Ballads: Willie o Winsbury

One of the new projects I want to start working on for 2022 is BALLADS, and I'm getting a bit of a head start now. My goal is to write up some ballads here, and then think about ways to turn them into new kinds of stories: microfiction, flash fiction, readers theater, etc.

I'll start by working through the songs on one of my favorite albums, Anaïs Mitchell and Jefferson Hamer's Child Ballads, beginning with Willie o Winsbury.

Child Ballad 100: but the lyrics are a quite different version

Roud 64

Here are the lyrics for the version on their album:

The king has been a prisoner

And a prisoner long in Spain

And Willie of the Winsbury

Has lain long with his daughter Jane.

"What ails you, what ails you, my daughter Jane?

Why you look so pale and wan?

Oh have you had any ill sickness?

Or yet been sleeping with a man?"

"I have not had any ill sickness

Nor yet been sleeping with a man;

It is for you my father dear

For biding so long in Spain."

"Cast off, cast off your robe and gown,

Stand naked on the stone,

That I might know you by your shape

If you be a maiden or none."

And she's cast off her robe and gown,

Stood naked on the stone;

Her apron was tight and her waist was round

Her face was pale and wan.

"And was it with a lord or a gentleman

Or a man of wealth and fame?

Or was it with one of my servingmen

While I was a prisoner in Spain?"

"No, it wasn't with a lord or a gentleman

Or a man of wealth and fame;

It was with Willie of Winsbury

I could bide no longer alone."

And the king has called his servingmen

By one, by two and by three,

Saying, "Where is this Willie of Winsbury?

For hanged he shall be."

And when they came before the king

By one, by two and by three

Willie should have been the first of them

But the last of them was he.

And Willie of the Winsbury

All dressed up in red silk,

His hair hung like the strands of gold,

His breast was white as milk,

"No wonder, no wonder," the king he said

"That my daughter's love you did win.

If I were a woman as I am a man

In my own bed you would have been.

And will you marry my daughter Jane

By the faith of your right hand?

And I'll make you the lord of my servingmen

I'll make you the heir to my land."

"Oh yes, I'll marry your daughter Jane

By the faith of my right hand,

But I'll not be the lord of any man;

I'll be not be the heir to your land."

And he's raised her up on a milk white steed

And himself on a dapple gray

He has made her the lady of as much land

As she can ride on a long summer's day.

And here's an old broadside, where he's called Thomas Bright:

 

Here's a playlist:

The Leopard, the Rabbit, and the Monkey

This is my version of a public domain story: "The Leopard, the Hare, and the Monkey" which is a Baganda story from Unganda in Baskerville's The Flame Tree and Other Folklore Stories from Uganda. I have followed the original word by word while also feeling free to make my own changes and additions.

Leopard by Srikaanth Sekar at Wikimedia

The Leopard, the Rabbit, and the Monkey

Once upon a time a leopard and a rabbit lived together in one house. One day the leopard said to the rabbit, "Let's go steal some goats." The rabbit didn't want to go steal goats, but he did want the leopard to go and bring some meat, so he agreed to what the leopard said, although the rabbit had his own plan in mind.

They started out in opposite directions, but as soon as the leopard was out of sight, the rabbit doubled back and followed the leopard who was creeping up the hillside towards a goat which was grazing by itself. The leopard crouched, and then he sprang, grabbing the goat with his claws. At just that moment the rabbit shouted, "Help! Help! The leopard is stealing my goat!" Thinking the goatherd had seen him, the leopard dropped the goat and ran. Once the leopard was gone, the rabbit dragged the goat into some bushes and, after waiting to make sure the leopard wasn't coming back, he dragged the goat all the way home.

"Here's the goat I stole!" shouted the rabbit triumphantly. "Where's your goat, Leopard?"

The leopard had to admit that he had failed to steal a goat, and he was very ashamed about that.

"Don't worry, friend," said the rabbit. "I'll share my goat with you of course. You'll do better next time, I'm sure."

When the meat was nearly cooked the rabbit went outside the house and shouted again. "I think they went this way! Come on! We're going to kill those goat-thieves once and for all!" The leopard thought the goatherd and his friends had followed them, so he ran off into the forest. 

By the time the leopard came back the next morning, the rabbit had eaten up all the meat, but he didn't tell the leopard that. Instead he said, "Oh, I am so glad you are safe and sound! The goatherds came and took the roasted goat away. I barely escaped with my life!"

