How The Ostrich Got His Long Neck

How The Ostrich Got His Long Neck, an African folktale

This is the story of Mr Ostrich, a sober minded, serious husband who was always willing to assist his wife in her family duties.

"My Dear", he said to her one evening, "my black feathers cannot be seen in the dark so I will guard our eggs by night and keep them warm. That will leave you free to relax until daybreak."

He settled himself atop their clutch of eggs, determined to succeed in his unaccustomed task. His flighty wife, meanwhile, was more than thankful to be relieved of a duty she already found a trial.

She clucked to herself, fluffed up her feathers and, showing how pleased she was, set off in a joyful high-stepping dance among the rocky termite mounds that surrounded their nest.

Mr and Mrs Ostrich had chosen their nesting site with care. They knew that a sitting ostrich hen with her head down looks from a distance very much like a low termite mound.

They nested on the short-grassed plain where they could see all around; in those days ostriches had short necks like guinea fowls. In long grass, enemies could attack before they realized the danger.

To keep their precious eggs safe from the dreaded fires that swept over the plains, they had carefully scratched a broad band of dusty earth in the grass around the slight hollow that was their nest.

On the whole they were a happy pair, although Mr Ostrich sometimes disapproved of his wife's high-spirited ways. At this particular time she should be more sensible, as she had eggs to look after!

He wriggled his massive thighs on the ground as he had seen his wife do, shifting the position of the eggs so that they lay more comfortably in their bed, and settled down to his long night's wait.

The full moon's silvery light cast strange shadows and threw up ghostly figures among the surrounding termite mounds. His head was beginning to nod when he became aware of his wife's hissing laugh.

Instantly, he was wide awake. Straining his short neck to its utmost limit, he saw her weaving in and out between the termite mounds in a wild game of hide-and-seek with a handsome young ostrich!

He half-rose from the nest; then sank back with a sigh. He dared not leave the precious eggs. What if they were to grow cold while he went to tell his flirting wife to cease her disgraceful behavior?

So he settled down again with a feeling of annoyance, straining his neck further and further to try to catch a glimpse of her, as she dodged and raced between the termite mounds on the moonlit veld.

From time to time he caught a glimpse of her and heard her foolish giggles - and every time, he strained and stretched his neck trying to see further and further between the nearby termite mounds.

At last, Mr Ostrich's long, stressful and sleepless night came to an end. As the sun breached the horizon, his giggling wife appeared from out of the grey distance to resume her duties once more.

Mr Ostrich rose stiffly and angrily, prepared to punish his wife for her undignified behavior while he warmed and watched their eggs. As he did so, he felt a strangeness in the muscles of his neck.

He looked down at his feet, alarmed at how very far away they were! He then realized that all the straining he had done during the long night had made his neck stretch longer, and longer, and longer!

In a panic, Mr Ostrich tried to shake his neck back to its former, much shorter length but no matter what he did, it stayed just the same: he had stretched it beyond return.

(adapted, via Victoria Falls Guide)

(images via Michel Zuffellato and Nalibali)