Always trust your intuition

Some time things seem so tempting
we are inclined to ignore the risks
and take a chance.

Let me tell you about a frog who lived in a marsh and felt quite water logged. He really wasn’t happy living in such wet places even though his family always had, he thought it might be better to live on dry land.

Now to get to the dry land he had to cross a deep river and this river was full of snakes who like to eat little frogs. So froggy was too scared to swim across for fear he may get eaten. He had to find another way to cross the river. He had gone up and down the river bank looking for a bridge or falle tree trunk but he never could find one.

The snakes knew he wanted to cross over and often tried to tease him, come closer and cross over they would say in jest. If we really wanted to eat you we would catch you out of the water. Now the froggy knew he was safer out the water as he could get away from the snakes faster but in the water the snakes had an advantage over him, they could ambush him as he tried to swim across.

Then one day out of the water popped two big eyes, it was something he had never seen before a great big crocodile. Little froggy jumped back in fright, The crocodile asked the little froggy

"Why do you look so sad? What are you doing, Frog? Surely there are enough flies right there for a meal."

Froggy answered. "I'm tired of living in the marsh, and I want to travel to the other side of the river. But if I swim across, the snakes will eat me."

The crocodile smiled and said; "Well, if you're afraid of the snakes, I could give you a ride across,"

Little froggy didn’t think he should trust this huge stranger with such big teeth "Oh no, I don't think so," Frog answered quickly. "You'd eat me on the way over, or go underwater so the snakes could get me!"

"Now why would I let the snakes get you? I think they're a terrible nuisance with all their hissing and slithering! The river would be much better off without them! Anyway, if you're so worried that I might eat you, you can ride on my tail."

The frog considered his offer. He did want to get to dry ground very badly, and there didn't seem to be any other way across the river. He looked at the crocodile from his short, squat buggy eyes and wondered about the crocodile's motives. But if he rode on the tail, the croc couldn't eat him anyway. And he was right about the snakes--no self-respecting crocodile would give a meal to the snakes.

"Okay, it sounds like a good plan to me. Turn around so I can hop on your tail."

The crocodile flopped his tail into the marshy mud and let the frog climb on, then he waddled out to the river. But he couldn't stick his tail into the water as a rudder because the frog was on it -- and if he put his tail in the water, the snakes would eat the frog. They clumsily floated downstream for a ways, until the crocodile said, "Hop onto my back so I can steer straight with my tail." The frog moved, and the journey smoothed out.

From where he was sitting, the frog couldn't see much except the back of Crocodile's head. "Why don't you hop up on my head so you can see everything around us?" Crocodile invited.

"But I don't want to see anything else," the frog answered, suddenly feeling nervous.

"Oh, come now. It's a beautiful view! Surely you don't think that I'm going to eat you after we're halfway across. My home is in the marsh-- what would be the point of swimming across the river full of snakes if I didn't leave you on the other bank?"

Frog was curious about what the river looked like, so he climbed on top of Crocodile's head. The river looked almost pretty from this view. He watched dragonflies darting over the water and smiled in anticipation as he saw firm ground beyond the cattails. When the crocodile got close enough, the frog would leap off his head towards freedom. He wouldn't give the croc a chance to eat him.

"My nose tickles," the crocodile complained suddenly, breaking into the frog's train of thought. "I think there might be a fly buzzing around it somewhere, or a piece of cattail fluff swept into it while I was taking you across the river."

"I don't see a fly," the frog said, peering at the crocodile's green snout. It seemed odd that anything could tickle a crocodile through it's thick skin.

"Would you go check my nose for a piece of cattail fluff, then?" the crocodile begged, twitching his nose. "I'm afraid I'll sneeze and send you flying. I don't want to feed you to the snakes." A tear seeped out of his eye, as if he was holding back a mighty sneeze.

The bank isn't too far, the frog thought. And it's the least he could do to repay him for bringing him over. So he hopped onto the crocodile's snout and checked the nostrils. Just a little closer, and he could jump... "I don't see--" he began.