This little drama repeated itself several times, and the leopard was getting thinner and thinner, while the rabbit was getting fatter and fatter. The leopard suspected the rabbit was tricking him somehow, but he could not figure it out.

Then a monkey, who had watched the goings-on from high in a tree, told the leopard what the rabbit was doing. "The rabbit has certainly made a monkey out of you!" chortled the monkey, and then he fled higher up into the trees so the leopard could not catch him.

That evening, the leopard was determined to catch rabbit in the act. When the rabbit went outside the house and shouted like a goatherd chasing a goat-thief, the leopard ran only a little ways into the forest. Then he turned around and came back to find the rabbit sitting down to a meal of roasted goat.

"I CAUGHT YOU!" shouted the leopard, but the rabbit was fast; he ran and jumped into an anthill, disappearing into the large hold at the top and then crouching down inside so that he was just beyond the reach of the leopard's paw. The leopard knew that anthills are made of very hard red earth, so if he tried to dig the rabbit out, he would just break all his claws. "You haven't escaped yet!" he shouted. "I'll fill that hole up with wood, light it on fire, and burn you inside." Then, cackling gleefully, the leopard looked for an animal who could guard the hole while he went to get some grass.

"Crow, do me a favor!" he shouted, seeing a crow in a nearby tree. "Come guard my prisoner in this hole while I go get some firewood."

The crow, however, never does favors for anyone, so he refused. "It's shady here in the tree," he squawked. "I'm not going to go sit in the sun just to guard an anthill. Find someone else!"

Then a monkey came walking along, the very same monkey who had told the leopard about rabbit's tricks to begin with. "Oh, my dear friend," said the leopard, "I am so glad to see you! Come and guard the rabbit whom you helped me to catch. I'm going to go get fireword so that I can burn him inside the anthill. Please make sure he doesn't get away before I come back and set the fire."

"I promise!" said the monkey agreeably, who then sat down on top of the anthill while the leopard ran home to get what he needed to build a fire.

As the monkey sat there he heard the rabbit munching something: munching and crunching, munching and crunching. "Hey, Rabbit!" he said. "What are you eating?"

"What do you think? I'm eating the ants. They are swarming everywhere down here, and they are absolutely delicious," replied the rabbit. "I've never had so much to eat, and they taste so good, very crunchy and absolutely delicious."

"Oh, give me some, please!" said the monkey. 

"Of course! As the saying goes: he who eats alone knows no joy. I'm glad to share," replied the rabbit. "Just lean down into the hole, and I'll hand you some."

The monkey leaned down into the hole, and then rabbit threw a handful of dust into his eyes. The monkey sprang back and rolled off the anthill, rubbing his eyes, while the rabbit jumped out of the hole and ran away. 

The crow, who was still sitting in the tree near by, laughed and laughed. 

"It's not funny, Crow!" shrieked the monkey, still trying to wipe the dust from his eyes. "What am I going to do when the leopard comes back?"

"Don't worry; I'll tell you what to do," the crow told him. "Go get some pumpkin seeds from the pumpkin patch over there" — crow gestured with his wing to a nearby garden — and then get some leaves and twigs too. Stuff the pumpkin-seeds and the twigs and leaves into the  hole and when the leopard comes, just tell him you've started getting the fire ready with a little kindling."

The monkey did exactly as the crow told him, and he had just finished stuffing the seeds and twigs and leaves into the hole when the leopard returned.

"I'm helping to set up the fire for you!" the monkey said as soon as he saw leopard.

"Why, thank you, Monkey!" said the leopard, who heaped firewood into the whole and then set it all on fire. It wasn't long before the first pumpkin-seed exploded with a POP.

"What was that?" asked the leopard. 

"One of the rabbit's eyes must have exploded," said the monkey solemnly. 

Then another seed went POP.

"That's his other eye!" croaked the crow. 

By then all the seeds were all getting hot, and they all began popping together, POP POP POP, and the crow burst out laughing, and the monkey swung himself up into the tree beside the crow and also started laughing. The leopard realized that they had tricked somehow and he fumed with rage, but there was nothing he could do. He waited until the fire went out and looked down into the hole.

No rabbit, and no rabbit remains. Instead there were only ashes from the wood and the twigs. The rabbit had escaped.

"This is all your fault, Monkey," growled the leopard, and he tried to jump up into the tree to get the monkey, but the monkey went higher and higher, up on the slender branches that cannot bear the leopard's weight... and to this days, leopards are still chasing monkeys, angry that the monkey let the rabbit escape from the anthill long, long ago.

