Tortoise found some mushrooms growing on a log. “I will wait until the mushrooms are done growing,” he said, “and I will make a very fine feast indeed!”
Tortoise waited and waited.
Then Antelope came running by. “Dogs!” she gasped. “Hunters! Hurry! We’ve got to get out of here. You can come with me!”
“No!” said Tortoise. “I’m staying here until the mushrooms stop growing.”
“Well, I warned you,” said Antelope, and she ran.
Next came the hunter’s dogs; then, the hunter. “What a fine feast I have here!” he said, taking Tortoise away with him, and the mushrooms too.
[a Bulu story from Cameroon]
Inspired by: "The Tortoise Who Waited for Toadstools" in Bulu Tales from Kamerun, West Africa (published in Journal of American Folkklore) by Adolph N. Krug, 1912.
Notes: You can read the original story online.
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