The Tortoise with a beautiful daughter.

An African folk tale.
The tortoise with a beautiful daughter.


As is the usual tradition when telling a folklore I’ll start thus
Story story, story!!!!
Once upon a time there lived a king, whose wealth and power knew no bounds. He had great influence on both man and animals.
There also was poor tortoise known to be very wise. This rich king had a son to whom he gave fifty young virgins as wives, but the prince did not fancy any of his wives and hence refused to marry them. The king was very angry at this and to teach his son a lesson he decreed that if any of his subjects had a daughter who was fairer than the prince’s wives and who found favor in his son’s eyes, the girl herself and her parents should be killed.
Tortoise and his wife had a very beautiful daughter. Tortoise’s wife thought it was not wise to keep such a beautiful child considering the powerful king’s decree. So she asked her husband tortoise to kill their child and throw her away in the evil forest before she brings them bad luck. Tortoise however was unwilling to do this; therefore he hid her until she was ten years old. One day when both tortoise and his wife were on their farm, the prince happened to be hunting near their house and saw a bird perched on top of a fence around their house. The bird was watching the little girl, thus entranced by her beauty and had not the slightest idea of the doom about to befall it. Whaaaaaaam! Came the prince’s hunting stick on the unsuspecting bird’s head and it fell across the fence, inside tortoise’s compound. Happy with himself and amazed that he didn’t even use his bow and arrow he sent his servant to get the bird. On searching for the bird the servant came across the little girl and was so stunned by her beauty that he went back to his master at once to report what he had seen. The prince broke down the fence and found the child. He fell in love with her at once. He stayed and talked with her for a long time, until at last she agreed to marry him. The prince went home happy but concealed from the father what he had done for fear of his decree.
The next morning he sent for the treasurer and got sixty pieces of cloth and three hundred bags of gold for dowry and sent them to the tortoise. Then in the early afternoon he went down to tortoise’s house and told him he wished to marry his daughter. Tortoise saw at once that what he had dreaded all this years had come to pass, and that his life and family were in danger. He told the prince so, referring to the kings decree. The prince replied that he will be killed himself before he’ll let his father kill tortoise’s family. Eventually after much argument tortoise consented and agreed to hand his daughter to the prince as his wife once she reached womanhood. Then the prince went home and told the mother what he had done. She was troubled and was in great distress at the thought that she would lose her son for she knew that if the king hears of the son’s disobedience he will surely kill him. However the queen although she knew how angry her husband would be was proud of their son and wanted him to marry for love, so she went to tortoise and gave him some money , clothes, yams and palm oil as further dowry on her son’s behalf. She pleaded with tortoise not to marry his daughter off to another man. For five years the prince constantly visited tortoise and spoke with tortoise’s beautiful daughter. Finally he summoned up courage and told his father about his choice to marry tortoise’s daughter, and that he has paid her dowry. On hearing this, the king was very angry and sent word around his kingdom that all his people should gather on a certain day at the market square to hear the case. When the appointed day arrived the market square was full of people. Then the king and queen arrived amidst greetings, the king ordered that the girl be brought before him. Tortoise assured her daughter that if she were to die, she should die royal! When she arrived, she was veiled with beautiful royal fabric and gold. The king stood up and addressed his subjects.
King : I called you all today to witness my wrath as my own son disobeyed me and took a wife behind my back!
Crowd: oooooooooooooooh!
King: remove that veil and bring her forth!
Crowd: (mutterings, murmurs ensue)
(Guards unveils her)
Crowd: aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
The king stares, astonished at her beauty
King: I came here to punish my son, but I must confess that he made a great choice, for this maiden is the fairest of them all!
Crowd: oh powerful king we beseech the to spare her; perhaps take us she is indeed worthy of being the prince’s wife.
The king agreed and changed his decree, and the law was cancelled throughout the kingdom. A great feast was then given which lasted for fifty days and the people made merry, women danced and sang, the king also gave his new in-law tortoise half of his kingdom to rule over as reward for bringing this happiness and unity to his family and slowly tortoise became the richest man in the kingdom.

Moral: always have pretty daughters like me! its greater than wealth.(LMAO)