Samango Monkey by Bernard Dupont at Wikimedia

The Lions and Kimona-Ngombe

This is my version of a public domain story: "The Lions and Kimona-Ngombe" which is an Ambundu story from Chatelain's Folktales of Angola. The storyteller was Jelemia dia Sabatelu ("Jeremiah the son of the Shoemaker"), from Malanje, one of Chatelain's main informants. I have followed the original word by word while also feeling free to make my own changes and additions.

The Lions and Kimona-Ngombe

The lions had settled in the wilderness. 

Later, famine came. The lions could not find food.

The lions said, "What shall we do? We are so hungry! The humans always have cattle, but we will have to journey all day to reach their village. Let's go now!"

So the lions journeyed until they reached the village of the humans. At the outskirts of the village, they stopped, and there they turned one of the lions into a beautiful woman. The lions dressed her in fine clothes they arranged her hair nicely, and then they told her what she must do. "This is the village of Chief Kimona-Ngombe, a man who has many cattle. When you go into the village, you must say that you are going on a journey to visit your brother who lives in a distant village. When Kimona-Ngombe sees you, he will talk to you and ask you to marry him. Then, when he marries you, you will kill him, and we will catch his cattle and eat them."

The young lioness agreed and walked down the path into the village, still getting used to her new way of walking just on two legs. She then found the chief sitting at the entrance to his house."You, young woman," he said, "where are you going?" 

The woman replied, "I am going to visit my brother who lives in a distant village. My long journey has made me tired. Please, perhaps you will allows your people to give me some water to drink." Kimona-Ngombe ordered his servants to bring water for the young woman to drink.

Then Kimona-Ngombe spoke to her again. "You, young woman, are you married already?" 

"No," she answered, "I'm not married yet." 

Then, just as the lions had predicted, Kimona-Ngombe proposed to her, and she accepted, "But first," she said, "let me go home first and tell my parents. I will come back in two days."

The woman then went back to the lions. "Kimona-Ngombe has talked to me," she told them, "and he asked to marry him. I said yes." 

The other lions said, "That is good." 

The woman slept two days, and then she returned to the Kimona-Ngombe's village. The people of the village killed a goat for her, and she ate. They also built her a house.

Chief Kimona-Ngombe told the people of his house, "Tonight I will go sleep in the house of my bride." 

"Don't leave me, Papa!" said a little boy. This was Ndala, the son of Kimona-Ngombe and his first wife. The boy clung to his father and wouldn't let go. "I will sleep with my papa." 

"Your father is going to sleep in the house of the new bride," said Ndala's mother. "You're going to sleep with me." 

But Ndala refused; he cried and cried, begging to go with his father. 

Finally his father agreed. "I see the boy won't let go of me," he said. "I suppose he can come with me tonight."

The chief and his little son arrived in the house of the bride and sat on the bed. The bride said, "What is this? The chief has come with a little boy." 

"This little boy is my son," said Kimona-Ngombe. "His name is Ndala, and he wanted to come with me tonight. He wouldn't stay in the house of his mother. He clung to me and wouldn't let go, so I have brought him here with me."

Then they lay down, the chief stretching out with his son on the mat beside the bride's bed.

Time passed. 

In the middle of the night, the woman rose up from the bed and turned back into a lioness; she was going to attack the chief!

Ndala, who was lying beside his father on the mat, saw the lioness coming. He roused his father, saying, "Papa, look out! There is a lion! It's going to bite you!" 

The father got up, but the lioness had already turned back into a woman.

"You're just having a bad dream, my son," he said. "Go back to sleep."

Daybreak came, another day passed, and then it was evening again. The chief announced that he was again going to sleep in the house of his new bride, and again his son clung to him and would not let go.

When they arrived at the new bride's house, she said, "O Chief, the child woke you already in the night. Why have you brought him here again?" 

"My son won't let go of me," replied the chief.

So they slept, the father and son lying together on the mat beside the new bride's bed.

The woman could hear the lions calling to her. "You, you who went to kill Kimona-Ngombe, aren't you coming? You, you who are a lion, why don't you come?" she heard them singing in the song of lions.

The woman sang back to them in the song of lions. "The goats of Kimona-Ngombe are asleep, the servants of Kimona-Ngombe are asleep, the chickens of Kimona-Ngombe are asleep, the pigs of Kimona-Ngombe are asleep, the sheep of Kimona-Ngombe are asleep and Kimona-Ngombe himself is asleep! But his son does not show the signs of sleeping on his face, oh no! His son Ndala is not asleep!"

