I do not envy the burger-eating kids of today at all. They are really missing a lot!
They may not have heard of moonlight tales, for instance. These are bedtime stories usually told by grannies in those good old days.
One of them is about the tortoise and his in-laws. Since the story is coming from the past, I may mix it up somehow. However, I still know the main parts.
The tortoise was apparently married to a scion of hardworking farmers. He saw nothing wrong in making away with some tubers of yam from his in-laws’ barn. Afterall, their daughter will benefit from his escapade.
So, on a particularly dark night, the tortoise stealthily stole into his in-laws’ barn and made away with some tubers of yam. Made away? He nearly did.
But he was caught!
Since he was caught red-handed, his in-laws decided not to be merciful to him. They gave him the beating of his life.
To make matters worse, they decided to tie him to a stake outside their residence. They lived around the market place.
It was a market day, so when people going to the market saw tortoise tied to a stake outside his in-laws, they asked what his offence was. When, they were told what he did, they poured vitriol on him.
However, when they were coming back and still found the tortoise there, they started abusing the in-laws.
The lessons of the story are, one, it is not good to be greedy. Two, we should learn to forgive. Three, we should do things in moderation!
010816
