Tales from the Caribbean

by Trish Cooke

  François agreed that he would come back the next day and he left.

  All night the evil stepfather tossed and turned as he tried to think of the most impossible task to set for François.

  When he awoke the next morning he had in his mind the perfect, most impossible task. It wasn’t long before François arrived.

  ‘For your third task,’ said the stepfather, ‘you must go to the ice tree by the ice lake and get the two golden eggs that are at the top of the tree. Bring them to me by noon today!’

  Now the ice tree was a special tree known to be impossible to climb because of its slippery and icy surface. At the top of the tree were two precious golden eggs.

  François sighed. He knew he had no chance of getting the golden eggs.

  ‘But that will be impossible!’ said François. ‘How am I to climb the icy, slippery tree to get to the golden eggs?’

  ‘That’s your problem,’ said the wicked stepfather.

  Disheartened, François made his way to the ice lake on the edge of which the ice tree stood. He tried to climb the tree, but try as he might the surface of the tree’s trunk was too slippery and he kept sliding back down. François was sitting at the bottom of the tree feeling sorry for himself when Avaline came and sat beside him.

  ‘There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you,’ she said.

  ‘Your stepfather has given me a truly impossible task,’ François said. ‘At the top of the ice tree are two golden eggs. He wants me to bring them to him by noon, but every time I try to climb the ice tree I slide back down again. Not even the magic twig can help me this time.’

  ‘Of course I can!’ said the twig. ‘I can help you. You must breathe on Avaline three times and say a spell and she will die.’

  ‘Die?’ François gasped. ‘But I don’t want Avaline to die!’

  ‘She will only stay dead for a short time,’ said the magic twig. ‘After you breathe on her three times, you must say this spell:

  Bones, be my ladder to climb the tree!

  ‘Then when she is dead on the ground, you must take her bones out of her body and use them to make a ladder. Lean the ladder against the tree and use it to climb up to the two golden eggs at the top. You must then take the two golden eggs and climb back down the ladder. Once you reach the bottom of the tree, breathe on her three times again and say,

  Bones, return!

  and her bones will go back into her body and she will be alive again.’

  François wasn’t sure if this was a good idea. He was afraid that if he made a mistake and got the spell wrong he might not be able to bring Avaline back to life.

  ‘I think it’s too risky,’ said François. ‘I don’t want to lose Avaline.’

  ‘And I don’t want to lose you either,’ said Avaline, ‘which is why you must do this for me.’

  Eventually Avaline managed to convince François that it was the only way they would have a chance to be together. François agreed that he would do it.

  François concentrated hard on all the instructions the twig had given him.

  First he had to breathe on her three times and say the spell:

  ‘Bones, be my ladder to climb the tree!’

  Then he had to take Avaline’s bones out of her body and use them to make a ladder. He had to climb the ladder and get the two golden eggs at the top of the tree then climb down again, breathe on her three times and say,

  ‘Bones return!’

  After that, her bones would return to her body and she would be alive again. So once he was sure what he had to do, François did everything the twig had told him and he got the two golden eggs from the top of the ice tree. Then he climbed down again, breathed on Avaline three times and said,

  ‘Bones, return!’

  And, just as the twig had told him, Avaline’s bones returned to her body and she was alive again.

  It was eleven thirty and François knew he had to bring the eggs to the stepfather by midday. He didn’t have much time left. Just as they were about to leave and bring the golden eggs to the wicked stepfather, Avaline noticed that one of the bones in her little finger was missing.

  ‘Oh no, I must have left it at the top of the tree!’ François said.

  ‘You must go and get it,’ said Avaline. ‘Hurry!’ So François, remembering the spell, breathed on her three times again and said,

  ‘Bones, be my ladder to climb the tree!’

  And Avaline fell down dead.

  Then he took the bones from her body to make a ladder. He climbed the ladder and found the bone from her little finger at the top of the tree. Quickly he climbed down the ladder again. Once François reached the bottom of the tree, he breathed on Avaline three times and said,

  ‘Bones, return!’

