A retelling of the traditional tale about a bee that repays King Solomon’s kindness by helping him solve the Queen of Sheba’s riddle.
Folklore and Fairy Tales
Api and the Boy Stranger
In this Ivory Coast legend, Api and her family are repaid for their kindness to a stranger with a mysterious warning to leave their village and go to the other side of the river Amman.
Chinye: A West African Folk Tale
Poor Chinye! Back and forth through the dark forest she goes, fetching and carrying for her cruel stepmother and lazy stepsister. Terror lurks behind every tree, and ghostly figures cross her path–but strange powers are watching over her, and waiting somewhere in the moonlight is a hut piled high with magic gourds.
Kassim’s Shoes
Kassim succumbs to pressure to abandon his old shoes but has trouble discarding them.
The Ancient Africans
A retelling of several ancient African myths, with background information describing the history, geography, belief systems, and customs of various peoples of Africa.
How Giraffe Got Such A Long Neck– And Why Rhino Is So Grumpy
During a terrible drought in which there is nothing to eat, Man prepares a magic herb that results in Giraffe’s long neck so he can reach the high leaves on the trees and a grumpy Rhino, who arrives too late for the magic.
The Leopard’s Drum: An Asante Tale from West Africa
Because Osebo the leopard won’t share his magnificent drum with anyone, Nyame the Sky-God offers a reward to whichever animal presents the drum to him.
Anansi
Two Jamaican folk tales in which Anansi the spider practices his trickery on others. Includes an audio cassette featuring narration and music.
Nabulela: A South African Folk Tale
When the village girls cruelly trick the daughter of their king, he will forgive them only if they kill Nabulela, a treacherous white-skinned monster. A tale of the Nguni people
Shadow Dance
When the crocodile she has rescued tricks her, little Salome must use some cunning of her own to escape becoming his next meal.