Rabbit Ears Book Blog: Fairy Tale and Folktale Fridays #29: Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters

Friday, August 3, 2018

Fairy Tale and Folktale Fridays #29: Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters

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.

Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters

Type: Folktale

Country of Origin: Africa

Main Character Hero or Heroine: Heroine

Recommend?: Yes!

The story is about a man named Mufaro who has two beautiful daughters. One of his daughters is named Nyasha, who is good natured and treats everyone around her with kindness. The other daughter is named Manyara, who is selfish, rude and very vain. One day, the king of the land wanted to marry and Mufaro encourages his daughters to go out and win the king's hand in marriage. When Manyara decided to go seek the king herself, she comes across several people on her journey, but is extremely rude towards everyone she meets. When Manyara didn't return home, her sister Nyasha decided to go after Manyara to see what happened to her sister.

I have always loved this story when I was little and I just loved the way that this story handled the theme of being kind towards other people. I always loved the fact that Nyasha is so kind towards other people as it shows that being kind towards others is the right thing to do and it will gain its own rewards. I also really enjoyed the magical elements in the story, especially regarding the people that the sisters meet along the way and I especially loved the ending of this story!

1. Do you think that this story does a good job at letting kids know about the importance of being kind towards others?

Yes, I think that this story does a fantastic job at showing kids the importance of being kind towards others. Even though there has been many children's books that teaches kids about being kind towards others, this story was much more effective at showing both the importance of being kind and the consequences that could happen if you are not kind towards other people.

2. Would you help a stranger on your trips?

It all depends on what part of the neighborhood I am in. It would seem easy to be kind towards any stranger in need, but then it doesn't hurt to be a bit cautious of strangers if you aren't sure what kind of people they are.

3. What are your favorite African folktales?

Aside from "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters," I have also enjoyed many of the Anansi stories and this obscure folktale, "What's So Funny, Ketu?" which I just reviewed last week!

4. Do you have a garden?

I used to have a garden where I grew various fruits, but we kind of stopped taking care of the garden over the years, so I'm not sure if I'll go back to having my own garden again.