How Tortoise Cracked His Shell
A long, long time ago, there was a big hunger in a land called Teregun. A tortoise named Ijapa lived there. In those days, animals and people talked to each other and were friends! Some animals, like Ijapa, were very clever.
It hadn’t rained for a very long time. The rivers dried up. The plants turned brown. There was no food in the market. Everyone was hungry – the people and the animals.
🐘 Elephant, 🦁 Lion, 🐅 Tiger, and all the other animals said, “What can we do? We are all so hungry!”
Ijapa was sad too. He had a farm, but without rain, nothing would grow.
🐘 Elephant said to 🦁 Lion the King, “We need a meeting! We must find a way to stop the hunger!”
Lion was the king of the animals. But sometimes, Lion would eat smaller animals – and that made everyone scared of him.
“I will call a meeting,” said Lion. But in his heart, he was thinking, “Maybe this meeting can help ME get more food!”
All the animals came: Tiger, Leopard, Antelope, Buffalo, Giraffe, Hare, Wolf, Fox, and little Dog named Aja. (That’s pronounced Ah-jah!)
Lion stood up and said, “My animal friends! We are all hungry. Some of us will not survive. I think we should eat the smaller, weaker animals. That way, the big strong ones like me can live longer!” (ROAR!)
The small animals jumped up. “NO! That’s NOT fair!” they shouted. “That’s just WRONG!”
The meeting got very loud and吵吵闹闹 (cha-cha-chaos)!
Then another animal stood up. He had a TERRIBLE idea. (GASP!)
“What if… we eat our OLD MOTHERS?” he said. “They have lived a long time. Young ones should live, not old ones. It’s better this way.”
The animals were quiet for a moment. Then some of them started nodding. “Hmm… maybe…”
Some animals said, “But that’s so sad!” Others said, “But we’re so hungry!” They argued and argued for hours.
Then Dog stood up. His name was Aja. He loved his old mother very, very much. He was shaking but he spoke loudly:
“NO! This is WRONG! We cannot eat our mothers! They gave us life! They took care of us when we were babies! We must find another way!”
All the animals stared at Aja. They knew Aja was a good dog – honest, hard-working, and kind. He was the King’s best messenger. But they didn’t listen.
The very next day, Lion… (whisper) killed his own mother. (SOB!) He had a big feast and invited everyone.
Everyone came… except Aja. Aja stayed home with his mother and cried.
Next, Elephant had to do it. Then Buffalo. One by one, each animal killed their mother and had a feast. The famine continued. It didn’t get better. But the animals kept eating and eating.
Aja never joined them. He just couldn’t.
Aja knew his mother’s turn would come soon. He was so worried! He loved his mother SO much.
“What can I do, Mother? Where can I hide you?” he cried.
Aja went for a walk in the forest, all alone. He looked up at the big, blue sky and prayed. Tears rolled down his furry cheeks. “Please, someone help us!”
(SNIFF! SOB!)
Suddenly… WHOOSH! A beautiful, glowing spirit appeared! It was the Sky Spirit!
“Aja, I heard your prayers,” the Sky Spirit said with a kind smile. “You are a good, kind son. I will help you.”
Aja’s mouth dropped open. He couldn’t speak!
“Listen carefully,” said the Sky Spirit. “There is a very tall palm tree. Climb it with your mother tonight. At the very top, call for me. I will take her to live safely in the sky. No one can hurt her there.”
“AND…” said the Sky Spirit, “You can visit her every night! She will drop a rope. You must sing a special song so she knows it’s you. Then she will pull you up for a yummy dinner!”
Aja was SO happy! He thanked the Sky Spirit again and again.
“But remember,” warned the Spirit, “Never tell anyone your secret! And if an impostor comes, sing a DIFFERENT song to warn your mother to cut the rope!”
That night, Aja did exactly what the Sky Spirit said. He climbed the tall palm tree with his mother. The Sky Spirit took her up, up, up into the sky. She was safe!
Every evening, when the other animals were at their feasts, Aja would sneak away. He would run, run, run to the special tree. Then he would sing his special song:
ÀlùjanjankÍjan
Erin pa ìyá rẹ̀ jẹ̀ (Elephant killed his mother for food)
ÀlùjanjankÍjan
Ẹfòn pa ìyá rẹ̀ jẹ̀ (Buffalo killed his mother for food)
ÀlùjanjankÍjan
Ajá gbé yá rẹ̀ o d’orún (Aja carried his mother off to the sky)
ÀlùjanjankÍjan
Ìyá, ìyá ta ‘kùn wale o (Mother, Mother drop down the rope)
His mother would drop the rope, pull him up, and they would eat a lovely dinner together! Aja even brought extra food home. (YUM!)
