Congolese Stories

By Bertil Söderberg

Congo has a rich and diverse assortment of folk tales. A great variety of tales, legends, myths and fables have been passed on from generation to generation. In these tales the African storyteller describes human failings and virtues, religious representations and the surrounding nature to his listeners. To the storyteller, animals, or objects such as a piece of clay pot, become amusing and significant representations of human frailty and morality. Bertil Söderberg, Doctor of Philosophy, who spent many years in the Republic of the Congo studying its people and their lives, has accumulated these folk tales and made them accessible for Swedish readers. These tales are not only beneficial to children, but to adults as well. This is the first time that a selection of the Congolese people’s cherished folk tales has been made available in Swedish.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bertil Söderberg
• Release date: Jan 16, 2015
• ISBN: 9789163713422

Bertil Söderberg

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Chapter 2

The Two Ants

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   A rather big and brave soldier ant wandered away from the weaving trail of his colony while the colony was heading home to the cave. Once his colony was back at the cave, the ants would roll themselves into a ball. This ball would be their peculiar home and army ants would surround the outside of it. If anyone or anything were to come too close to it, hundreds of army ants would open their jaws wide in preparation to attack the intruder.

   The soldier ant that left the trail had stopped at a ford in the valley where a man was sitting on a stone. The man had been out walking quite far and was feeling fatigued. Sitting still, he was resting before continuing his journey. He sat with his head leaning in one hand. The soldier ant was wandering around on the ground looking for some food amongst the grubs in the grass. Just then he ran into a tiny, black