Warthog said:
"Dig with our tusks!
Dig with our tusks!"
"That's the way!" agreed Elephant.
But Rhino said:
"No! Dig with our horns!
That's the way."
"I don't agree!" shouted Hippo.
"We should stomp in the dirt!"
"That's not fair," said Python.
"I don't have any legs!"
At last the animals took a vote.
It was decided that they would dig for water by stomping with their hind legs.
* * *
This seemed fair to everyone but Python. Python was unhappy, but he was outvoted.
Elephant stepped into the dry stream bed. "I am the largest. So I will try first." He began to stomp.
"Elephant! Elephant! Heavy Heavy Heavy! Elephant! Elephant! Water Water Water."
Elephant stomped and stomped. He chanted and chanted.
No water appeared.
After a while Elephant got tired. "I give up.
There's no water here." Elephant quit.
Other large animals wanted to try.
Hippo took a turn.
"Hippo! Hippo!
Heavy Heavy Heavy
Hippo! Hippo!
Water Water Water!"
Hippo stomped and stomped.
No water came.
At last Hippo wore out.
"I give up.
There's no water here."
Hippo quit.
All of the big animals had a turn. No one could find water.
The middle-sized animals began to try. Monkey had a turn. And Rabbit.
Iguana had a turn too.
No one could bring water.
At last even the small animals tried. Rat tried.
Guinea Pig tried.
When Monkey saw those small animals starting to stomp, he
said:
"We might as well all go home.
If the big animals couldn't do it,
those small ones don't have a chance."
Eventually every animal had tried. All had failed to bring water. The animals started to leave. But one tiny animal spoke up.
"I didn't have a turn.
I didn't get a turn yet.
Let me have a turn."
It was Gecko ... the tiny little lizard.
Gecko's friend Big Lizard started to laugh at that.
"A puny little thing like you?
Don't be ridiculous!
You'll just make a fool of yourself."
But Gecko wanted to try.
"I don't think we should give up yet.
I don't want to quit.
Let me try."
The animals had stomped a deep hole into the bottom of the
dry stream bed.
Gecko climbed down into the hole.
He was so tiny you could barely see him down in that hole.
But he began to stomp.
"Gecko Gecko
Heavy Heavy Heavy
Gecko Gecko
* * *
Water Water Water!"
The other animals came back to watch this tiny little gecko
dancing around in that big hole.
They laughed and pointed.
"Look at that silly little Gecko.
His back is all bent over.
He is so scrawny."
They laughed and laughed.
Gecko felt embarrassed.
But he didn't stop dancing.
"I can't help the way I look.
Everybody's laughing at me.
I can't help the way I look.
Everybody's laughing at me."
Poor little Gecko.
He felt so bad.
But he kept right on stomping in that hole.
"Gecko! Gecko!
Heavy Heavy Heavy
Gecko! Gecko!
Water Water Water!"
Gecko danced and danced.
He wouldn't stop.
After a long while someone called out
"Look! There's some mud down by Gecko's feet.
It looks wet there."
At that Big Lizard fell right over laughing.
"I know what happened," said Big Lizard.
"Gecko probably peed in his pants!"
Poor Gecko.
Now everyone was laughing harder than ever.
But Gecko did not stop. His face was so red.
But he kept right on dancing. "Gecko! Gecko!
Heavy Heavy Heavy! Gecko! Gecko!
Water Water Water!"
And do you know it really was water coming into the hole.
He hadn't peed in his pants at all.
It really was water!
It came right in...
up to his little knees.
Gecko was splashing and singing.
"Gecko! Gecko! Gecko! Heavy heavy heavy! Gecko! Gecko! Gecko! Water water water!"
All the animals came running back to see what was happening.
"It's Gecko.
He's found water!"
Elephant came trumpeting right down into the stream bed.
He grabbed little Gecko in his trunk
and threw him into the bushes.
Then Elephant began to stomp in the hole.
"Elephant! Elephant!
Heavy Heavy Heavy!
Elephant! Elephant!
Water Water Water!"
But the woman stood up.
"That elephant is not the one who found the water.
Get him out of there.
Bring back Gecko!"
So Elephant left in disgrace.
Gecko was brought back from the bushes where Elephant
had tossed him.
His little leg had been hurt when he was thrown.
"Do you think you can still dance?"
* * *
"I can try."
Little Gecko slowly climbed back down into the hole.
He began to dance once more.
"Gecko! Gecko!
Heavy Heavy Heavy
Gecko! Gecko!
Water Water Water!"
And this time everyone chanted with him.
"GECKO! GECKO!
HEAVY HEAVY HEAVY!
GECKO! GECKO!
WATER WATER WATER!"
Here came the water!
Up to his waist!
Up to his chin!
Gecko had to scramble out of that hole.
