Fable for Children

Stomach and Feet

By Baba Wague Diakite (1993)

A long time ago, Stomach and Feet were very good friends. They used to work together looking for food, but they were always arguing. One day, Stomach said, "I'm tired of working so hard for nothing. Every day, I feed feet. Now they are big and fat, and they should do something for themselves." And feet also said, "Stomach, you say that? Remember, I take you everywhere to get food. So after today, I'm not going anywhere." They both refused to work and spent all day to sit. Toward the end of the day, both of them became very hungry until they were dizzy. They couldn't even speak strongly to each other anymore. Suddenly, Stomach said with a heavy voice, "Mr. Feet, can we be friends and go get food together before we die of hunger?" Without arguing, Feet replied in a happy voice, "Yes, I would like that. Let's go." Then they went to get food and ate strongly. Since this day, the friendship exists between stomach and feet; they can't move without each other.

Stories with morals are very important in African culture. Just like Aesop's fables, which teach American children good lessons, there are many meaningful stories told in African culture, some written down and others shared orally. In this particular story, the moral is that everyone must do their share, and by working together, not only does everyone benefit, everyone's happy. If people don't help each other, they can't survive.

Discussion Questions

* What other morals can you find in the story?
* Where do you think a story like this would be useful in American society?
* Where are people dependent on each other to live and be happy?
* Why would parents tell their children this story? Do you think it is an effective way of teaching a lesson?