Fairy Tales from South Africa


Read by NoelBadrian

(5 stars; 11 reviews)

The stories in this collection come from the oral traditions of the people from Swaziland, Matabeleland (Ndebele people) and Zululand in South Africa. The authors, Mrs. E. J. Bourhill and Mrs. J. B. Drake, or more properly the collectors and editors of the stories assert that: "All the stories in this book are real Fairy Tales, just as much as Jack the Giant-killer or The Sleeping Beauty. By this I mean that they are traditional, handed down by word of mouth. Nobody knows how old they are, or who told them first." The stories are full of witches and magicians and monsters, as well as heroes and princesses and good and bad rulers.
They have done a marvellous job of putting these stories into English but admit that there is much lost in the translation and in not being able to see the storyteller who would not only tell the story but act it out while doing so. Mrs. Bourhill and Mrs. Drake were concerned that, as the way of life and the customs of the people were slowly changing, these wonderful traditional stories might fade away. They thus decided to write them down for posterity. - Summary by Noel Badrian (5 hr 51 min)

Chapters

Setuli; Or, The King Of The Birds 24:19 Read by NoelBadrian
The Story Of The King's Son And The Magic Song 14:16 Read by NoelBadrian
The Story Of The Little Birds Who Lived In A Cave 5:25 Read by NoelBadrian
The Story Of The Shining Princess 15:45 Read by NoelBadrian
The Rabbit Prince 20:38 Read by NoelBadrian
The Unnatural Mother 11:42 Read by NoelBadrian
The Three Little Eggs 17:34 Read by NoelBadrian
The Serpent's Bride Part 1 31:00 Read by NoelBadrian
The Serpent's Bride Part 2 22:03 Read by NoelBadrian
The Fairy Bird 23:44 Read by NoelBadrian
The Cock's Kraal 9:58 Read by NoelBadrian
Baboon-Skins 16:04 Read by NoelBadrian
The Reward Of Industry 13:02 Read by NoelBadrian
The Story Of Semai-Mai Part 1 15:31 Read by NoelBadrian
The Story Of Semai-Mai Part 2 23:48 Read by NoelBadrian
The Fairy Frog 14:17 Read by NoelBadrian
Nya-Nya Bulembu; Or, The Moss-Green Princess 18:38 Read by NoelBadrian
The Enchanted Buck 16:45 Read by NoelBadrian
The Beauty And The Beast 18:19 Read by NoelBadrian
The White Dove 18:58 Read by NoelBadrian