  Avaline’s bones went back into her body and she was alive again. It was mere minutes before noon so they ran back to the house.

  ‘My three tasks are done!’ François said, giving the two golden eggs to the evil stepfather. The stepfather was shocked to see that François had completed the third and final task. He had no idea how he had completed all three, and he was furious.

  ‘You have managed to fill my water tank with river water carried in a bucket full of holes,’ said the stepfather. ‘You have managed to dry up the river so I can walk across it, and you have also brought me the two golden eggs from the top of the ice tree. I have no more tasks for you. As I promised, you may take my stepdaughter as your wife.’ And though the stepfather wasn’t happy for them to do so, he reluctantly kept his word. Avaline and François got married and lived happily ever after.

  The Race Between Toad and Donkey

  This story is based on a folk tale from Jamaica

  There was always one kind of competition or other going on between the animals on the savannah. This day was no different. This day Donkey and Toad were arguing about which one of them could beat the other in a race.

  ‘Eee-aww, ee-aww,’ laughed Donkey. ‘Your legs are so small compared to mine. There is no way you can beat me in a race!’

  Toad refused to be thrown by the mocking jeers of Donkey. He was not going to be openly ridiculed in front of the whole village. All the animals had already started to gather round, itching to see what all the commotion was about.

  ‘Don’t stand for it, Toad!’ Fowl called. ‘Show him you’re a bigger man!’

  ‘Bigger man?’ laughed Donkey. ‘Eee-aww, ee-aww! Chance would be a fine thing! Toad is a tiny little squirt!’

  Toad had had enough of being the butt of Donkey’s jokes and he puffed out his chest in anger.

  ‘OK, OK …’ he croaked. ‘You may be bigger but you definitely are not cleverer! I will race your big fat donkey hide and beat you hands down!’

  The crowd that had gathered laughed and cheered.

  ‘You tell him, Toad!’

  ‘That’s right, Toad, you can do it!’

  ‘Yes, Toad! You are the cleverest!’

  The animals in the crowd were always on the side of the underdog. They knew that Toad really didn’t stand a chance of beating Donkey in a race, so they cheered him on to make him feel better. It also made them feel better to see Toad stand up for himself even though the odds were against him.

  Toad and Donkey were always arguing about something and the rest of the animals found them very entertaining. Toad and Donkey rarely argued about anything in particular but somehow they managed to irritate each other with a look or a grunt or even a simple sigh. Today, though, the irritation was developing into a battle and neither of them was backing down.

  ‘All right,’ said Donkey, ‘let’s do it! The race is on!’

  Toad had not expected Donkey to agree to the race so fast. He had hoped for more banter between them, to give him more time to see how he was going to outwit his long-time sparring partner.

  ‘Today is not a good day for me,’ said Toad quickly. ‘I have things to do. Give me a few days to prepare.’

  Donkey was in no mood for delaying tactics and
was raring to go. He pawed the ground with his front hoof and made a cloud of dust, which almost choked the tiny Toad.

  ‘I’m ready now! Let’s do this!’ he said, his nostrils flaring.

  ‘We have to prepare!’ said Toad, floundering. ‘We can’t just run when we don’t even have a route and a finishing line! What kind of race would that be? Let’s do this properly.’

  ‘It’s true,’ said Wise Owl, who had woken from her sleep on the branch of a nearby tree. She had overheard the whole conversation. ‘You can’t have a race without a route and a finishing line. Why don’t you start here on the savannah? Run up so, by the crooked tree. Run up the hill. When you reach the top of the hill, go straight, straight, straight until you reach the bend in the road. Follow the bend down the hill on the other side, then turn left by Bull’s yard until you are back at the crooked tree. Then turn left and that will bring you back here.’

  ‘OK,’ said Toad.

  ‘Fine with me,’ agreed Donkey.

  ‘Here are the rules,’ said Wise Owl, because Wise Owl knew about these things and she specialized in making rules. ‘We’ll mark five places on the route, each with a blue flag, the first by the crooked tree, the second at the top of the hill, the third on the bend in the road, the fourth on the other side at the bottom of the hill, the fifth on the gatepost of Bull’s yard. At each of these five points, you have to call out to let us know you have got that far.’

