(An Untold Story from Coomacka Island)
Every Friday afternoon, Jamila Lizardly, Lenox Lizard and Amani Ant went to Macka Street after track practice.
“Hey, let’s do something different today,” Lenox said to his friends.
“Like what? We always go to Macka Street after track practice,” Jamila replied.
“Yea,” Amani added, “Running laps always makes me hungry for a Julie Mango.”
“Hey, I know. We can go see Baruti, the storyteller, by the Macka Tree.”
“I don’t know,” Amani said listening to his empty belly grumble.
“Well the Macka Tree does have the best tasting mangos on the island,” Jamila said. “We can always go to Macka Street afterwards.”
Amani’s face grew bright, “That works for me.”
So the trio went off to visit Baruti.
Baruti was a wise storyteller who lived on Coomacka Island. The rumor at Kukumacka High was that he lived on the island since the beginning of time. Not only did Baruti know your parents, but he also knew your parents’ parents and their parents’ great great grandparents! Some said the storyteller even had magical powers.
When Jamila, Lenox and Amani arrived, Baruti invited the three to sit down beside him at the Macka Tree and enjoy some freshly picked mangos and roasted breadfruit. While they ate, the storyteller told them the legend of Tortoise Island, an island off the coast of Coomacka Island.
“Several thousand generations ago,” Baruti began, “there was only one turtle named Yahya. This giant turtle was ten times the size of Coomacka Island.”
“One day, an old mystic happened upon Yahya and saw that she was lonely. The sympathetic mystic had a brilliant idea. He gave Yahya the ability to give birth to more turtles just like her, only smaller. Every hundred generations, Yahya would return to the depths of the water to give birth to more turtles. When she returned to the surface, the turtles would join her by living on the top of her vast shell.”
“Wasn’t Yahya still lonely since she couldn’t play with the smaller turtles?” Amani asked interrupting the story.
“Yes she was still lonely,” Baruti responded. “Although her children brought her happiness, Yahya still lived apart from the life of her children who lived on her back. She wanted the opportunity to play, eat, sing and dance with the other turtles. Seeing this the old mystic returned.”
“He gave Yahya a second gift, each time she returned to the depths of the sea she would become smaller and smaller. Until one day she would eventually shrink to the size of the other turtles, and finally be able to live life among them.”
The trio thanked the Baruti for his story and the mangos and went off to Macka Street.