And the lions sang to her again, "You, you who went to kill Kimona-Ngombe, you must kill him! You, you who are a lion, why don't you kill him?"

So the woman turned into a lion again; she was going to attack the chief.

The son, who was lying beside his father, saw the lion coming and roused his father. "Papa, wake up! Wake up! Something is coming this way!"

The lion immediately turned back into a woman.

His father replied, "You're lying, boy; I'm not going to listen to you." 

They slept again for a little while, and then again the woman could hear the lions calling to her. "You, you who went to kill Kimona-Ngombe, aren't you coming? You, you who are a lion, why don't you come?"

So the woman sang her song again. "Kimona-Ngombe is asleep, he is! But his son does not show the signs of sleeping on his face, oh no! His son Ndala is not asleep!"

Then the lions sang again, "You, you who went to kill Kimona-Ngombe, you must kill him! You, you who are a lion, why don't you kill him?"

Ndala stood up and shouted, "Papa, get up! This is the house of a wild beast. There is no bride here."

The chief was now very angry at his son. "We're going back to your mother," he said. "I will leave you there and come back here without you."

When they were outside of the house, the son told his father what he had seen. "The bride turns into a lion, and then she turns back into a bride. She is going to kill you, Papa! She is going to kill us both!"

"How can I believe this story?" said his father angrily.

"I am telling you the truth, Papa!" said Ndala. "Let's go back into the house. Pretend to be asleep, but listen carefully and stay awake. You'll see what happens!"

So the chief and his son went back into the house of the bride. 

The woman was angry when she saw the little boy, "You were going to take the child to his mother. Why has he come back with you?"

The chief said, "I tried to leave him there, but the child would not stay with his mother." 

So they lay down again. The chief pulled the sleeping-cloth up over his head, but he was listening carefully and watching through the cloth to see what happened next.

Again the lions sang, "You, you who went to kill Kimona-Ngombe, aren't you coming? You, you who are a lion, why don't you come?" 

Again the woman sang, "The goats of Kimona-Ngombe are asleep, the servants of Kimona-Ngombe are asleep, the chickens of Kimona-Ngombe are asleep, the pigs of Kimona-Ngombe are asleep, the sheep of Kimona-Ngombe are asleep, but Kimona-Ngombe himself is only pretending to sleep, only pretending, oh no!"

But the lions kept singing, "You, you who went to kill Kimona-Ngombe, you must kill him! You must kill him! You must kill him!"

So the woman turned into a lion again; she was going to kill Kimona-Ngombe.

Kimona-Ngombe saw how his bride turned into a lion, and he believed what his son Ndala said. "Ndala spoke the truth," he shouted, rising up from the mat. "Come, my son! We will go to your mother," and they ran out of the bride's house and back to the house of Ndala's mother. There Kimona-Ngombe told all his servants, "Go set the new bride's house on fire. The woman whom I married has turned into a lion."

So they surrounded the house with fire, and they burned the new bride inside.

Then it was daybreak.

Truth may come from the mouths of babes: a woman who was a lion was going to kill Kimona-Ngombe; his son, Ndala, saved his life.

Tanzanian Lion by Aurelio Arias at Wikimedia

The Leopard's Funeral

This is my version of a public domain story: "Tests of Death" which is a Mpongwe story from Gabon in Nassau's Where Animals Talk: West African Folklore Tales. I have followed the original word by word while also feeling free to make my own changes and additions.

THE LEOPARD'S FUNERAL

Leopard and Jackal lived together in the same village. One day, Leopard said to Jackal, "I'm so hungry! I can't eat just any kind of food; I must have animals to eat." So Leopard went to look for some animals to eat in the forest. He wandered many hours but could not find anything to eat.

The next day, Leopard said to Jackal, “My friend, we must come up with some plan so that we can kill some animals. I can't keep wandering in the forest day after day like this. I'm so hungry!"

Leopard by Art G. at Wikimedia

So together Jackal and Leopard came up with a plan. 

The next day, Jackal took his bedding and spread it out in the open air. Then Leopard lay down on the bedding, stretched out like a corpse and keeping perfectly still. "Well done, Leopard!" said Jackal. "This is going to work very nicely!"

Then Leopard whispered to Jackal, “We'll start with Porcupine! Call Porcupine first."

So Jackal shouted, in accordance with their plan, “Come! Porcupine, come! That beast that kills animals is dead! Leopard is dead! Come and mourn with me for Leopard! Come to Leopard's funeral!”