It filled with cool clear water!
There was water for everyone,
even for Elephant.
And tiny Gecko...
Gecko who would not give up...
He was the one who married the beautiful girl.
Tips for Telling
Let your audience tell you which animals tried to dance for water. Vary the pacing and pitch of your chant to match the animal's demeanor. The audience may want to chant with you. At any rate, encourage them to join you in the chanting when Gecko's turn comes. Avoid letting any other very tiny animals dance, so that Gecko's small size will be a contrast to his larger competitors. When the animals make fun of him, he prances nervously:
I can't help the way I look. Everybody's laughing at me.
He returns to his deliberate stomp for water:
GE-ko! GE-ko!
HEA-vy...HEA-vy...HEA-vy!
If offering a girl as a prize annoys you, change the prize. Or tell the story as it is and ask for discussion of the matter after the telling. Omit Big Lizard's comment about peeing in the pants if that isn't appropriate for your audience. Both these elements were in my tale source, and I kept them.
About the Story
This story was inspired by "Chameleon and Elephant" found in Hare and Hornbill by Okot p'Bitek (London: Heinemann Books, 1978), pp. 5-9. P'Bitek's tales are drawn from Lango and Acoli sources. In this story the chant given is:
Heavy one, heavy one,
Let me see if there is any water here, Heavy one, strong one
Let me se
e if there is any water here.
The tale includes an extended ending in which Elephant arrives and crushes Chameleon with his foot, but the wife is already pregnant with Chameleon's child. When the child is grown, his mother tells him the story of his true father, whom he avenges by setting fire to the grass and burning all the elephants. Chameleon and his mother look for the elephant that killed Chameleon, and when he is discovered they find that Chameleon is still alive between his toes. "... And they all went home rejoicing," the story ends.
I use the term gecko in my story rather than chameleon because I like the word's sound and because the Hawaiian clothing brand Gecko has made that small lizard popular with today's children.
Stories of digging for water in times of drought appear in many cultures. See Motif A2233.1 Animals refuse to dig well in MacDonald's Storyteller's Sourcebook for stories from
* * *
Cherokee, African-American, and African traditions. For an Australian Aborigine tale of digging for water, see "Why Koala Has No Tail" in Look Back and See: Twenty Lively Tales for Gentle Tellers by Margaret Read MacDonald (New York: The H.W. Wilson Co., 1991).
Kudu Break!
There was a chief who had three wives.
One day that chief caught a turtle.
"Aaah! Delicious! I will have turtle stew!"
The chief took the turtle to Wife Number One.
"Here, Wife. Make some turtle stew for my supper."
But Wife Number One wouldn't touch that turtle.
"Phew ... a disgusting turtle.
A stinky old turtle.
I don't touch a disgusting turtle.
Take that thing to Wife Number Two."
So the chief took his turtle to Wife Number Two.
"Here, Wife. Make some turtle stew for my supper."
Wife Number Two also refused to touch the turtle.
"Phew ... a disgusting turtle.
A stinky old turtle.
I don't touch a disgusting turtle either.
Take that thing to Wife Number Three."
So the chief went to Wife Number Three.
Wife Number Three was the little one.
She was the youngest wife.
It was she who did most of the work around there.
"Here Wife. Clean this turtle and cook it for my evening meal."
"Yes, Husband.
I will cook this turtle for you."
Wife Number Three took the turtle.
She cleaned it.
She took off the shell.
She put the bones into a pot and cooked them.
She cooked it a long time, until it was very tender.
She had made a very tasty turtle stew.
* * *
Then she put the stew in a little clay bowl along with its gravy.
She covered the bowl with a little grass mat so the insects could not get into it.
She set it on a high wall so the dogs and cats could not reach it.
Then she went to the veld to do her work gathering broom grass.
While Wife Number Three was away working,
Wife Number One passed by her house.
She smelled that turtle stew.
"I wonder if Wife Number Three is a good cook?"
Wife Number One went into the house.
She took down the bowl of stew.
She took off the covering mat.
She dipped her finger into the gravy.
"Mmm ... mmm ... Delicious!"
Wife Number One ate a piece of the turtle.
"Turtle alive is disgusting.
But turtle cooked is delicious!"
She ate another piece.
Soon that woman had eaten up all the stew.
Wife Number One put the covering back on the bowl, set it
back on the high wall, and went on her way.
That evening, Wife Number Three returned from the veld.
She took her little bowl of stew and went to her husband.
"Here, Big Man," she said. "Here is your turtle stew."
And she gave him the little clay dish with the mat covering.
Her husband smiled and smacked his lips.
"Mmmmmm!"
But when he lifted the covering ...
"Yo!" Only an empty dish!
"Wife! You have eaten my stew!"
"It was not I.