Just then, with a terrific CHOMP! the frog disappeared. The crocodile licked his lips in satisfaction and gave a tiny half-sneeze. "Good, I feel much better already," he smiled, and turned around to go back home.

The Blue Day Book: A Lesson in Cheering Yourself Up

what is good for one is not necessarily good for another

Let me share a story with you about how sometimes people offer help
where it is not really needed.

This is an African Tale of how the monkey's helped the fish -
or didn't as the case goes.

There was a flood and the river had broken its banks. The animals were all running for higher ground up in the hills. The floods came so fast that many drowned except the lucky monkeys who used their agility to climb up into the treetops.

They looked down on the surface of the water where the fish were swimming and gracefully jumping out of the water as if they were the only ones enjoying the devastating flood.

One of the monkeys ( a do gooder!) saw the fish and shouted to his companion:

"Look down, my friend, look at those poor creatures. They are going to drown. Do you see how they struggle in the water?"

"Yes," said the other monkey. "What a pity! Probably they were late in escaping to the hills because they seem to have no legs. How can we save them?"

"I think we must do something. Let's go close to the edge of the flood where the water is not deep enough to cover us, and we can help them to get out."

So the monkeys did just that. They started catching the fish, but not without difficulty. One by one, they brought them out of the water and put them carefully on the dry land. After a short time there was a pile of fish lying on the grass motionless.

One of the monkeys said, "Do you see? They were tired, but now they are just sleeping and resting. Had it not been for us, my friend, all these poor people without legs would have drowned."

The other monkey said: "They were trying to escape from us because they could not understand our good intentions. But when they wake up they will be very grateful because we have brought them salvation."

And so it is my friends that we must realise
the old saying what is good for one is not
necessarily good for another!

Butterfly

Never despair - it might not be as bad as you think it is!

There was a young boy who had a pet white chicken. He didn’t have many friends and his chicken became his best friend.

Then his hen vanished and he was heartbroken. A few weeks later the white hen returned with seven beautiful white chicks.

Now there is a custom of the Africans when food is scarce they set fire to the grass to catch any small animals they can eat. A circle of fire is lit and the animals are trapped in the middle. Where they can be caught.

When the fire was over the young boy was walking back to his crawl, and he noticed a heap of charred feathers and smelled burned flesh.

It looked like the remains of a bird that had not escaped from the fire. Then to his horror he realized it was his beloved friend the white hen all black and burned to death.

Out from under the charred remains of his best friend he could hear the sounds of chicks. The mother hen had covered them with her body and they were alive.

The mother hen had given her life for her children. She died that they may live.

Just because you heard it first - doesn't mean it is the truth!

When God had finished creation he wanted to send people an important message.

He called the chameleon to go and tell every one that after death they will return to life.

The lizard had eavesdropped and was jealous that the chameleon had been chosen so decided to tell everyone first - she should have been chosen she was fater than the slow old chameleon!

Unfortunately in her haste she had misheard what the chameleon was told.

She rushed out to spread the news:

"After death there is no return."

People thought the lizard's message made sense and must be the truth.

When at last the chameleon arrived and to pass God's message, people laughed at him and said:

"You stupid chameleon, we already know that we are all going to die and that death is the end of everything."

Torn in two!

"Two roads overcame the hyena,” is an African proverb.

A very hungry hyena was walking along a bush track

when he came to a fork in the path.

This hungry hyaena at last saw food - but there was a problem

there was a goat caught in the bush at equal distance along the track - which one should he go for?

It was impossible for him to choose - they were both very fine goats so he decided he would have both!

His left leg would take the left path

and his right leg would take the right one!

Imagine that! He split in two!

The moral of the story?

Make up your mind what you want to do.

Which road will you take?

Who is the King of the Jungle?

The Lion was feeling strong and proud and wanted

to confirm he was the king of the jungle.