The famine got WORSE. The other animals became thin and weak. But Aja? Aja looked FANTASTIC! His fur was shiny. He was strong and healthy.
Tortoise (Ijapa) noticed. He was very, very jealous. “How is Aja so healthy?” he wondered. “He doesn’t eat with us. He must have a secret!”
Ijapa tried to be friends with Aja again. He asked, “Where do you get your food, friend?”
Aja just said, “God will provide.” He didn’t trust tricky Tortoise one bit!
Ijapa went to King Lion. “Oba (King), Aja has a secret! I will find out what it is!”
Lion said, “Go ahead, tricky Tortoise. Find out!”
Ijapa tried and tried. He followed Aja. He hid behind trees. But Aja was too fast!
Finally, Ijapa had an idea. He would skip the feast (he LOVED eating!) and wait at the crossroads. He hid behind a big tree.
That evening, Aja came running. He slowed down at the crossroads, looked around, then went down a special path. Ijapa followed, quiet as can be.
He saw Aja reach the tall palm tree. He heard him sing the beautiful song. He saw the rope drop from the SKY! He saw Aja climb up! (GASP!)
Ijapa’s eyes popped out. “WOW!” he whispered. “So THAT’S the secret!”
Ijapa waited and waited. Soon Aja came down the rope with extra food. He ran home happily.
Ijapa tried to sing the song. But his voice was too nasally. (He talks through his nose, you know!) He sounded NOTHING like Aja.
Ijapa got ANGRY. “Aja didn’t share his secret with me! His mother is alive and mine is dead! I will TELL on him!”
Ijapa ran to King Lion. “Kabiyesi (Your Majesty)! Aja’s mother is ALIVE! She lives in the sky and drops food for him every night!”
Lion was FURIOUS. “That liar! He said she disappeared!”
One clever advisor said, “Let’s send Aja far away. Then we can all go and try to get food from his mother.”
Lion agreed. He called Aja. “Take this special package to the faraway King of Idanran. Go slowly. Don’t rush.”
But Aja was a VERY fast runner. He saw the bright moon and thought it was morning. He ran all night! He delivered the package and ran all the way back.
Meanwhile, all the animals followed Ijapa to the magic tree. One by one, they tried to sing Aja’s song. Lion growled it. Elephant trumpeted it. Wolf howled it.
Nothing happened. Aja’s mother was too smart!
“Let ME try,” said Ijapa proudly. “I heard Aja sing it best.”
The animals hid in the bushes. Ijapa cleared his throat and sang through his nose. It sounded a bit like Aja, but not exactly. His mother was confused.
“Is that my son?” she wondered. “He sounds sick. Maybe he has a cold.” She dropped the rope.
Ijapa grabbed the rope. His mother started pulling him up, up, UP!
Just then… Aja came running back! He saw all the animals hiding. He saw Ijapa climbing the rope to his mother! (OH NO!)
Aja started singing a NEW song as loud as he could:
ÀlùjanjankÍjan
Gbogb’ ẹranko k’ógun mbọ̀ o (All the animals are coming!)
ÀlùjanjankÍjan
Tètè p’abẹ s’ókun o (Quickly cut the rope!)
ÀlùjanjankÍjan
Aja’s mother heard her REAL son’s voice. She looked down and saw Ijapa on the rope, not her son!
She grabbed a sharp knife and… CHOP! She cut the rope!
“AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!” screamed Ijapa.
CRASH! BANG! BOOM! He fell all the way down to the ground.
His shell hit a big rock and… CRACK! It broke into many pieces!
All the animals ran away in fear. The Sky Spirit appeared and warned them never to bother Aja and his mother again.
Some kind creatures came to help Ijapa. They patched his shell back together. But it was never smooth again. It was bumpy and cracked forever.
Ijapa was lucky to be alive! But he learned his lesson: Don’t be jealous. Don’t tell secrets to hurt others. And most of all – DON’T BE GREEDY!
Tortoises have cracked, bumpy shells!
✨🐢
Aja the Dog and his mother lived happily ever after, safe in the sky. And whenever you see a tortoise with a cracked shell, remember the story of Ijapa!
✤ The End · How Tortoise Got His Cracked Shell ✤