THE TORTOISE AND THE MAGIC DRUM | ENTRY FOR SANKOFA CONTEST #10

I have to say the truth, i wasn't really brought up in the whole "coming out in full moon for folktale" era. But i can't forget this particular stoty my grand mum told me and my sister the first day we went to visit her in the village. The story is about a Tortise named Kinki and his ordeal with the magic drum. Immediately i saw this contest, this tale is the first tale that popped into my head, and that't what i wanna share.

The Tortise And The Magic Drum

Once upon a time, there lived a tortoise named kinki. Kinki loved fruits and hardly went a day without one. One day he realized he had run out of fruits and decided to go in search of some in the nearby forest. He found a mango tree, shook it and down fell a few ripe mangoes. While picking up the mangoes, one began to roll down the slope. Kinki grabbed the rest and went after it. Kinki continued to go after the mango until it fell into a hole. He went inside the hole and behold, found himself in another world.

Waooooooooow! As kinki looked around in amazement, he found an old man eating his mango and walked up to him,"That is my mango". I am sorry, i did not know it belongs to you, the old man replied. Give it back, kinki commanded in anger. But its only one mango and you have more with you, said the old man. No, i want my mango back, i want them all. Hmmm, thought the old man. I shall give you a special drum in exchange for your mango. A special drum? That sounds interesting, kinki replied. The old man led kunkuru into a room where there were drums and drum sticks. Go ahead and pick one. Kunkuru replied, i want the smallest one, it will be easier for me to carry.

When kinki retured home, he picked up his new drum and started druming, Tin! Tin! Tin! and surprisingly a mango appeared before him. Waooooooooooow! he ate the mango and continued the druming, and out came another mango which he ate. Mmmmmmmm, this is awesome kinki exclaimed. Impressed, he continued to hit the drum over and over again... Tin! Tin! Tin! Tin! Tin! Tin! Out came more mangoes than he could chew, yet he would not stop. He drummed and drummed, Tin! Tin! Tin! Tin! Tin! Tin! Tin! until the surface of the drum tore apart. Oh No, My Drum!!!

Kinki was enraged and thought of a plan to replace the drum. He picked up a mango and went back to the hole in the forest and next he threw it inside the hole and went after it. Inside the new world, Kinki found the old man again and approached him. My mango just slipped down the hole, have you found it? Kinki asked. Yes, here it is, the old man responded, giving the mango to kinki. Kinki was surprised to see the old man has not eaten the mango. That is not my mango, mine is of a different color, kinki lied. I want a magic drum in exchange for my mango. Hmmmm, the old man thought for a while and said alright.

Once again, The old man took him to the drum store and asked him to pick a drum. Kinki went for the largest drum. By the time he got home, he was already very tired, still he picked up the drum and started to beat with all his might...Tin! Tin! Tin! Tin! Tin! and out came a whip lashing him. Kinki began to run back to the forest with the whip chasing after him. He jumped into the hole, found the old man and began to apologize. I am sorry for being rude to you, i am sorry for being greedy, i am sorry for lying to you, please forgive me. Well, i am sure you learnt your lesson. You are forgiven Kinki, the old man replied. And they became good friends.

So this is my entry for the contest and i hope you enjoyed reading it. I can never forget this folktale. Its my favourite. The moral lesson is quite obvious which is... Avoid greed, and lies. You are free to join the sankofa contest and write your own folktale but i highly advice you check out the original post for the instructions and requirements.

Thanks for reading and do not hesitate to upvote and comment 😘