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Monday, April 20, 2015

The Talking Vegetables - Liberian Folktale

The continent of Africa in a shape of parrot, points with its beak to the country of Liberia. The country of mostly flat plains full of mangroves and swamps by the coast, with each step away from the water it rises to rolling land with low mountains. In the northeastern part of this land, Dan people live, who are known for community farming. Every Dan village treasures a community farm as it feeds people and helps those who get sick and provides food for important celebrations. Everyone pitches in with work and everyone reaps at the harvests. If you don’t, then you will end up like a spider in this story.

Elephant was stumping the ground, he was on his way to the community farm, when he saw his friend spider, “Are you coming to work at the farm?”
“No! I am tired,” shouted Spider. “Besides I have rice to eat.”
“You need more than rice for your diet. There are plenty of vegetables at the farm.”
“I don’t need your vegetables!”
Everybody gathered at the farm to do day’s work except Spider. They cut down bushes, tore out vines, dug out roots. They raked beds and built a waterway.
The following day, Tiger on his way to the farm spotted Spider and asked, “Are you coming to plant seeds?”
“No! Stop bothering me! Go away!” responded Spider.
All the villagers gathered at the farm except Spider. They planted the seeds of cassava, tomato, squash, pumpkin, cabbage, beans and more.
A month later, Monkey jumping its way to the farm noticed Spider and asked, “Are you coming to weed the farm?”
“I didn’t plant and I won’t weed! Go away!” Spider could not be convinced.
The whole day, the villagers pulled weeds. Their backs ached and their arms were sore.
Shortly after, the ripen vegetables were ready to be picked up.
One day, the fresh scent of the vegetables reached the nose of Spider, who got tired of eating rice day after day. So he said to himself, “I’m going to pick some fresh vegetables to go with my rice.”
At the farm, Spider was about to pick up a juicy tomato, when he heard, “What are you doing?”
“What? A talking tomato?”
“The tomato responded, “You didn’t do any farm work. Do not dare to pick me.”
Spider backed away. He turned around and saw fat cucumber. “I’ll just pick one.”
The cucumber twisted and moved away on the vine, “Do not dare to pick me or any other cucumber. You didn’t plant any seeds.”
Spider ran to the other side of the farm, where he noticed an orange pumpkin sitting on the warm ground. He tugged and pulled, but the pumpkin wouldn’t move. “You can’t pick me. You didn’t pull any weeds.”
Tired Spider ran back to the village, where he continued eating plain rice day after day.

Source: The Talking Vegetables by Won-Ldy Paye & Margaret H. Lippert

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