At that time Viracocha, the creator God, looked down upon the earth. He saw it was bare, shrouded in impenetrable darkness, for daylight did not yet exist. Taguapac, his woman, and her children, the only human creatures, had found refuge under a rock in the heart of the Andes. They led a life of hardship,…

Vusi was an honest man and a hard worker. He had cleared a large piece of moorland and turned it into a beautiful fertile field. He had married Duduzile and a beautiful child was born, to whom they gave the name Thembelihle. For some years they lived happily. They wished to have a son, who…

There was a man who had an only son. When the man died, the son was left all alone in the world. There were not many possessions – just a cat and a dog, a small piece of land and some orange trees. The boy gave the dog to a neighbour and sold the land…

At that time, Prince Ulmac, ‘The One from the Water Palace’, who had ascended the throne in ‘Year Nine of the Rabbit’, reigned in Tollan. His kingdom enjoyed such prosperity that it even aroused the envy of the Rain Gods, whom one day challenged him to play a game of ball with them. The proud…

Why does the frog croak? Why are its eyes always bulging out of their sockets? And why does it live only in ponds? This story from the ethnic group of the Birrwa-Limba (Sierra Leone) will explain it all to us. The sun was setting and all the animals had gathered around the pond to drink.…

Kaya was the most beautiful girl in the village. All the boys courted her, each bringing her small gifts. There were so many invitations from her suitors that she never had a moment’s freedom. Rich in virtue too, Kaya was the pride of her parents. But she liked only one young man: the son of…

The world was a very pleasant place in which to live. All the animals were friends and, although they occasionally had disagreements, they would never think of fighting, or harming each other. Indeed, there was only one thing to be feared – and that was fire. Not the safe, warm fire that Man kept in…

It was a scorching dawn. Scattered across the vast grassy savannah beyond the rocky mountains, the villages seemed to bleach under the thick blanket of clay dust that accompanies the dry season. Birds were singing in the azure sky. On that day, a genie decided to make all butterflies disappear from the face of the…

Because there was a famine in the land, the spider and his family grew thinner and thinner and hungrier and hungrier. In his desperation, the spider said to his wife: “Here we are, starving, while the elephant and hippo have stored away much grain for these lean times. The big ones have, the little ones…

One day, a penniless farmer from an oasis went to a rich merchant in the neighbouring village to ask for a loan. The old harvest was finished, the new one was still in the field and there was nothing left in the pantry to barter. But as borrowing is a savannah custom, the farmer decided…

Many years ago, peace reigned in the forest under the rule of the leopard, the ruler of all animals. But one day news spread that a monster was lurking in a corner of the forest, terrorizing all who ventured that way. A menacing voice came out from among the plants, shouting at every intruder: “Stop!…

Many years ago, when the sky was sparsely populated, Hubeghedeh, God of heaven, came to visit his wives on earth, which even then was full of beautiful girls. In those days, a great Limba tribal chieftain had a very beautiful daughter. She was the only daughter among the many children he had from his many…