Reading Notes: African Stories from Lang's Fairy Books, Part B
Hassebu:
There was once a baby named Hassebu and when he was old enough, his mother wanted him to learn how to read. Once he could read, his mother put him in different trade schools but he was unable to learn any trades. Then one day he found one of his father's medical books and read it. While he was reading it some men came to their house and told his mother that Hassebu should go with them to cut wood to be sold in the city. She agreed and for the next several days, Hassebu and the men cut and sold wood. One day it was raining and the men stayed inside, but Hassebu didnt mind the rain. He dropped a rock on the ground and heard that under the ground, it was hollow, like a well was underneath. He called the men over and when they dug the earth up, there was a small lake filled with honey. They realized that it would be more profitable than wood and told Hassebu that he would harvest the honey since he was the one to discover it, and then they would all sell it and split the money. This lasted for three months, until one day, when the lake was nearly drained, they tied Hassebu to a rope and sent him down deep into the earth to finish collecting the rest of the honey. When Hassebu had nearly finished collecting the honey for the men, they decided that they would leave him down there to die and take his share of the money. Hassebu realized this and did not worry because he was very brave. He would use the remaining honey for food in the mean time, and would figure out a plan to get out.
Hassebu cont.:
As Hassebu was sitting in the pit, a scorpion fell to his feet, and he quickly killed it. He then realized that it must have come from somewhere and began investigating. He found a whole that lead outside of the pit and he quickly exited the pit. When he exited the pit finally, he found himself at the doors of a great mansion, and he went inside of it and fell asleep. When he awoke, he was greeted by the owner of the mansion, the King of Snakes. For sometime, the King of Snakes would not let Hassebu return home, despite Hassebu's pleading. Finally he said that he would let him go, so long as Hassebu promised to never bathe in a public area where there were others. He agreed and the king let him go. The King of Hassebu's town was very sick, and the only cure was the skin of the King of Snakes. The king of snakes had a marking on his chest, and the servants of Hassebu's King told the town about it. One day Hassebu was very hot and forgot about his promise. He went and bathed and was approached by one of the servants. The servant requested that Hassebu take them to the King of Snakes and after many times refusing, he finally did. When they arrived the King of Snakes confronted Hassebu and despite how upset he was for Hassebu disobeying his promise, he told Hassebu that when they kill him and take his skin, that Hassebu would need to take some of it and boil it in water, and then separate the water into three portions. The first portion he could not drink because it would kill him, the second portion would turn him into a great physician like his father, and the third portion would go to the other king's servants and it would kill them. He did as he was commanded and all that was said by the King of Snakes happened.
The Heart of a Monkey:
In this story, we hear about a monkey who lives in a tall fruit tree overlooking the sea, and a shark who comes to visit the monkey one day. They quickly become friends as the shark would swim to the tree everyday and the monkey and him would eat breakfast together from the fruit off of the monkey's tree. After getting to become great friends, the shark told the monkey that he wanted to show his appreciation for all the fruit that the monkey had given him over their friendship, and told the monkey that he would like to take him back to his house and anything the monkey desired would be his. The monkey agreed and hopped on the shark's back. During their journey at sea, the shark told the monkey that their king in the shark's homeland was greatly ill and the only thing that could save him was the heart of a monkey. The monkey at first was very sorry for the king, but quickly realized what was going on. He told the shark that he felt awful because he had left his heart in the tree so that nothing bad would happen while he was gone. The shark, confused and upset, agreed to swim back to the tree so that the monkey could receive his heart back and then they could proceed with the journey. Once they arrived at the tree, the monkey swung up to the highest branch and said that he was tired and that they should both sleep. Upon both of them waking up, the shark asked the monkey if he had grabbed his heart yet so that they could go on, and the monkey told the shark that he was a fool if he thought he would go with him to save the king. The monkey was able to out wit the shark.
