Friends Forever : African Stories

Let us enjoy reading this one of African Stories of Friends

Forever.

A mouse and a frog were friends. Every morning the frog would
hop out of his pond and go to visit his friend who lived in a hole
in the side of a tree. He would return home at noon.

The mouse delighted in his friend’s company unaware that the

friend was slowly turning into an enemy. The reason? The frog
felt slighted because though he visited the mouse everyday, the
mouse on his part, had never made an attempt to visit him.

One day he felt he had been humiliated enough. When it was

time for him to take leave of the mouse, he tied one end of a
string around his own leg, tied the other end to the mouse’s tail,
and hopped away, dragging the hapless mouse behind him.

The frog dived deep into the pond. The mouse tried to free
himself but couldn’t, and soon drowned. His bloated body floated
to the top.

A hawk saw the mouse floating on the pond’s surface. He

swooped down, and grabbing the mouse in his talons, flew to the branch of a nearby tree.
The frog, of course, was hauled out of the water too. He desperately tried to free himself,
but couldn’t and the hawk soon put an end to his struggles.

In Africa they have a saying: ‘Don’t dig too deep a pit for your enemy, you may fall into it
yourself’.
The Hare and the Tortoise

There once was a speedy Hare who bragged about how fast he could run. Tired of hearing him
boast, the Tortoise challenged him to a race. All the animals in the forest gathered to watch.

The Hare ran down the road for a while and then paused to rest. He looked back at the tortoise and
cried out, "How do you expect to win this race when you are walking along at your slow, slow pace?"

The Hare stretched himself out alongside the road and fell asleep, thinking, "There is plenty of time
to relax."

The Tortoise walked and walked, never ever stopping until he came to the finish line.

The animals who were watching cheered so loudly for Tortoise that they woke up the Hare. The
Hare stretched, yawned and began to run again, but it was too late. Tortoise had already crossed
the finish line.

Moral: Slow and steady wins the race.

This is the story that we have all grown up with. But recently, two additions have been proposed to
the story.
Addition 1
After being defeated by the tortoise, the hare did some soul-searching. He knew that though he had
tried hard in the beginning, he was not consistent, and had grown overconfident. He was determined
to undo his mistakes, and invited tortoise for another race. This time, the rabbit was careful to run
the whole distance, and of course, emerged the winner.

The Ant and the Grasshopper

One summer’s day, in a field, a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's
content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great effort an ear of corn he was taking to his nest.

"Why don’t you come and chat with me," asked the Grasshopper, "instead of toiling your life away?"

"I am helping to store up food for the winter," said the Ant, "and I recommend you to do the same."

"Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper. "We have got plenty of food at present."

But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil.

When winter came, the Grasshopper found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing,
every day, corn and grain from the stores they had collected in summer.

Then the Grasshopper knew...

MORAL: WORK TODAY AND YOU CAN REAP THE BENEFITS TOMORROW!

More about the ant and the grasshopper story

Are you an ant or a grasshopper? In other words, do you tend to finish all your work, and then relax,
or do you relax first and procrastinate about work?

Most of us, in fact, are somewhere in between. However, different types of personalities behave
differently, when presented with a situation where there is an option of working and saving for future,
and leading a

The Lion and the Mouse

Once when a lion, the king of the jungle, was asleep, a little mouse began running up and down on
him. This soon awakened the lion, who placed his huge paw on the mouse, and opened his big jaws
to swallow him.

"Pardon, O King!" cried the little mouse. "Forgive me this time. I shall never repeat it and I shall
never forget your kindness. And who knows, I may be able to do you a good turn one of these days!”

The lion was so tickled by the idea of the mouse being able to help him that he lifted his paw and let
him go.

Sometime later, a few hunters captured the lion, and tied him to a tree. After that they went in search
of a wagon, to take him to the zoo.
Just then the little mouse happened to pass by. On seeing the lion’s plight, he ran up to him and
gnawed away the ropes that bound him, the king of the jungle.

"Was I not right?" said the little mouse, very happy to help the lion.

