The Tortoise And The Princess

The Tortoise And The Princess

I can remember that night so clearly. I can remember the soft pitter platter from the rain, the dim lighting and the static from the television. I don’t know where my parents were, but I can remember my brothers and me by my grandmother’s feet. I can remember the sound of her voice as she transported us to a land of animals and people. I can still hear her so clearly today, “Sunmo awon omo mi (come close my children)”, as she completely captured our attention. She told us numerous stories that night, but the one that always stuck to me and never faded even with time was that of the clever tortoise.

Once upon a time, there was a very wealthy king, the richest in all the land, and he had the most beautiful daughter, his only daughter. She was so beautiful that males came from far and wide just to ask for her hand in marriage. Rich and poor, young and old, would come bearing gifts all for a chance to marry the beautiful princess.

One day the king asked, “My dear, which of these fine gentlemen would you like to marry?” and the princess replied, “the individual who can endure the most unpleasant situations is the one who deserves my hand in marriage.”

So, the king had the amazing idea to hold a contest for his lovely daughter’s hand in marriage, and whoever won would get to marry the beautiful princess. He thought up the most unpleasant situation that could ever be imagined and called men and animals alike from far and wide to come to participate for his daughter’s hand.

No one was to know what the challenge was until the day of the contest. When the day finally arrived, the contestants were surprised to see a pot of pepper soup made with the hottest peppers in the world. When everyone gathered, the king announced the rules of the contest, saying, “whoever can finish a full bowl of pepper soup without showing discomfort will win the hand of his daughter.”

Immediately the lion, the rabbit and other men all tried with no success, but in a corner was the clever tortoise who stood watching and thinking. Suddenly hit with an idea, he announced that he had an announcement. He said, “I have a song to teach you all” they all turned their heads, interested in what the tortoise had to say. As he picked up his bowl of pepper soup, he instructed the crowd that after every line he sang, they would respond “ooooooshhh ahhhhhhh” So he would say a line from his song, drink from his bowl, then join the crowd in going ooooooooshhh ahhhhhhhhh. He continued this until he was done with his bowl of pepper soup. He was the only suitor to complete his bowl of soup with no discomfort successfully. In fact, the crowd was quite surprised he did it while singing. He was praised for his cleverness and given the opportunity to marry the beautiful princess.

To understand how to do it, you have to make the sound he told the crowd to make, going oooooooooshhh ahhhhhh allowed him to get air into his mouth and reduce the sting of the pepper in his mouth, allowing him to finish the bowl of soup with little to no discomfort.

This story is one of the many stories told in my country, especially by my tribe, to show the clever nature of the tortoise.

Stories like this one taught many lessons and provided a lot of laughs as I was growing up. I was always so excited when the adults would sit us down to tell us these stories. They shaped my love for books and writing. This story especially was one of the last ones I heard from my grandmother as I haven’t seen her in so many years.