Hey there! Welcome to "Fairy Tale and Folktale Fridays," a new feature on my blog where I discuss about some fairy tales and folktales I have read throughout the years.
What's So Funny, Ketu?
Type: FolktaleCountry of Origin: AfricaMain Character Hero or Heroine: HeroRecommend?: Yes!
The story starts off with Ketu saving a snake from his dog and the snake decided to reward Ketu by giving him the ability to hear what the animals are thinking about. But of course, there is a catch to this gift: Ketu cannot tell anyone what the animals are really thinking about or else...
HE WILL DIE!!! So, Ketu promises to not tell anyone what the animals are really thinking about. Unfortunately, whenever Ketu hears an animal's thoughts, he starts laughing uncontrollably, freaking out anyone who is near him. This then causes his wife Nyaloti to tell the village Chief about her husband's uncontrollable laughter and the village chief tells Ketu that if he doesn't tell everyone what he is laughing about, then his wife Nyaloti and their baby daughter will have to live with her father. Now, Ketu must make a decision about whether he should tell his wife the truth or risk getting himself killed in the process.
I really enjoyed this book when I read it years ago! I found the story to be so unique as this is one of the few stories where the protagonist is being given a gift, only for said gift to kill that protagonist if they tell anyone about this magical gift. For me personally, I wouldn't want a gift that would kill me if I made a small mistake with it! I also loved the fact that this story takes place in Africa since I love reading folktales from Africa and the African setting of this book just made the book so magical to read through! Also, with the edition I got of this book, I loved the artwork by Marc Brown as I was so used to Marc Brown's artwork with his famous "Arthur" series and I just loved how vibrant and detailed his artwork is in this book!
1. If someone gave you a magical gift, would you be really happy or upset?
It all depends on what kind of magical gift that person gave me. If they gave me a magical wand that grants me any wish I want, I would be really happy! However, if they gave me something like the ability to talk to animals, but the catch is that I cannot tell anyone my secret or else, something bad will happen to me, then I would be pretty upset with the gift!
2. Would you tell someone you really trust about your magical gift?
I would at least try to tell my family about my magical gift, since I do trust them with a lot of my secrets. Also, it wouldn't seem fair to them that I'm keeping something this big from them.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
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