So Porcupine came to the funeral, weeping and wailing, as if he was really sorry for the death of his enemy. He approached the supposed corpse, and then he mocked the dead Leopard. "Behold the one who killed so many of my people! Behold his dead body of that murdering beast."

Crested Porcupine by C8 at Wikimedia

Leopard heard everything Porcupine said and then, all of a sudden, he sprang into action: he leaped up and brought Porcupine down under his paw, dead. Then Leopard said to his friend Jackal, “There you go! Go ahead and butcher this one, and then we'll have a feast."

So Jackal butchered the Porcupine and the two friends had a fine meal.

The plan had worked so well that they decided to do it again the next day. Jackal brought out the bedding, Leopard lay down, and this time Jackal called for Antelope. Antelope came, pretending to mourn for Leopard but then mocking him, and Leopard killed him just as he had killed Porcupine, and again Jackal and Leopard enjoyed a good feast.

In this same way they also killed Elephant, Ox, and one creature after another until there were only two left: Gazelle and Tortoise.

"I don't know what we can do now," Jackal said to Leopard. "Gazelle is very tricky, and so is Tortoise. I do not think our plan will fool either of them."

"Oh, I think we can fool them both," said Leopard. "We'll invite them both to my funeral tomorrow."

Then they went to sleep, dreaming of yet more food to feast on, and the next morning Leopard once again stretched himself out on the bedding, pretending to be dead, keeping completely still. His mouth drooped open, his tongue lolling, just like a dead person.

Then Jackal shouted, in accordance with their plan, “Come! Gazelle, come! That beast that kills animals is dead! Leopard is dead! Come and mourn with me for Leopard! Come to Leopard's funeral!” Jackal had to shout very loudly this time, for Gazelle's house was quite far away from the house of Jackal and Leopard.

Gazelle by Yathin S. Krishnappa at Wikimedia

When he heard Jackal calling him, Gazelle said to himself, “So, Leopard is dead! I suppose I must go to his funeral!" Gazelle then began to make his way towards the house where Leopard and Jackal lived. 

Along the way he passed Tortoise's house. As he was Tortoise's friend, he stopped there and said, "Tortoise, have you heard the news? Leopard is dead!"

"No, he's not!" said Tortoise. "I'm warning you: Leopard is not dead. You should just go back home now. This is just a trick that Leopard is playing with Jackal's help."

"I'm not so sure," replied Gazelle. "I think I will go see for myself."

"Well," said Tortoise, “if you are determined to go there, I will tell you something.” 

Tortoise by Kenogenic at Wikimedia

"Yes, please!" exclaimed Gazelle.

Tortoise explained in detail what Gazelle should do, and Gazelle smiled. "That is a good plan," he said. "Thank you, Tortoise!"

Gazelle then continued on his way to the house of Jackal and Leopard, and when he arrived he saw Leopard lying there, motionless as a corpse, his tongue lolling out.

"Dear Jackal," he said, "what has brought about Leopard's death?"

"He had a fever yesterday," Jackal replied, "and today he is dead."

Then Gazelle let loose a great wail and he began to rampage through the garden, overturning all the plants, smashing the fruits and vegetables in his supposed grief. As he destroyed the garden he kept an eye on Leopard; Leopard didn't move.

Meanwhile, Jackal, who was distressed to see the garden in ruins, begged Gazelle to restrain himself. "Your grief is great, I can see that," said Jackal. "Calm yourself, please! You should kneel down beside the corpse and weep there for the dead Leopard."

As Jackal spoke, Leopard was listening, and he prepared himself to spring into action, thinking about how tasty Gazelle was going to be. 

So Gazelle slowly approached the supposed corpse, and as he did so, he pulled out the sack of ants, bees, and peppers that Tortoise had prepared for him and threw it at Leopard. The sack burst open, and the bees and ants swarmed everywhere, while the peppers got into Leopard's mouth and eyes. The bees rejoiced, shouting, “We will all sting Leopard!” The ants also rejoiced, shouting, "We will all bite Leopard!" Even the peppers rejoiced, shouting, "We will make Leopard burn!"

Writhing in pain, Leopard jumped up, but the peppers had blinded him, so he didn't even come close to where Gazelle was standing. Then Gazelle laughed as he ran back into the forest. "I have no business here, Leopard!" he said. "My business is back in the forest," and so Gazelle quickly sped away to safety in the trees.

Then Gazelle went straight to Tortoise's home and told him what had happened. "I saw for myself," he said. "Leopard was not dead, and thanks to you, I escaped."