  ‘Right,’ said Toad, ‘let me get this right. I have to call out when I reach each of the five blue flags?’

  ‘That’s right,’ said Wise Owl. ‘That way we know how far you’ve reached.’

  ‘When I reach each point I’ll call out croak-croak,’ said Toad.

  ‘And I’ll say eee-aww, ee-aww,’ said Donkey.

  ‘And the race will finish back here on the savannah, where we’ll all be waiting,’ said Wise Owl. ‘Fowl and I will hold a big red ribbon for the finishing line and the first one to pass through the red ribbon is the winner!’

  Toad and Donkey agreed that sounded like a good plan and the race was set for one o’clock that afternoon.

  Wise Owl got her team together to mark the race route. Dog said he would be the one to give the order to start. Goat and his kids marked the five points in the race with blue flags. The rest of the animals wanted to make sure they didn’t miss the excitement so they went home to make packed lunches ready to bring with them in the afternoon.

  Once the time and place for the race were set, Donkey carried on working as normal, carrying bags of sand to his owner’s home, as was his daily routine. He didn’t see any point in resting and preparing for the race as he had no doubt in his mind that he would win.

  Toad, on the other hand, began to worry about what he needed to do to outsmart Donkey. He decided he had better take a rest first so he would have lots of energy for the race. He went home to his wife and five children, but poor Toad couldn’t rest. He couldn’t stop thinking about how ridiculous he would look if he lost the race and how Donkey wouldn’t ever let him live it down. He would feel so ashamed and didn’t want to embarrass his family. He knew it would take him a long time to complete the route with his little legs. Toad decided to do some exercises to prepare. He flexed his tiny arms and legs over and over so he would be fit and ready.

  ‘Come and eat!’ Toad’s wife said. ‘You need a healthy meal. You’ll need all your strength to win that race!’ Toad’s wife believed that Toad, even with his little legs, could beat Donkey in the race. Toad’s five children all believed he could win too.

  ‘You’re going to win that race, Daddy!’ they all croaked one after the other.

  ‘You’re going to win that race … You’re going to win that race …’

  The more they spoke about it, the more worried Toad became. He didn’t want to let them down. As Toad listened to all his children croaking, he heard how similar their voices sounded to his own and he suddenly had an idea.

  ‘Come on,’ he said, rallying his children together, ‘I have a job for you.’ Toad put his five children in his little bicycle cart. Soon he stopped at the crooked tree. He hid the first child behind a bush and he said to the child, ‘I want you to wait here and listen for Mr Donkey. When you hear him cry out eee-aww, ee-aww, I want you to cry out croak-croak.’ The child nodded obediently.

  Toad rode to the next blue flag at the top of the hill and hid the second child behind a rock. He said to her, ‘I want you to wait here and listen for Mr Donkey. When you hear him cry out ee-aww, ee-aww, I want you to cry out croak-croak.’ The second child nodded obediently.

  Then Toad rode his bicycle with his other three children to the next blue flags: the third on the bend in the road, the fourth on the other side at the bottom of the hill and the fifth on the gatepost of Bull’s yard. At each flag he hid one of his children and gave each of them the same instructions: ‘I want you to wait here and listen out for Mr Donkey. When you hear him cry out eee-aww, ee-aww, I want you to cry out croak-croak.’ Each child nodded obediently.

  Toad rode on his bicycle to the starting line of the race just in time, because by the time he had finished placing all his children at the marked points it was close to one o’clock. Donkey was already at the starting line waiting, looking strong and very eager to begin the race.

  ‘What took you so long to get here?’ he teased.

  ‘Well I’m here now!’ Toad said. ‘And I’m ready for the race.’

  Donkey’s wife and children were sitting right in the front row, waiting for the race to begin, and each time Donkey boasted, ‘I’m going to win! I’m going to win!’ they cheered. ‘Toad, you don’t even have family to support you!’ Donkey mocked. ‘They have stayed at home because they don’t want to be shamed!’ he laughed.

