Tortoise was taking his daily walk when he came upon Man’s fig trees. He found such delicious figs and skins laying on the ground where they had fallen that he decided to stay and live there.
Now it wasn’t long before that wretch of a baboon came strolling by and, not content with eating the fallen fruit, he jumped up into the trees and plundered the green figs and broke off young branches.
Man came out and drove him off with his dogs, but no sooner was his back turned that Baboon came back and caused havoc in his trees. When tortoise scolded him, Baboon only laughed. Then Man set someone to watch under the trees and so poor old Tortoise was driven away too.
"Well," he told Baboon, "perhaps you and I should go and plant our own fig trees in the veld."
Baboon thought this was an excellent idea, but whilst Tortoise gave his fig tree plenty of water, Baboon frisked about in his tree and gave it no water at all. "Why is my tree withering away so?" he asked Tortoise.
"I’ve told you a hundred times to water your tree and to stop swinging in the branches," Tortoise answered. "But you never listen."
"Well, then, old Granddad," mocked Baboon, "Give me some good advice on my fig tree!"
Tortoise knew very well that Baboon wouldn’t take his advice and because he wanted to get rid of him he thought the sooner Baboon’s tree died, the better. "I give my tree boiling water that’s why it is growing so nicely," he said.
So Baboon gave his tree boiling water and, of course, it died. Then he realized that Tortoise had given him the wrong advice on purpose and he planned his revenge. He waited until Tortoise’s fig tree was full of fruit and then went along and offered to pick the figs for him, for Tortoise of course, couldn’t climb. But once he got up there amongst the succulent figs he ate them himself until at last Tortoise called up: "When are you going to throw me down a fig? "I’ve been waiting for ages!"
"Wait a minute, Granddad, these figs are too delicious for words."
"Can’t you throw me down a few skins, then?"
"My goodness, Granddad," Baboon smacked his lips, "But now it’s the skins that taste so good."
"Well, throw me down some insides then," begged the Tortoise.
"But my dear old Granddad," teased Baboon, "now the whole fig is so delicious that I can’t help it, I’ve to go eat it all up."
When Baboon had gorged himself on Tortoise’s figs, without giving Tortoise a single one, he jumped down and walked away groaning. Day after day he came back and ate all the ripe figs while he mocked at Tortoise.
To this very day Tortoise feels despair when he thinks of that fig tree. That’s why he looks so down in the mouth.
One day Shepherd was walking in the veld when he spied Tortoise and picked him up. "Aha," smiled Shepherd, "here’s something for the pot tonight." But when he saw Tortoise’s sad, sad face he asked what the matter was. Tortoise told him about Baboon and the fig tree. "Show me where the fig tree is," said the Shepherd, "then I won’t eat you and I’ll pick you some figs instead."
When they got to the fig tree Shepherd have Tortoise some figs and ate some himself. But the moment Shepherd went away, Baboon pounced again and grabbed Tortoise’s figs and gobbled them up. When Shepherd came again the next day, Tortoise told him what Baboon had done.
Shepherd scratched his head. "I think it’s time Baboon learned a lesson," he said. He put his gun in the tree, tied a string to the trigger and let it hang down to the ground. Then he walked away.
He’d only been gone a moment when Baboon turned up. He asked what the string was for and Tortoise answered: "When I pull the string this way, the ripe pigs fall, and when I pull it that way there’s thunder and lightning and the whole sky falls in."
"Stuff and nonsense!" cried Baboon and gave a pull on the string.
"Kaboom!" - a thunder flash sounded and all around him billowed clouds of smoke just as if the sky had fallen on him. Baboon got such a fright he had a fit. He lay on the ground kicking and screaming. At last he staggered away, and it was a long time before he bothered Tortoise again. Since then Baboon always has a fit of fright when he sees a gun.
And Tortoise, too, has been very careful not to get himself into a corner again by giving wrong advice.
Story Time � 1984-1989 by Rubicon Press CC