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Here Be Dragons co-curated by Cressida Cowell and Toothless - opens 13 July. Admission included with ticket to the Galleries

1001 Stories Collection

The Elephant and the Giraffe

Audio
1001 theelephantandthegiraffe
Added on 03rd November 2020

Oral tradition African folktale

Africa Animals Funny
1001 , Audio

The story of Rabbit's revenge.

Story

Rabbit is tired of how badly Elephant and Giraffe treat him so he comes up with a trick to get his own back.

Why we chose it

This was one of the stories chosen by Geraldine McCaughren for our World Stories project with St Ebbes School in 2015. It featured in our World Stories room and was a popular story with primary school visitors who were inspired to create their own versions of the tale.

Where it came from

It is a traditional folktale from East Africa, passed down by the Bantu-speaking people and often told through song and dance. Through retelling the animals in the story have changed and in different versions of the tale Rabbit tricks not only Elephant and Giraffe but also Rhino and Hippotamus.

Associated stories

There are many oral stories about animal trickster characters from all over the world. They include the stories of Anansi the spider from Africa and the Carribean, the stories of Mouse Deer from Thailand and Reynard the Fox from France and the story The Monkey and the Crocodile from India which has not one but two animal tricksters.

Added on 03rd November 2020

Oral tradition African folktale

Africa Animals Funny
1001 , Audio