Folk Tales from Zimbabwe: Short Stories

By V. T. Kandimba

While he was growing up, Tsuro, the bunny rabbit, learned the
hard way to treat others as he wanted to be treated by them.
Being street smart is good, but its not always the best way to
live with others. As children, we must never look down on people. We
can learn something from our friends no matter how different they are.
Amazingly, Kamba, the turtle proved that slow is the new fast.
I, Victoria Taurai Kandimba, a mother of
four, born and raised in rural Zimbabwe
am a natural storyteller. I was inspired
by my grandparents who were great folk
storytellers as I grew up. I moved to the USA
in 2000. In the warm evenings, in a dimly
lit hut, after dinner, my two grandmothers,
Mandisiya and Taurai, would entertain
the family with these folk stories while
we shelled peanuts. Everyone took part in
discussions to discipline or praise characters
in these tales and we thoroughly enjoyed it. They were parables that
taught children to grow into good responsible people.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 7, 2009
• ISBN: 9781465322388

V. T. Kandimba

I,Victoria Taurai Kandimba, a mother of four, born and raised in rural Zimbabwe am a natural storyteller. I was inspired by my grandparents who were great folk storytellers as I grew up. I moved to the USA in 2000. In the warm evenings, in a dimly lit hut, after dinner, my two grandmothers, Mandisiya and Taurai, would entertain the family with these folk stories while we shelled peanuts. Everyone took part in discussions to discipline or praise characters in these tales and we thoroughly enjoyed it. They were parables that taught children to grow into good responsible people.

Book preview

Folk Tales from

Zimbabwe

57869-KAND-layout.pdf

Short Stories

V. T. Kandimba

Copyright © 2009 by V. T. Kandimba.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

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57869

Contents

Why the Guinea Pig

Has No Tail

How Kamba the Turtle Beat Tsuro the Bunny

in a Race

Kamba Captures the Water Thief—Tsuro

Tsuro Gets To Taste His

Own Medicine

I would like to dedicate this book to my new grand son Aidyn, for bravely standing up to huge challenges.

Thank you my little friends Soleine and Jack

for helping me with the vocabulary.

Why the Guinea Pig

Has No Tail

A long time ago, all animals had no tails. They did not look quite right. In fact, they looked a little funny. They could not swoosh off flies that bothered them all day long. They had nothing to put between their hind legs when they were sad, embarrassed, shy, or scared. They had nothing to lift up high when they felt proud and boastful.

I wish I had a long tail, mourned Tsoko the monkey. He needed to use it to grab onto branches as he jumped from tree to tree.

I will get the longest tail, cried the meerkat who wanted to show off and challenge the smaller animals.

They all agreed to have a meeting with the lion king, Shumba.

We must tell him how miserable we are, sighed Tsindi the squirrel. He wanted a really long and bushy tail to curl up in and keep warm in winter.

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