Once upon a time there was a village that ran out of water. The lion, the king of the village called a meeting to discuss the problem. Everyone came.
"We have no water. What shall we do?"
The villagers discussed the issue and decided on a solution. They would cut off their ears and sell them in the market in order to earn enough money to buy garden hoes and then dig a well.
Lion said, "Anyone who does not cut off his ears for the village to sell, will not be able to drink from the well."
The hare replied, "My ears are too beautiful to cut. I won't drink from the well."
The villagers went on as planned, cut off their ears, sold them in the market and earned enough money to buy hoes to dig a well. After the well was dug, the hare began to sneak water at night even though he had not helped. The villagers knew someone was stealing water and devised a plan... they created a statue, put glue on it and placed it next to the well. Later that night, the hare came to sneak water and saw the statue - mistaking it for a villager.
"Hey... what are you doing?" The hare asked. "What's wrong with you?"
No response.
"Why aren't you answering me?" The hare became angry. "If you don't answer me, I am going to beat you!"
The statue didn't answer. The hare became so angry he began to beat the statue and got stuck to the glue. The next day the villagers discovered the hare.
MORALITY: One must do what is good for the village or pay the consequence.
Afterward: Dear Togolese Friends, I hope with all sincerity, that I did this tale justice. Please tell me if I did not. kb
1 comment:
I def want to use this in my class. did you know that I just finished teaching about folk tales? And now we're looking at literature and stories from Africa. I'm so excited!
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