Folktale: The Creator and the Turtle

Good day readlanders. I bring you another folktale from the Igbo people of Nigeria. It is about the wise turtle whose deep wisdom made other animals stay away from. They felt inferior and intimidated around him, so they all deserted him. Besides, he has played lots of expensive pranks and jokes on them with his wisdom.

God the Creator saw how lonely the turtle was and so decided to make him a close friend. He became an occasional visitor to the Turtle's home. He became too generous to the turtle and would always give him everything he wanted. All the turtle needed to do was to ask and it would be his.

The turtle who was notorious for playing pranks could not hold his itching buttocks and so decided to play a fast prank on the Creator. He wanted to outsmart the Creator and in that way gain more chicken in his poultry farm. He only has one male fowl given to him by his grandmother.

One day when the Creator visited him, the turtle decided it was time to play his prank, so he went into his inner room and brought out a kolanut and a stone. He handed the stone to the Creator and said.

"It is in our culture to give kola to visitors. Here is your kolanut".

The turtle broke his own kola and ate it. He insisted that the Creator breaks his stone and eat on the ground that visitors do not reject kola, but the creator replied.

"If you put the ground on my head, then I'll eat your stone"

Turtle: "the ground is not a load, so how can I put it on your head".

Creator: "A stone is not a replacement for kolanut, so how can I eat it".

Seeing that he could not outsmart the Creator, the turtle started to think of other ways to achieve his aim. When it was time for the Creator to go back to his home in heaven, an idea struck the turtle. He went inside and brought out a male fowl given to him by grandmother. He gave the fowl to the Creator and said to him.

"This cockerel is about to lay eggs. I'll give it to you as a gift and I would like you to bring the chicks to me after they must have hatched".

The Creator smiled and took the cockerel. "A visitor never rejects gifts. I'll be back in three months time".

After he Creator had left, the turtle was filled with joy over his ability to outsmart the Creator. He was patiently waiting for the three months to pass so that he could claim the chicks laid by a male fowl.

After three months had passed, the Creator visited the turtle again as promised. But he came without any chicks, he was empty-handed. When the turtle asked of the promised chicks, the Creator replied.

"I used to chicks to save my father's life".

Turtle: "Do you have a father? What happened to him".

Creator: "He was in labour and needed some chicks to survive".

Turtle: "Have you ever seen a man give birth or is your father a special man?"

Creator: "Have you ever seen a cockerel lay eggs or is your cockerel a special male?"

Seeing that he could not outsmart the Creator, the turtle became infuriated. He had wanted to get extra fowls from the Creator though his prank but now he had even lost his only cockerel, so he began to make a scene. It was then that a few men and animals gathered and when they were told what happened, they shook their head and one of them said to the turtle.

"You may have outsmarted others, but trying to outsmart you Creator is biting more than you can chew".

The Creator went back to heaven and stopped visiting the Turtle's home. He also stopped being too generous to the turtle.

This tale is adapted from a folklore in my tribe. It is usually sung as a song featuring The conversations between God and the turtle.

Lead image from unsplash