Bibliography: Andrew Lang, The Orange Fairy Book, Lang's Fairy Books
There was once a baby named Hassebu and when he was old enough, his mother wanted him to learn how to read. Once he could read, his mother put him in different trade schools but he was unable to learn any trades. Then one day he found one of his father's medical books and read it. While he was reading it some men came to their house and told his mother that Hassebu should go with them to cut wood to be sold in the city. She agreed and for the next several days, Hassebu and the men cut and sold wood. One day it was raining and the men stayed inside, but Hassebu didnt mind the rain. He dropped a rock on the ground and heard that under the ground, it was hollow, like a well was underneath. He called the men over and when they dug the earth up, there was a small lake filled with honey. They realized that it would be more profitable than wood and told Hassebu that he would harvest the honey since he was the one to discover it, and then they would all sell it and split the money. This lasted for three months, until one day, when the lake was nearly drained, they tied Hassebu to a rope and sent him down deep into the earth to finish collecting the rest of the honey. When Hassebu had nearly finished collecting the honey for the men, they decided that they would leave him down there to die and take his share of the money. Hassebu realized this and did not worry because he was very brave. He would use the remaining honey for food in the mean time, and would figure out a plan to get out.
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| The only trade Hassebu could learn was wood cutting credit: PxHere |
As Hassebu was sitting in the pit, a scorpion fell to his feet, and he quickly killed it. He then realized that it must have come from somewhere and began investigating. He found a whole that lead outside of the pit and he quickly exited the pit. When he exited the pit finally, he found himself at the doors of a great mansion, and he went inside of it and fell asleep. When he awoke, he was greeted by the owner of the mansion, the King of Snakes. For sometime, the King of Snakes would not let Hassebu return home, despite Hassebu's pleading. Finally he said that he would let him go, so long as Hassebu promised to never bathe in a public area where there were others. He agreed and the king let him go. The King of Hassebu's town was very sick, and the only cure was the skin of the King of Snakes. The king of snakes had a marking on his chest, and the servants of Hassebu's King told the town about it. One day Hassebu was very hot and forgot about his promise. He went and bathed and was approached by one of the servants. The servant requested that Hassebu take them to the King of Snakes and after many times refusing, he finally did. When they arrived the King of Snakes confronted Hassebu and despite how upset he was for Hassebu disobeying his promise, he told Hassebu that when they kill him and take his skin, that Hassebu would need to take some of it and boil it in water, and then separate the water into three portions. The first portion he could not drink because it would kill him, the second portion would turn him into a great physician like his father, and the third portion would go to the other king's servants and it would kill them. He did as he was commanded and all that was said by the King of Snakes happened.
The Heart of a Monkey:
In this story, we hear about a monkey who lives in a tall fruit tree overlooking the sea, and a shark who comes to visit the monkey one day. They quickly become friends as the shark would swim to the tree everyday and the monkey and him would eat breakfast together from the fruit off of the monkey's tree. After getting to become great friends, the shark told the monkey that he wanted to show his appreciation for all the fruit that the monkey had given him over their friendship, and told the monkey that he would like to take him back to his house and anything the monkey desired would be his. The monkey agreed and hopped on the shark's back. During their journey at sea, the shark told the monkey that their king in the shark's homeland was greatly ill and the only thing that could save him was the heart of a monkey. The monkey at first was very sorry for the king, but quickly realized what was going on. He told the shark that he felt awful because he had left his heart in the tree so that nothing bad would happen while he was gone. The shark, confused and upset, agreed to swim back to the tree so that the monkey could receive his heart back and then they could proceed with the journey. Once they arrived at the tree, the monkey swung up to the highest branch and said that he was tired and that they should both sleep. Upon both of them waking up, the shark asked the monkey if he had grabbed his heart yet so that they could go on, and the monkey told the shark that he was a fool if he thought he would go with him to save the king. The monkey was able to out wit the shark.
Bibliography: Andrew Lang, The Orange Fairy Book, Lang's Fairy Books
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