As he went about the Majestic African Jungle ,
the Lion met the Monkey,

stopped and asked him:

"Who is the King of the Jungle?"

The Monkey bowed and answered

"You Sire".

With a smile of satisfaction and feeling grand and reassured
the Lion saw the Hyena and repeated the question to the Hyena
who again confirmed that indeed the Lion was the King of the Jungle.

The Lion then noticed an Elephant towering above him.
Solemnly chewing the bark of a Mopani tree.
"Who is the King of the Jungle?"
the Lion briskly demanded of the elephant.

Now the elephant large and dominating believes
himself to be the king of the jungle
and he did not appreciate this little upstart
bothering him while he was eating.

So without further ado
the elephant swooped the Lion off its feet
and threw him against the Mopani tree.

Before the Lion could shake his senses back,

the elephant picked it up again and beat him against a rock.

The Lion managed to break free from the powerful grip
of the elephant's trunk, stood at a distance and said:

"No, no, no, you do not have to be so nasty and violent,
just because you do not know the answer".

But the question remains who is the king of the Jungle?

Why frogs and Snakes don't play together....

Some time ago in the African jungle a baby snake set out to play.
As he slithered away his mother chanted words of caution:

"Watch out young son,

For things with claws,

For things with a beak,

For things with strong jaws."

"Claws, beak, jaws. Claws, beak, jaws,"
Snake Baby replied.

At the same time baby frog set out to play.
As he slithered away his mother chanted words of caution:

"Watch out for the hiss,

Watch out for the coil,

Watch out for the squeeze,

They will cause turmoil."

"Hiss, coil, squeeze. Hiss, coil, squeeze,"
Frog Baby replied.

Baby snake and Baby frog met in the jungle and played the day away. What good games they played! First they played Leap Frog. Then they played Hide and Hug.

That night Frog Baby told Frog Mama
about his fun and the games he played.

"No, no, Frog Baby!
Hide and Hug is not a game for you.
It is the game of the hiss, coil, and squeeze.
Promise you will never play with him again."

Also that night Snake Baby told Snake Mama
about his fun and the games he played.

"No, no, Snake Baby!
Hide and Hug is not a game for you.
Hide and Hug is what you must do.
This is the way you get your meals!
Promise me you will hiss, coil, and squeeze.
It will feel so good and then your belly will become full."

The next day as Frog Baby set out he fearfully
recited his words of caution,
"Hiss, coil, and squeeze."
But as Snake Baby set out his
tongue lashed out as happily sang,
"Hiss, coil, and squeeze.
Makes a meal for me."

The baby snake made it home
that night but
the baby frog never did.

Now we know why frog and snake
won't be found playing games together
- it is against their nature.

How the Cheetah got her tear stained Cheeks

Long ago there was a lazy hunter who was to hot and bothered to go hunting.
The heat had made the animals very lazy too but he didn't feel like hunting.
Then out of the corner of his eye he spotted a cheetah getting ready to pounce on her prey, and he noticed she had left her cubs hidden in the bushes.

The hunter watched as the cheetah dragged her kill towards her cubs, and while he watched he conjured up an evil plan. He would steal one of her cubs, later on when she went back to the water hole in the afternoon. And he would train it to do the hunting for him, then he would never have to bother with hunting for himself again.

When the sun began to set, the cheetah left her cubs concealed in a bush and set off to the waterhole. Quickly the hunter grabbed his spear and trotted down to the bushes where the cubs were hidden. There he found the three cubs, still to young to be frightened of him or to run away. He first chose one, then decided upon another, and then changed his mind again. Finally he stole them all, thinking to himself that three cheetahs would undoubtedly be better than one.

When their mother returned later and she found her babies gone, and was broken-hearted. The poor mother cheetah cried and cried until her tears made dark stains down her cheeks. She wept all night and into the next day. She cried so loudly that she was heard by an old man who came to see what the noise was all about.