MORAL: Small acts of kindness will be rewarded greatly.

Story of An Honest Woodcutter
(Moral: Honesty is the best policy)
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Once there lived a poor woodcutter. He used to cut trees in the woods. One
day he was cutting wood on the bank of a river. His axe fell down into the
river. The river was deep. He could not take his axe out. He sat on the bank
and began to weep.

Mercury, the god of water appeared. He asked the reason of his weeping. The
woodcutter told the whole story. Mercury dived into the water and brought a
golden axe. The woodcutter refused to take it. Mercury again dived and
brought a silver axe. The woodcutter did not take it either. Then he brought
an iron axe. The woodcutter took it gladly. Mercury was much pleased. He
rewarded the woodcutter with the other two axes.

Moral: Honesty is the best policy.

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

There once was a shepherd boy who was bored as he sat on the hillside
watching the village sheep. To amuse himself he took a great breath and
sang out, "Wolf! Wolf! The Wolf is chasing the sheep!"

The villagers came running up the hill to help the boy drive the wolf
away. But when they arrived at the top of the hill, they found no wolf.
The boy laughed at the sight of their angry faces.
"Don't cry 'wolf', shepherd boy," said the villagers, "when there's no wolf!" They went
grumbling back down the hill.

Later, the boy sang out again, "Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is chasing the sheep!" To his
naughty delight, he watched the villagers run up the hill to help him drive the wolf
away.

When the villagers saw no wolf they sternly said, "Save your frightened song for
when there is really something wrong! Don't cry 'wolf' when there is NO wolf!"

But the boy just grinned and watched them go grumbling down the hill once more.

Later, he saw a REAL wolf prowling about his flock. Alarmed, he leaped to his feet
and sang out as loudly as he could, "Wolf! Wolf!"

But the villagers thought he was trying to fool them again, and so they didn't come.

At sunset, everyone wondered why the shepherd boy hadn't returned to the village
with their sheep. They went up the hill to find the boy. They found him weeping.

"There really was a wolf here! The flock has scattered! I cried out, "Wolf!" Why
didn't you come?"

An old man tried to comfort the boy as they walked back to the village.

"We'll help you look for the lost sheep in the morning," he said, putting his arm
around the youth, "Nobody believes a liar...even when he is telling the truth!

The ugly duckling

It is a beautiful summer day. The sun shines warmly on an old house near a
river. Behind the house a mother duck is sitting on ten eggs. "Tchick." One by
one all the eggs break open.
All except one. This one is the biggest egg of all.
Mother duck sits and sits on the big egg. At last it breaks open, "Tchick, tchick!"
Out jumps the last baby duck. It looks big and strong. It is grey and ugly.
The next day mother duck takes all her little ducks to the river. She jumps into it.
All her baby ducks jump in. The big ugly duckling jumps in too.
They all swim and play together. The ugly duckling swims better than all the
other ducklings.
- Quack, quack! Come with me to the farm yard! - says mother duck to her baby
ducks and they all follow her there.

The farm yard is very noisy. The poor duckling is so unhappy there. The hens
peck him, the rooster flies at him, the ducks bite him, the farmer kicks him.
At last one day he runs away. He comes to a river. He sees many beautiful big
birds swimming there. Their feathers are so white, their necks so long, their
wings so pretty. The little duckling looks and looks at them. He wants to be with
them. He wants to stay and watch them. He knows they are swans. Oh, how he
wants to be beautiful like them.
Now it is winter. Everything is white with snow. The river is covered with ice. The
ugly duckling is very cold and unhappy.
Spring comes once again. The sun shines warmly. Everything is fresh and green.
One morning the ugly duckling sees the beautiful swans again. He knows them.
He wants so much to swim with them in the river. But he is afraid of them. He
wants to die. So he runs into the river. He looks into the water. There in the water
he sees a beautiful swan. It is he! He is no more an ugly duckling. He is a
beautiful white swan.
 A CITY RAT AND A VILLAGE RAT
Once there were two rats who were good friends. One of them lived in a city and the other lived
in a village. Both of them exchanged news of their well being through

other  rats who travelled between the two places.

