For this post I’d like to relate a story I had told to me. To be totally cliché about it, the story was actually told around a fire. Before beginning it’s important to note that in Cameroonian folk tales the tortoise takes the place the fox usually fills in Western stories. He’s cunning, ambitious, haughty, and pretty often ruthless. This story has him in a slightly less brutal state than others I’ve heard, but it’s a good example of his style.
The Tortoise and the Hot Peppers
Everyone knows that when you eat hot pepper, your nose makes you go *sniff*.
The animals in the forest knew this and so none of them thought the
others were weak when they heard them go *sniff* while eating hot
soups or beans. Except for tortoise. He made fun of all the animals
whenever they ate food with pepper and went *sniff*; he called them
weak and stupid for adding more pepper than they could handle.
One day, chimp was enjoying his fufu and jama-jama with plenty of
pepper and after each bite he went *sniff*. Tortoise was passing and
began to berate chimp for being weak and stupid, as usual. Chimp was
sick of it, he just wanted to enjoy his food in peace so he said back
to the tortoise, ‘You aren’t so strong and smart as all that. I bet
that when you eat pepper you go *sniff* just as much as anyone. You
just refuse to eat in front of us.’
‘I’ll have you know that not only do I never go *sniff* I put more
pepper in my food than anyone. I’ll prove it to you too, cook me some
pepper soup with plantains this evening and invite everyone to come
watch me eat it.’
That night all the animals gathered as chimp was finishing the pepper
soup and plantains. Some took a small taste and immediately started to
go *sniff* because of how hot it was. Tortoise arrived, said nothing
to anyone, and took a spoonful of the pepper soup. ‘You think this
soup is going to make me go *sniff*?’ he said. ‘This is barely spiced.
If you want me to go *sniff* you’ll need to do better. I’ll even add
my own pepper and still won’t go *sniff*’ The animals were shocked as
he added a whole burnt pepper to his bowl and continued eating.
‘If any of you tried to eat this, you’d be going *sniff* for the next
week. But not me. I am strong enough to eat this without going *sniff*
and smart enough not to add so much pepper I would need to go
*sniff*.’ All through the meal he bragged and berated his neighbors.
When he finished he said, ‘Now you all know that when I hear you go
*sniff* I must think you are stupid and weak because I never go
*sniff* when I eat pepper. *Sniff*, indeed!’ With that he turned and
walked quickly (for Tortoise) away without a drink of water.
