The Dead Man and the Turtles

The people found a dead man lying on the ground. He had fallen from the sky, and the light of the moon shone on his body.

The people called the animals. "Who will carry this dead man across the river?" they asked. "And who will carry the moon?"

Two turtles volunteered. 

The turtle who had long legs carried the moon to the other side of the river.

The turtle who had short legs carried the man's body, but drowned in the river.

That is why the dead moon comes back to life every month, but the dead man never returns.

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Inspired by: "The Phases of the Moon" in George Grenfell and the Congo, volume 2 by Harry Hamilton Johnston, 1910.
Notes: You can read the original story online. This is an Azande story.

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