I was working in the veld. And look, I covered the stew with a mat so not even the dogs and cats could get into it."
"I do not believe you. This stew is gone!"
"But I speak the truth.
It was not I who ate that stew."
The husband was so angry.
His stomach was black with hunger.
"I will go to the Wise Man of the village.
He will consult his magic bones.
They will tell whether or not you speak the truth."
So he went to the Wise Man.
And when the case had been heard,
the Wise Man cast his handful of magic bones on the ground and read them.
"There is a test which will tell whether your wife speaks the
truth.
Go home and weave a strong rope from the sinews of a kudu
antelope.
Choose two strong men and send one to each side of the
river, where the water rushes past.
Let one hold each end of that kudu rope.
Then this Wife Number Three must walk across that rope.
If the rope breaks and she falls into the water,
we will know that she was guilty.
But if she passes across the river without falling,
that one is innocent."
The husband did as the Wise Man suggested.
And when the kudu rope was ready, all of the villagers came
to the river to watch this test.
Beneath the rope, the river swished dangerously ...
Shoo ... shoo. Shoo ... shoo.
* * *
Wife Number Three began to walk ... so carefully. And as she walked she chanted.
"Kudu break. Kudu break. If I ate it ... Kudu break.
Kudu break. Kudu break.
Husband's turtle ...
Kudu break."
Walking and chanting, chanting and walking ... she passed to the other side.
The rope of kudu sinews did not break.
"Aaaaah. This one is innocent.
We are sorry we accused you, Wife Number Three.
You may sit down.
Was there another wife in the house?
Wife Number Two.
Come and cross the rope.
Perhaps you are the guilty person."
Those strong men held the rope taut.
Beneath, the waters swished past so dangerously. Shoo ... shoo. Shoo ... shoo.
Wife Number Two began to cross the rope.
"Kudu break. Kudu break. If I ate it ... Kudu break.
Kudu break. Kudu break.
Husband's turtle ... Kudu break."
Walking and chanting, chanting and walking, she crossed that river.
And the rope of kudu sinews did not break.
"Aaaah! Wife Number Two!
You are innocent.
We are sorry we accused you.
You may sit down.
Who else was in the house?
Wife Number One! Perhaps it was you."
The strong men held the rope taut.
Beneath the river swished dangerously. Shoo ... shoo. Shoo ... shoo.
Wife Number One began to cross the rope. Wife Number One remembered that turtle stew. She remembered how delicious it had tasted. She chanted ...
"Kudu don't break. Kudu don't break. If I ate it ...
Kudu don't break.
Husband's turtle. Disgusting turtle. Delicious turtle ..."
"Delicious turtle?" cried the people. "What is that woman saying?"
But the rope of kudu sinew had had enough. With a snap it broke.
And the guilty wom
an fell into the river.
* * *
Then the little turtles of the river all began to swim around
that Wife Number One,
nibbling on that wife and saying
"Disgusting Wife!
Disgusting Wife!
Disgusting Wife!
Delicious Wife!"
Now in that village there is a saying.
"If a thing is yours,
you may stoop to it.
If a thing is not yours,
stand straight and pass it by."
This stew was not hers,
yet the woman stooped to it.
And so, of course, she was punished.
Tips for Telling
This tale lends itself to enactment. When the wives cross the river, I ask the audience to swish their hands together saying "Shoo ... shoo. Shoo ... shoo" to simulate the swishing river.
An audience member holds each end of the imaginary rope. And I select "wives" from the audience to attempt the crossing while the audience "swishes" beneath them. I hold the crossing "wife" by the shoulders behind and guide her across, saying her chant for her. I then address her on behalf of the audience. "We are sorry we accused you. You may sit down."
If you are including this story in a program, you will want to use it toward the end. Once children have engaged in this sort of "acting out," they want to act out every story.
About the Story
A wonderful variant of this story appears in Tales from the Basotho by Minnie Postma (Austin: Published for the American Folklore Society by the University of Texas, 1974), pp. 53-57. The motif of crossing a rope as a test of innocence is found in several African tales. Stith Thompson's Motif Index of Folk-Literature lists under Motif H225 Ordeal by rope-walking Basuto, Ekoi, and Jamaican variants. Kenneth Clarke's A Motif-Index of the Folktales of Culture-Area V West Africa (Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International, 1958) gives two Ikom sources and one Ekoi source.
* * *
What Are Their Names!
A girl got married.
Her husband had four brothers. Four brothers-in-law.
That girl did not know their names.
The first day she took her cassava.
She pounded it.
She put it on the fire and cooked it.
She made fungi. *
The girl took that mush to her brothers-in-law.
She set it in front of them.
They said "Your mush looks good. But you did not say our names. Say our names.
Then we will eat your mush."
That girl was so embarrassed.
The Story-Teller's Start-Up Book Page 12