Now this old man was wise and knew the ways of the animals. When he discovered what the wicked hunter had done, he became very angry. The lazy hunter was not only a thief, he had broken the traditions of the tribe. Everyone knew that a hunter must use only his own strength and skill. Any other way of hunting was surely a dishonor.

The old man returned to the village and told the elders what has happened. The villagers became angry. They found the lazy hunter and drove him away from the village. The old man took the three cheetah cubs back to their grateful mother. But the long weeping of the mother cheetah stained her face forever. Today the cheetah wears the tearstains on its face as a reminder to the hunters that it is not honorable to hunt in any other way than that which is traditional.

How the Zebra got his strips...

Way back when the animals owned the watering holes the zebra went to drink water from a baboon’s watering hole. The land was really dry and it was the only watering hole for miles around.
Now this baboon guarded his water hole ferociously and did not like it when others came to drink, it was his and he felt no need to share it with anyone else.
The baboon had built a fire close to the hole, so that he could stay warm and awake to protect it during the very cold desert nights.
Let me tell you the zebra had a wonderful glistening white coat of which he was very proud. Leaning down to drink some water the zebra was a dazzling sight – but not one the baboon approved of! How dare the zebra come to drink from my watering hole thought the baboon. He jumped at him in anger!
The zebra did not like being told to go away and turned to the baboon and said,
“ You do not own this water, it belongs to everyone!”
The baboon and zebra started a fierce fight and the zebra kicked the baboon so hard thebaboon went flying over the rocks and the zebra fell back into the fire.
The zebra sent burning sticks flying into the air when he tried to escape the fire. These charred sticks left black scorch marks all over the zebra's fine white coat.
Giving him his striped coat that he still has to this day.

How the Waterbuck got it's Butt Ringed.

How the Waterbuck Got Its White Circle

The Waterbuck lives in Africa, and has a distinguishable white ring around it’s rump. Let me share with you the story of how it got it’s ring.

One dark moonless night, a waterbuck mother and her little ones were grazing
near some huts.
The owners of the huts had been busy painting them with white wash but had been to lazy to put them away for the night and had left a bucket of white wash outside.

The father woke up to hear the buck outside. Not knowing what was happening the man jumped out of bed and ran outside.
Now remember it was very dark and he could not see what was happening, so picking up the nearest thing he could grab, he hurled the pot of paint in the direction of the Waterbuck,

The paint hit the mother’s rump leaving a white circle which the little one’s could clearly see. This was very useful, it showed up nicely in the dark, and the little ones were able to find her easily.
When the waterbuck realized what a useful thing it was to have a white ring around their bottoms, they decided to keep it, and from that day to this, no self-respecting waterbuck has been without one.

Anansi The owner of all stories..

The Story of Anansi
Anansi (ah-NAHN-see), the spider, comes from West Africa
Anansi is a 'trickster' he is clever, cunning, and mischievous -
using his wits to make up for what he lacks in size and strength.

