0,99 €
ISSN: 2397-9607 Issue 99
In Issue 99 of the Baba Indaba Children's Stories, Baba Indaba narrates the Czech Folk Tale of a simple, young devil who commits a transgression and is condemned to wandered over the earth for seven years. He decides that it would be a mighty clever thing for him to marry Gentle Dora, who had already nagged five husbands to death. But the devil finds that being a husband is not such a simple thing, especially when you’re the husband of Gentle Dora.…… Download and read this story to find out what happened to the devil.
Baba Indaba is a fictitious Zulu storyteller who narrates children's stories from around the world. Baba Indaba translates as "Father of Stories".
Each issue also has a "WHERE IN THE WORLD - LOOK IT UP" section, where young readers are challenged to look up a place on a map somewhere in the world. The place, town or city is relevant to the story, on map. HINT - use Google maps.
BUY ANY 4 BABA INDABA CHILDREN'S STORIES FOR ONLY $1
33% of the profit from the sale of this book will be donated to charities.
INCLUDES LINKS TO 8 FREE STORIES TO DOWNLOADS
Das E-Book können Sie in Legimi-Apps oder einer beliebigen App lesen, die das folgende Format unterstützen:
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017
GENTLE DORA
A Czech Folk Tale
BABA INDABA CHILDREN’S STORIES
Published By
Abela Publishing, London
2016
GENTLE DORA
Typographical arrangement of this edition
©Abela Publishing 2016
This book may not be reproduced in its current format
in any manner in any media, or transmitted
by any means whatsoever, electronic,
electrostatic, magnetic tape, or mechanical
(including photocopy, file or video recording,
internet web sites, blogs, wikis, or any other
information storage and retrieval system)
except as permitted by law
without the prior written permission
of the publisher.
Abela Publishing,
London, United Kingdom
2016
BABA INDABA CHILDREN’S STORIES
ISSN 2397-9607
Issue 99
Website
www.AbelaPublishing.com/gentle-dora.html
Baba Indaba, pronounced Baaba Indaaba, lived in Africa a long-long time ago. Indeed, this story was first told by Baba Indaba to the British settlers over 250 years ago in a place on the South East Coast of Africa called Zululand, which is now in a country now called South Africa.
In turn the British settlers wrote these stories down and they were brought back to England on sailing ships. From England they were in turn spread to all corners of the old British Empire, and then to the world.
In olden times the Zulu’s did not have computers, or iPhones, or paper, or even pens and pencils. So, someone was assigned to be the Wenxoxi Indaba (Wensosi Indaaba) – the Storyteller. It was his, or her, job to memorise all the tribe’s history, stories and folklore, which had been passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years. So, from the time he was a young boy, Baba Indaba had been apprenticed to the tribe’s Wenxoxi Indaba to learn the stories. Every day the Wenxoxi Indaba would narrate the stories and Baba Indaba would have to recite the story back to the Wenxoxi Indaba, word for word. In this manner he learned the stories of the Zulu nation.
In time the Wenxoxi Indaba grew old and when he could no longer see or hear, Baba Indaba became the next in a long line of Wenxoxi Indabas. So fond were the children of him that they continued to call him Baba Indaba – the Father of Stories.
When the British arrived in South Africa, he made it his job to also learn their stories. He did this by going to work at the docks at the Point in Port Natal at a place the Zulu people call Ethekwene (Eh-tek-weh-nee). Here he spoke to many sailors and ships captains. Captains of ships that sailed to the far reaches of the British Empire – Canada, Australia, India, Mauritius, the Caribbean and beyond.
He became so well known that ship’s crew would bring him a story every time they visited Port Natal. If they couldn’t, they would arrange to have someone bring it to him. This way his library of stories grew and grew until he was known far and wide as the keeper of stories – a true Wenxoxi Indaba of the world.
Baba Indaba believes the tale he is about to tell in this little book, and all the others he has learned, are the common property of Umntwana (Children) of every nation in the world - and so they are and have been ever since men and women began telling stories, thousands and thousands of years ago.
Where in the World – Look it Up!
This next story was told to him by a man who hailed from the small town of Sokolov. Can you find Sokolov on a map? What country is it in?
GENTLE DORA
THE STORY OF A DEVIL WHO MARRIED A SCOLD
A story, a story
Let it come, let it go
A story, a story
From long, long ago!
Umntwana Izwa! Children Listen!
ONCE upon a time long, long ago, in a far, far away land, there was once a young devil who, as he wandered over the earth, found a book. He slipped it carelessly into his pocket and carried it down to hell. Now this book contained a list of the good deeds of a rich man, and the account of a good deed is of course never allowed to enter hell.
The devils in hell when they opened the book were greatly incensed over their comrade's stupidity and at once they dragged him off to Prince Lucifer for punishment.
Lucifer when he heard the case shook his head gravely.
"This is a serious offense," he said to the culprit. "To atone you must do one of two things: every day for seven years you must bring a soul to hell, or you must remain on earth for seven years and take service among men. Which will you do?"
The young devil was a stupid fellow and he knew he would never be able to seduce a soul every day for seven years. So he said:
"If I must choose, Your Majesty, let it be exile on earth for seven years."
So Lucifer pronounced sentence and the young devil was driven out of hell and warned not to return until the seven years were up.
Sad and forlorn he wandered up and down the world looking for work. People everywhere were suspicious of his black face and turned him away.
One day he met a man to whom he told his story.
"And just because I'm a devil," he said in conclusion, "no one will hire me."
"I know where you can get work," the man told him. "Just beyond the next village there is a big farm which is owned by a woman. She's always in need of laborers for she has such a sharp tongue and such a mean disposition that no one can stay with her longer than a month. Her name is Dora and in mockery the people hereabouts call her Gentle Dora. Why don't you take service with her? As you're a devil, you may be able to get the best of her."
The devil thanked the man for this suggestion and at once presented himself to Gentle Dora. Gentle Dora, as usual, was in need of laborers and so she employed the devil instantly in spite of his black face.