Tortoise smiled. "You would do well to avoid Leopard," he said, "dead or alive."

The Friendship of the Leopard and the Goat

This is my version of a public domain story: "The Young Leopard and the Young Goat" which is an Ambundu story from Chatelain's Folktales of Angola. The storyteller was Jelemia dia Sabatelu ("Jeremiah the son of the Shoemaker"), from Malanje, one of Chatelain's main informants. I have followed the original word by word while also feeling free to make my own changes and additions.

The Friendship of the Leopard and the Goat

Leopard-Cub and Goat-Kid used to be friends. 

One day Goat-Kid said to Leopard-Cub, "Let's go to my house and play."

"We played there yesterday," replied Leopard-Cub, "and the day before. We can't always just play at your house. My father will be hunting in the forest today and he told me to watch the house in his absence, so today we need to go play at my house."

Goat-Kid agreed, and together they went to the Mr. Leopard's house.

The two friends played until the sun set, and then Goat-Kid went back to his own home. They played the next day at the Leopard-Cub's house, and again the next day. That way, Leopard-Cub could keep an eye on the house while his father was at work.

"What do you do all day while I am at work?" Mr. Leopard asked his son.

"I play with my friend, Goat-Kid!" replied Leopard-Cub.

Mr. Leopard shouted, "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Goats are not our friends! Goats are our food. They are the meat that Leopards like to eat. If he comes here to our house, you cannot let him leave. You can put him here in my sack" — so saying Mr. Leopard handed his son a big sack — "and when I get home, I'll show you how to kill him."

"But how can I put him inside that sack?" asked Leopard-Cub. "I don't think he would like that very much."

"Just tell him it's a game," explained Mr. Leopard. "Then, when he gets in, tie up the sack, and then hit the sack with a big stick until he quiets down."

"I will try, Father!" said Leopard-Cub.

Then Mr. Leopard smiled and went to work in the forest. 

When Goat-Kid came to play that day, Leopard-Cub said, "I found this sack to use for a new kind of game."

"How does it work?" asked Goat-Kid.

"Just get in the sack," replied Leopard-Cub, "and then I'll tell you what happens next."

So Goat-Kid got into the sack, and then Leopard-Cub tied it shut. 

After a while, Goat-Kid shouted, "I don't like this game, Leopard-Cub! Let me out now and we can play some other game."

"Stay a little longer," Leopard-Cub told him.

"But I've got to pee!" said Goat-Kid. "If you don't let me out, I'll have to pee all over your sack."

"Go ahead and pee," said Leopard-Cub. "I don't mind."

"And I've got to poop!" said Goat-Kid. "If you don't let me out, I'll have to poop inside your sack."

Leopard-Cub was sure his father didn't want anyone to poop in his sack, so he shouted, "Okay! Okay! Get out of the sack! It belongs to my father. Don't poop in the sack! I'll let you out!"

Then Goat-Kid got out of the sack and ran outside. He didn't really have to poop; he just said that to fool Leopard-Cub.

When Mr. Leopard returned home that night, he asked eagerly, "Did you catch Goat-Kid in the sack?"

"I did!" said Leopard-Cub proudly.

"Give him to me then!" said Mr. Leopard. "We'll have goat-stew for supper!"

"Well, I caught him in the sack, but then I let him go," Leopard-Cub explained. "He said he was going to pee inside the sack, and I said okay, and then he said he was going to poop inside the sack, so I let him out of the sack and then he went away."

Mr. Leopard said, "Son, you are an even bigger fool than I had realized. Next time, no matter what the Goat-Kid says, you must not let him out of that sack."

In the morning, Mr. Leopard gave his son the sack again and reminded him, "After you catch Goat-Kid, don't let him go. If he says he's going to pee, tell him to pee. If he says he's going to poop, tell him to poop. We can always wash the sack afterwards. Do you understand?"

"I understand," replied Leopard-Cub, and then Mr. Leopard went to work.

What Mr. Leopard didn't know was that Goat-Kid had arrived early that day and was hiding in the bushes, listening to everything the Leopards said. So when Goat-Kid knocked at Leopard-Cub's door, he already had a plan in mind.

"Hello!" said Leopard-Cub eagerly. "You're early! I've got the sack so we can finish the game from yesterday. Come on and get inside!"

"I got inside yesterday," replied Goat-Kid. "It's your turn to get inside."

This was something Leopard-Cub had not expected. His father hadn't told him what to do if Goat-Kid put him inside the sack. "Okay," he said slowly, trying to think of what to do, but when he couldn't think of anything, he got inside the sack, wondering what would happen next.