In the beginning, all tales and stories belonged to Nyame, the Sky God.
But Kwaku Anansi, the spider, yearned to be the owner of all the stories known in the world, and he went to Nyame and offered to buy them.
The Sky God said: "I am willing to sell the stories, but the price is high. Many people have come to me offering to buy, but the price was too high for them. Rich and powerful families have not been able to pay. Do you think you can do it?"
Anansi replied to the Sky God: "I can do it. What is the price?"
"My price is three things," the Sky God said. "I must first have Mmoboro, the hornets. I must then have Onini, the great python. I must then have Osebo, the leopard. For these thing I will sell you the right to tell all the stories."
Anansi said: "I will bring them."
He went home and made his plans. He first cut a gourd from a vine and made a small hole in it. He took a large bowl and filled it with water. He went to the tree where the hornets lived. He poured some of the water over himself, so that he was dripping. He threw some water over the hornets, so that they too were dripping. Then he put the bowl on his head, as thought to protect himself from a storm, and called out to the hornets: "Are you foolish people? Why do you stay in the rain that is falling?"
The hornets answered: "Where shall we go?"
"Go here, in this dry gourd," Anansi told them.
The hornets thanked him and flew into the gourd through the small hole. When the last of them had entered, Anansi plugged the hole with a ball of grass, saying: "Oh, yes, but you are really foolish people!"
He took his gourd full of hornets to Nyame, the Sky God. The Sky God accepted them. He said: "There are two more things."
Anansi returned to the forest and cut a long bamboo pole and some strong vines. Then he walked toward the house of Onini, the python, talking to himself. He seemed to be talking about an argument with his wife. He said: "My wife is wrong. I say he is longer and stronger. My wife says he is shorter and weaker. I give him more respect. She gives him less respect. Is she right or am I right? I am right, he is longer. I am right, he is stronger."
When Onini, the python, heard Anansi talking to himself, he said: "Why are you arguing this way with yourself?"
The spider replied: "Ah, I have had a dispute with my wife. She says you are shorter and weaker than this bamboo pole. I say you are longer and stronger."
Onini said: "It's useless and silly to argue when you can find out the truth. Bring the pole and we will measure."
So Anansi laid the pole on the ground, and the python came and stretched himself out beside it.
"You seem a little short," Anansi said.
The python stretched further.
"A little more," Anansi said.
"I can stretch no more," Onini said.
"When you stretch at one end, you get shorter at the other end," Anansi said. "Let me tie you at the front so you don't slip."
He tied Onini's head to the pole. Then he went to the other end and tied the tail to the pole. He wrapped the vine all around Onini, until the python couldn't move.
"Onini," Anansi said, "it turns out that my wife was right and I was wrong. You are shorter than the pole and weaker. My opinion wasn't as good as my wife's. But you were even more foolish than I, and you are now my prisoner."
Anansi carried the python to Nyame, the Sky God, who said: "There is one thing more."
Osebo, the leopard, was next. Anansi went into the forest and dug a deep pit where the leopard liked to walk. He covered it with small branches and leaves and put dust on it, so that it was impossible to tell where the pit was. Anansi went away and hid. When Osebo came prowling in the black of night, he stepped into the trap Anansi had prepared and fell to the bottom. Anansi heard the sound of the leopard falling and he said: "Ah, Osebo, you are half-foolish!"
When morning came, Anansi went to the pit and saw the leopard there.
"Osebo," he asked, "what are you doing in this hole?"
"I have fallen into a trap," Osebo said. "Help me out."
"I would gladly help you," Anansi said. "But I'm sure that if I bring you out, I will have no thanks for it. You will get hungry, and later on you will be wanting to eat me and my children."
"I promise it won't happen!" Osebo said.
"Very well. Since you promise it, I will take you out," Anansi said.
He bent a tall green tree toward the ground, so that it's top was over the pit, and he tied it that way. Then he tied a rope to the top of the tree and dropped the other end of it into the pit.
"Tie this to your tail," he said.
Osebo tied the rope to his tail.
"Is it well tied?" Anansi asked.
"Yes, it is well tied," the leopard said.
"In that case," Anansi said, "you are not merely half-foolish, you are all-foolish."
And he took his knife and cut the other rope, the one that held the tree bowed to the ground. The tree straightened up with a snap, pulling Osebo out of the hole. He hung in the air head downward, twisting and turning. As he twisted and turned, he got so dizzy that Anansi had no trouble tying the leopard's feet with vines.
Anansi took the dizzy leopard, all tied up, to Nyame, the Sky God, saying: "Here is the third thing. Now I have paid the price."
Nyame said to him:
"Kwaku Anansi, great warriors and chiefs have tried,
but they have been unable to do it.
You have done it.
Therefore, I will give you the stories.
From this day onward, all stories belong to you.
Whenever a man tells a story,
he must acknowledge that it is Anansi's tale."


All Stories are Anansi's