How the Turtle Got His Shell (Africa) Cast: a village storyteller Story: a turtle has tremendous worries. _______________________ Storyteller: trouble, trouble trouble, trouble The turtle wrapped himself in a giant…palm leaf (keewah). He moaned (to himself). And groaned. “The world… …is so dangerous,” (he cried). “The stars might fall. Or the sun (sinking) might break…on our pointy hills. Or the moon (poor thing) might grow…thinner and thinner.
(and thinner, still) And I’ve heard (keewah) that the plants that we eat might never (again) rise above ground. And we’d starve, keewah. Starve! And those big pouncing animals (the leopard…especially) would catch us (and eat us). And the leopard would become our king, keewah, the ruler… …over us all. O, trouble, keewah! trouble trouble trouble trouble And the turtle (o, keewah)
sat…and worried for such a long… …long time that the leaf that protected him (that giant… …wavy palm) grew harder (and harder, still), and became (keewah) that same heavy shell that he…carries today. (Poor thing!) Look at him! One step! Two steps…!