Zanzibar Tales is a collection of folklore from Zanzibar, an area of Tanzania in East Africa. The stories were translated from their native Swahili by translator George W. Bateman. Some publications of Zanzibar Tales include “Told by Natives of the East Coast of Africa.” Bateman explains that these tales were told to him by natives, who heard them from their parents, who had the tales passed down to them by their ancestors. He also marvels at their cleverness, calling the gazelle in the story “Haadaanee” much more clever than Puss in Boots, and that the author of the popular children's story “The House That Jack Built” was a poor genius compared to the tale “Goso, the Teacher” from the collection. He took care to translate the stories and make them easily read aloud by writing the names exactly as they are said.
Once there was a very learned physician, who died leaving his wife with a little baby boy, whom, when he was old enough, she named, according to his father’s wish, Hassee′boo Kareem′ Ed Deen′. When the boy had been to school, and had learned to read, his mother sent him to a tailor, to learn…
There was once a sultan who had three little sons, and no one seemed to be able to teach them anything; which greatly grieved both the sultan and his wife. One day a magician came to the sultan and said, “If I take your three boys and teach them to read and write, and make…
Sultan Maaj′noon had seven sons and a big cat, of all of whom he was very proud. Everything went well until one day the cat went and caught a calf. When they told the sultan he said, “Well, the cat is mine, and the calf is mine.” So they said, “Oh, all right, master,” and…
Once there was a very poor man, named Haamdaa′nee, who begged from door to door for his living, sometimes taking things before they were offered him. After a while people became suspicious of him, and stopped giving him anything, in order to keep him away from their houses. So at last he was reduced to…
Long, long ago there lived, in a village called Keejee′jee, a woman whose husband died, leaving her with a little baby boy. She worked hard all day to get food for herself and child, but they lived very poorly and were most of the time half-starved. When the boy, whose name was ’Mvoo′ Laa′na, began…
Once there was a man named Go′so, who taught children to read, not in a schoolhouse, but under a calabash tree. One evening, while Goso was sitting under the tree deep in the study of the next day’s lessons, Paa, the gazelle, climbed up the tree very quietly to steal some fruit, and in so…
One day Koongoo′roo, sultan of the crows, sent a letter to Mway′way, sultan of the kites, containing these few words: “I want you folks to be my soldiers.” To this brief message Mwayway at once wrote this short reply: “I should say not.” Thereupon, thinking to scare Mwayway, the sultan of the crows sent him…
Once upon a time Sim′ba, the lion, Fee′see, the hyena, and Keetee′tee, the rabbit, made up their minds to go in for a little farming. So they went into the country, made a garden, planted all kinds of seeds, and then came home and rested quite a while. Then, when the time came when their…
One day Soongoo′ra, the hare, roaming through the forest in search of food, glanced up through the boughs of a very large calabash tree, and saw that a great hole in the upper part of the trunk was inhabited by bees; thereupon he returned to town in search of some one to go with him…
Once upon a time Kee′ma, the monkey, and Pa′pa, the shark, became great friends. The monkey lived in an immense mkooyoo tree which grew by the margin of the sea—half of its branches being over the water and half over the land. Every morning, when the monkey was breakfasting on the kooyoo nuts, the shark…