As soon as Leopard-Cub was in the sack, Goat-Kid tied it shut.

After a while, Leopard-Cub shouted, "I don't like this game either! Let me out now and we can play some other game."

"Stay a little longer," Goat-Kid told him.

"But I've got to pee!" said Leopard-Cub.

Goat-Kid told him, "Go ahead and pee!" 

"But I've got to poop!" said Leopard-Cub.

"Go ahead and poop!" Goat-Kid told him. "But first, I'm going to beat you!" Then Goat-Kid took a stick and beat Leopard-Cub inside the sack. He beat and beat and beat and beat until finally Leopard-Cub was dead.

Then Goat-Kid lay down in Mr. Leopard's bed. He pulled up the sheet over his head and stayed very quiet, waiting for Mr. Leopard to come home.

After a while, Mr. Leopard came home and said, "Son, where are you? Did you catch Goat-Kid inside the sack?"

Goat-Kid answered, imitating Leopard-Cub's voice. "I'm here in the bed, Father! I've got a bad headache, so I'm taking a nap. But I caught Goat-Kid in the sack and beat him with the stick. He's ready to cook; I put salt and pepper and vegetables inside the sack already, so all you have to do is throw the sack in the boiling water; you don't even have to untie it. Throw it in just like that and let it cook."

"What a fine idea, Son!" said the Leopard, surprised and pleased by the day's events. He added wood to the fire so the water in the pot was boiling hot, and then he threw the sack in. 

After a while, Mr. Leopard shouted, "Son, our supper is almost ready. Do you feel well enough to come in here and scrape the fur?"

"I'm coming, Father!" said Goat-Kid, still imitating Leopard-Cub's voice. Then he wrapped himself in the bedsheet and, thus disguised, he went into the kitchen, took the sack out of the pot, and carried the sack outside. Next, he skinned Leopard-Cub, cut off his paws, and arranged the meat on a platter which he took back inside and left in the kitchen.

"Your supper is ready!" he shouted to Mr. Leopard. "But I still don't feel well, so I'm going to go sit outside in the cool evening breeze. You can start supper without me."

Then Goat-Kid went outside and waited until he heard Mr. Leopard start to eat his supper inside the house. "Oh, this is truly delicious!" roared Mr. Leopard as he devoured the meat. "It's the best goat I've ever eaten!"

Goat-Kid laughed and shouted back, now using his own voice, "You think you're so clever, Mr. Leopard, but I am more clever than you. I am Goat-Kid, and the meat you are eating is Leopard-Cub, your son!"

Mr. Leopard rushed outside and saw Goat-Kid running off into the distance. Mr. Leopard chased after him, but Goat-Kid had gotten a head start and Mr. Leopard couldn't catch him.

That is what happened when Leopard tried to fool Goat, but Goat fooled Leopard instead: Mr. Leopard ate his own son, and he has been chasing Goats ever since, hoping to get his revenge.

Goat by Ali Graney at Wikimedia

Tortoise the Blacksmith

This is my version of a public domain story: "A Chain of Circumstances" which is a Fang story from Nassau's Where Animals Talk: West African Folklore Tales. I have followed the original word by word while also feeling free to make my own changes and additions. This type of cumulative tale is my favorite type of folktale, and it is a very popular folktale form in Africa.

Tortoise the Blacksmith

and Cockroach's Wonderful Spear

Once upon a time, Tortoise was a blacksmith. 

Once day Cockroach came to Tortoise's workshop to sharpen his wonderful spear. Everyone in the whole wide world knew about Cockroach's wonderful spear, and they feared him because of it.

As Tortoise worked the bellows to make the fire hot, Cockroach looked out into the street and saw Chicken coming. Of all the people and all the animals in the whole wide world, Chicken was the only creature that Cockroach feared. He dropped his spear in a panic and said to Tortoise, “Help me, Tortoise! I see Chicken coming, and I'm afraid she will catch me and kill me. Where can I hide?"

"Don't worry," Tortoise told him. “Go and hide yourself there in the grass.” Cockroach immediately ran and hid in the grass.

Just as Cockroach managed to hide himself, Chicken walked into Tortoise's workshop. Seeing the spear lying on the ground, she said, "Hey, Tortoise! Is that Cockroach's wonderful spear lying there on the ground?"

"Yes," replied Tortoise. "Are you looking for him?"

"Yes, I am!" clucked Chicken. "Where is he?"

