Why Tortoise Head is Bared
Once upon a time, Tortoise was a character that was created by God with hairs on his head. But due to his greedy nature, he lost all the hairs on his head and the head was bare.
Tortoise was a tricky and greedy character that liked yam porridge. His favorite food is yam porridge; he could be lured and kidnapped with this food.
He also believed that he would always have his way every time he played his prank. In this story, Tortoise played his tricks and he eventually became the victim.
Tortoise was preparing to get married to his beautiful wife and the preparation was in top gear. The family of the wife-to-be requested that Tortoise should come with his family and friends for a short introduction.
He informed his family and friends to accompany him to his in-law’s house for the introduction. The in-laws had given him a particular day for the occasion. Tortoise informed his family and friends about the day chosen for the ceremony.
On the day of the introduction, Tortoise dressed in his best attire with a beautiful cap to match. This family and friends then accompanied him with the gift they would give to the in-laws.
The visitors were warmly received and welcomed by Tortoise’s in-laws. They were ushered into a well-furnished sitting room where the elders of the family were already seated.
Before Tortoise and his people arrived, the in-laws were already preparing the entertainment of their guests. They had researched about Tortoise’s favorite food from the bride. She told them that yam porridge was his favorite food.
Early in the morning that day, they started the cooking of their in-law’s favorite food. They had already gotten all the ingredients ready the previous day including crayfish to season it.
Tortoise was a character that was very sensitive when it came to smelling the aroma of any food, especially yam porridge. The crayfish was put to season it and even added to the aroma of the yam porridge.
Tortoise has been perceiving the aroma of the yam porridge when they got to the in-law’s house. The aroma became thicker when they entered the house.
He was no more convenient in his seat; he was just moving his nose here and there, just to know the direction of the food. The father-in-law discovered that Tortoise was not convenient. He asked if everything was alright.
Tortoise responded that there was no problem but he only needed to ease himself. He was then shown the direction of the toilet. He stood up but didn’t follow the directions shown. He was following the aroma of the yam porridge as being perceived by his nose.
The aroma took him to the kitchen where the food was being prepared. The cooks were still there and they asked him what he was looking for. He responded that he was trying to locate the toilet. They then directed him again to the toilet.
He just went back to the sitting room to join his people and the in-laws. They asked him whether he was okay, and he answered in the affirmative.
As the program progressed, Tortoise was still not comfortable, turning his nose right and left. When he discovered that everybody was in the sitting room including the cooks, he told them that he would like to use the restroom.
Tortoise left the sitting room but didn’t go to the restroom, instead went straight to the kitchen. He opened the pot of the porridge, smelled the aroma and started eating the hot porridge.
He ate as quickly as he could and removed his cap, packed some porridge in the cap, and put it back on his head. He went back to join the people in the sitting room. He was welcomed back and the servers were asked to serve the food to their guests by the father-in-law.
The porridge was served and they were eating. It’s at this moment that the hot porridge Tortoise put in his cap started disturbing him. He was feeling the heat of the yam porridge on his head.
He started moving his head sideways. They asked him what the problem was. He told them there was no problem, that he was only enjoying the delicious and aromatic porridge.
Tortoise continued eating and enduring the heat of the hot porridge on his head. It then got to a stage where the heat became unbearable for him. He requested to use the restroom again.
He stood up and ran as fast as he could and entered the restroom. He immediately removed the porridge-filled cap on his head and poured a lot of water.
Before he could reach the kitchen, the heat of the hot yam porridge had burnt his head and all the hairs were removed. Tortoise was then feeling ashamed to go out and meet the people in the sitting room.
The people were also expecting him to have joined them. After some time, his friends were asked to go and check on him. Tortoise has locked himself in the restroom by the time they got there.
His friends ran back to inform the people that the restroom door was locked inside. They were even entertaining fears that something had happened to Tortoise. The door was knocked, but there was no response from Tortoise inside the restroom.
The door was later forced open and Tortoise was in the toilet with his cap filled with yam porridge in his hand. They then discovered that his head was bare as a result of the heat of the porridge.
Everything was then clear to his in-laws and the people around that Tortoise had not been convenient because of the yam porridge. The in-laws then said that a character like Tortoise could not be their in-law; they refused to give their daughter’s hands in marriage to Tortoise.
Tortoise left the place ashamed of himself with his head bared. His friends that accompanied him and his family vowed never to have anything to do with him again. They said he brought shame to them by his inglorious character.
Lessons Taught
Greediness: This story teaches us not to be greedy. Tortoise is greedy in this story and in the end brings shame to himself, his family, and his friends. He also has his hair bared.
Self-control: Self-control is when somebody has control over himself. When you are able to control your urge for something. Tortoise doesn’t have self-control in this story.
He is unable to resist his urge to have a taste of the porridge being prepared for him and his people. He packed some in his cap and the heat burnt his head hence, his head is bared. He and his people left the place in shame.
Truthfulness: We are taught in this story to always say the truth. Tortoise said a lot of lies in this story and at the end reaped the fruits of unfaithfulness.