Once the city rat wished to meet his village friend. He sent the message through some rats of the
village. The village friend was very excited about his friends visit. He made preparations to
welcome him. To receive his friend, he went to the border of the village wearing a traditional
dress like dhoti, kurta and cap, with a garland in his hand. However, his city friend was wearing
a suit, boots and a neck tie. They hugged each other and exchanged greeting.
The village rat welcomed him and said, "We have fresh and unpolluted air here. The atmosphere
in the city is impure."
They gossiped a lot and exchanged their views on different topics. Then, they sat down to eat.
The village rat served him fruits and boiled wheat grains.
After having food, they went for a stroll outside the village. The fields looked green and the
natural beauty of the jungle had its own attraction. The village rat said, "Does the city have such
beautiful scenes?" The city rat said nothing but invited the village rat to come to the city at least
once to see the comfortable life of the city.
The village rat said he would certainly come to the city one day. The city rat said, "Why don’t
you accompany me now?" The village rat replied, "All right, I will consider your proposal."
When the night fell, they came back and slept on the soft grass. Next day, for breakfast the
village rat served his friend fresh fruits and cereals. The city rat was irritated and said to the
village rat, "Let us go to the city right now. Give me a chance to serve you."
The village rat accepted the proposal and got ready for the journey to the city. The city rat lived
in a big house. At night the village rat was surprised to see, the dining table full of different types
of dishes. The village rat has not seen such a variety of food before. The city rat asked the village
rat to enjoy the meal. Then he started eating. The village rat had a liking for the paneer and
finished the piece quickly. At this moment, they heard the voice of a cat. The city rat said,
"Quickly hide yourself below the almirah, otherwise the cat will eat us." Both rushed to the
almirah and hid themselves under it. After some time, when the cat went away, both came out.
The village rat was still trembling. The city rat again started eating the dishes and advised his
friend too, "Do not be afraid. It is a part of the city life." The village rat gathered courage and
went to the dining table again. This time he quickly finished the cake of his choice. At this
juncture, a boy came there with a dog. The village rat being afraid of the dog asked his friend,
"Who is this fellow?" The city rat said, "He is Jimmi, the son of the master of this house and the
dog is his pet. Be quick and hide yourself there." After their departure, both the rats came out.
The village rat was very afraid. He said, "Friend, I think I should go back now. I am thankful to
you for the tasty dishes, but there are to many dangers. Thanks again." And he started for the
village. On reaching, he heaved a sigh of relief and said, "Oh! Life is precious and above all
wisdom."

The Princess and the Pea

Once upon a time there was a prince who wanted to marry a princess; but she would have to be a real
princess. He travelled all over the world to find one, but nowhere could he get what he wanted. There
were princesses enough, but it was difficult to find out whether they were real ones. There was always
something about them that was not as it should be. So he came home again and was sad, for he would
have liked very much to have a real princess.

One evening a terrible storm came on; there was thunder and lightning, and the rain poured down in
torrents. Suddenly a knocking was heard at the city gate, and the old king went to open it.

It was a princess standing out there in front of the gate. But, good gracious! what a sight the rain and
the wind had made her look. The water ran down from her hair and clothes; it ran down into the toes of
her shoes and out again at the heels. And yet she said that she was a real princess.

Well, we'll soon find that out, thought the old queen. But she said nothing, went into the bed-room,
took all the bedding off the bedstead, and laid a pea on the bottom; then she took twenty mattresses
and laid them on the pea, and then twenty eider-down beds on top of the mattresses.
 On this the princess had to lie all night. In the morning she was asked how she had slept.

"Oh, very badly!" said she. "I have scarcely closed my eyes all night. Heaven only knows what was in
the bed, but I was lying on something hard, so that I am black and blue all over my body. It's horrible!"

Now they knew that she was a real princess because she had felt the pea right through the twenty
mattresses and the twenty eider-down beds.