Fables from Africa

Title

en_US Fables from Africa

Description

en_US This is a hardbound book (hard cover)

en_US This book has a dust jacket (book cover)

en_US Collected by Jan Knappert

Creator

en_US Knappert, Jan

Contributor

en_US Roy, Jeroo

Date

2016-01-25T19:28:52Z

en_US 2003-01

en_US 1980

Date Available

2016-01-25T19:28:52Z

Date Issued

en_US 1980

Abstract

en_US The thirty-six stories presented here on 64 pages are identified by the beginning T of C through their region or country of origin within Africa. They are short and pointed. Familiar fable motifs abound. Thus in the very first story, a proud horse suggests improvements, and God creates a camel. The jackal knows many tricks, but the hedgehog only one. The hedgehog leads the jackal through a hole in the hedge around a farmer's garden, and they gorge themselves. That was the hedgehog's one trick, and he leaves the jackal stranded. Then the jackal promises the farmer that he will return for his execution, but is never seen again (17). Again, the jackal wants to eat the lamb. The latter asks for a year to grow and receives it. By the end of the year he has grown horns (18). The lamb suggests swearing about it on an altar, but the altar he creates conceals a greyhound, who bites off one of the jackal's paws. I find again a good interchange which I have enjoyed before: a father does not want tortoise for his son-in-law and so demands a bride-price of three string-tied bundles of water. The tortoise agrees, on condition that the father make the string from the smoke of his tobacco pipe (40). Again here, the fox learns from the now dead wolf how to divide spoil, as he explains to the lion (47). Again here, too, the fox who is asked for his advice needs to have the crocodile tied up again as he had been, and only then can he give a good judgment (49). Never trust a crocodile, nor a fox! The dying lion remembers two instances where he did not attack, and the jackal reminds him that it was only because he had a bone stuck in his throat (55)! I am surprised to find the ass here who tells the nightingale that the rooster at home can sing louder than he (58)! Here the snail pulls on the squirrel the trick that the hedgehog generally plays on the rabbit, namely of having his brother stand at the end of the out-lap of a race to say I am already here (59). After all, all snails are alike to a squirrel. This book offers good fun, with pleasing black-and-white fable-specific illustrations.

Identifier

en_US 237449854

en_US 5092 (Access ID)

uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10504/80680

Language

en_US eng

Publisher

en_US Evans Brothers Limited

en_US London

Subject

en_US GR350.F33 1980

en_US Title Page Scanned

Type

en_US Book, Whole