  ‘Not true!’ said Toad’s wife, pushing her way to the front of the crowd. ‘The children are not here because they have chores to do, but they will be here later to celebrate when their father wins the race!’

  Donkey laughed and laughed. ‘Eee-aww, ee-aww! You are full of jokes today!’ Before Toad’s wife could say anything more, Dog took his place and called for the race to begin.

  ‘On your marks …’ barked Dog, ‘get ready … get set … GO!’ and they were off. Donkey sped off straight away, leaving a cloud of dust behind him. Toad spluttered and coughed through the dust clouds, trying his best to keep up but, just as everyone had anticipated, Toad was way behind. Toad looked pitiful, scrambling in the dirt and bouncing as much as his little legs could carry him. Toad’s wife applauded and cheered as if Toad was miles in front. The crowd watched them head off towards the forest and waited for their return.

  Having created a good distance between himself and Toad, Donkey looked across the savannah and he thought he might as well stop to have a bite to eat. He knew there was no point in running flat out when Toad’s little legs would take such a long time to catch up with him. After he had eaten, he looked back across the savannah in the direction of the starting line. He could see Toad away in the distance, struggling to keep up.

  Donkey laughed. ‘That Toad will never catch up with me. I may as well take a rest!’ So Donkey got comfortable in the grass and fell asleep.

  An hour later, Donkey woke up. He couldn’t see Toad but he was sure that he was still way behind, so Donkey trotted over to the first blue flag by the crooked tree.

  When Donkey reached the flag, he began to brag loudly, ‘I’m going to beat that foolish Toad! How can that little thing think he is faster than me!’ and remembering what Wise Owl had said, he called out, ‘Eee-aww, ee-aww!’ to let everyone know he had reached the first marked point.

  Toad’s first child heard this and just as his father had told him he began to croak: ‘Croak-croak, croak-croak!’

  Donkey could not believe his ears. How could Toad have got to the crooked tree so quickly when he had been so far behind? Maybe Donkey had slept for longer than he thought.

  I must have spent too much time eating grass in the meadow and to
o much time sleeping, thought Donkey. I had better get a move on! And Donkey sped off as fast as his legs could carry him, this time only stopping for half a minute to drink some water along the way.

  When Donkey got to the second blue flag at the top of the hill, he bragged loudly, ‘I’m so much faster than that raggedy little Toad!’ and he called out, ‘Eee-aww, ee-aww!’ to let everyone know he had reached the second marked point. From behind the rock Toad’s second child heard this and just as her father had told her she began to croak: ‘Croak-croak, croak-croak!’

  Donkey was shocked. How could Toad have got to the top of the hill so quickly? ‘I must run more quickly to the third blue flag,’ said Donkey to himself, and he dashed off, trotting all the way without a break.

  When he got to the bend in the road he laughed loudly, bragging, ‘That little squirt Toad doesn’t stand a chance of winning this race! I’m the champion! I’m the champion! Eee-aww, ee-aww!’

  No sooner had he called out when Toad’s third child began to croak from his hiding place: ‘Croak-croak, croak-croak!’

  Donkey couldn’t believe what he was hearing and he was very angry. How could Toad with his little legs be getting to the blue flags so quickly? Donkey was feeling tired now but there was no way he was going to let that little Toad beat him, so he ran off even faster than before to the bottom of the hill. But, alas, when Donkey reached the bottom of the hill, it was the same as before. As soon as Donkey let out his ‘Eeee-aww’ cry of victory, he heard what he thought was Toad’s ‘Croak-croak’. He felt defeated.

  Still Donkey would not give up. Running flat out, he made it to the fifth blue flag at Bull’s yard in quick time but he was completely exhausted. And yet again, when he called out ‘Eee-aww, ee-aww!’ his call was quickly followed by the ‘Croak-croak’ of Toad’s fifth child. Donkey was so tired he leaned against Bull’s gate and, before he knew it, he had fallen fast asleep.