabbit complaining about each other's annoying flaw: the monkey keeps scratching, and the rabbit keeps looking fearfully to see if an attack is coming. So they challenge each other to be with each other without indulging in their flaws. It is very hard for them. Finally they agree to pass the time by telling stories. So each concocts a story that needs gestures, and the gestures are of course their particular nervous habits. In the end they laugh and admit that they cannot change their natures.

Identifier

en_US 12154 (Access ID)

uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10504/125850

Language

en_US eng

Publisher

en_US Peter Pauper Press

en_US Mount Vernon, NY

Subject

en_US GR350.A349 1963 See all items with this value

Africa See all items with this value

en_US Title Page Scanned See all items with this value