"He's hiding in the grass over there," said Tortoise, pointing to Cockroach's hiding place. Chicken ran to the grass, caught Cockroach, and swallowed him.

Just as Chicken was ready to resume her journey, Tortoise shouted, "Hey, Chicken! I helped you; now you help me. Come work the bellows for me to make the fire hot."

Chicken agreed, and as she stood there working the bellows, she looked out into the street and saw Wildcat coming down in the street. Of all the people and all the animals in the whole wide world, Wildcat was the only creature that Chicken feared. She stopped working the bellows and said to Tortoise, “Help me, Tortoise! I see Wildcat coming, and I'm afraid she will catch me and kill me. Where can I hide?"

"Don't worry," Tortoise told him. “Go and hide yourself there in the woodpile.” Chicken immediately ran and hid in the woodpile.

Just as Chicken managed to hide herself, Wildcat walked into Tortoise's workshop. Seeing the spear lying on the ground, she said, "Hey, Tortoise! Is that Cockroach's wonderful spear lying there on the ground?"

"Yes," replied Tortoise. 

"And where is Cockroach?" asked Wildcat.

"Chicken swallowed him," replied Tortoise.

Wildcat purred. "And where is Chicken now?" she asked.

"She's hiding in the woodpile over there," said Tortoise, pointing to Chicken's hiding place. Wildcat ran to the woodpile, caught Chicken, and ate her.

Just as Wildcat was ready to resume her journey, Tortoise shouted, "Hey, Wildcat! I helped you; now you help me. Come work the bellows for me to make the fire hot."

Wildcat agreed, and as she stood there working the bellows, she looked out into the street and saw Leopard coming down the street. Of all the people and all the animals in the whole wide world, Leopard was the only creature that Wildcat feared. She stopped working the bellows and said to Tortoise, “Help me, Tortoise! I see Leopard coming, and I'm afraid he will catch me and kill me. Where can I hide?"

"Don't worry," Tortoise told him. “Go and hide yourself there under that blanket.” Wildcat immediately ran and hid under the blanket.

Just as Wildcat managed to hide himself, Leopard walked into Tortoise's workshop. Seeing the spear lying on the ground, he said, "Hey, Tortoise! Is that Cockroach's wonderful spear lying there on the ground?"

"Yes," replied Tortoise. 

"And where is Cockroach?" asked Leopard.

"Chicken swallowed him," replied Tortoise.

"And where is Chicken?" asked Leopard.

"Wildcat ate her," replied Tortoise.

Leopard growled. "And where is Wildcat now?" he asked.

"She's hiding under the blanket over there," said Tortoise, pointing to Wildcat's hiding place. Leopard ran to the blanket, caught Wildcat, and devoured her.

Just as Leopard was ready to resume his journey, Tortoise shouted, "Hey, Leopard! I helped you; now you help me. Come work the bellows for me to make the fire hot."

Leopard agreed, and as he stood there working the bellows, he looked out into the street and saw the Hunter coming down the street. Of all the people and all the animals in the whole wide world, Hunter was the only creature that Leopard feared. He stopped working the bellows and said to Tortoise, “Help me, Tortoise! I see Hunter coming, and I'm afraid he will catch me and kill me. He's got a gun! Where can I hide?"

"Don't worry," Tortoise told him. “Go and hide yourself there behind the door.” Leopard immediately ran and hid behind the door.

Just as Leopard managed to hide himself, Hunter walked into Tortoise's workshop, carrying a gun on his shoulder. Seeing the spear lying on the ground, he said, "Hey, Tortoise! Is that Cockroach's wonderful spear lying there on the ground?"

"Yes," replied Tortoise. 

"And where is Cockroach?" asked Hunter.

"Chicken swallowed him," replied Tortoise.

"And where is Chicken?" asked Hunter.

"Wildcat ate her," replied Tortoise.

"And where is Wildcat?" asked Hunter.

"Leopard devoured her," replied Tortoise.

Hunter smiled. "And where is Leopard now?" he asked.

Tortoise did not say anything, so Hunter asked again. "And where is Leopard NOW?" he shouted.

"He's hiding behind the door over there," said Tortoise meekly, pointing to Leopard's hiding place. 

Then Hunter went and shot Leopard,

who had devoured Wildcat,

who had eaten Chicken,

who had swallowed Cockroach,

who owned the wonderful spear

that's still lying on the ground

in the workshop of Tortoise the blacksmith.

Tortoise by US Fish and Wildlife Service at Flickr