The Lizard and the Fish

Lizard likes to eat fish, but he's not a good fisherman. So, when he saw Tortoise struggling to carry a heavy basket of fish, Lizard offered to help.

"I'll carry some fish for you," Lizard said.

"Thanks!" said Tortoise, but Lizard took the fish and ran so fast Tortoise couldn't catch him.

When Lizard got home and began gobbling the fish, a fishbone choked him. He stuck his head in red palm-oil trying to loosen the bone, shaking his head up and down.

That's how Lizard got his red head, which he keeps on shaking, trying to loosen that fishbone.

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Inspired by: "The Hungry Hare and His Friend Tortoise" in Talking Animals by Wilfrid Hambly, 1949.
Notes: You can read the original story online. This Nigerian story is part of a variation on the haunted marketplace story; the food that Lizard steals is actually food that Tortoise and Rabbit have stolen themselves! 

red-headed lizard