Long, long ago, when the world was young and the boundaries between earth and sky were less firmly drawn, there existed three realms of life. The animals walked upon the solid ground, the birds soared through the endless sky, and high above the clouds, so high that only those with wings could reach them, lived mysterious beings of great kindness and generosity. These were the Cloud People, gentle spirits who watched over the world below with compassionate eyes.
The animals of the earth knew of the Cloud People’s existence, though they had never laid eyes upon them. Only the birds, who could rise on currents of wind to touch the very heavens, had glimpsed these celestial beings. But no creature, whether bound to earth or blessed with flight, knew what name to call them.
Click to read all Myths & Legends – timeless stories of creation, fate, and the divine across every culture and continent
Then came a year of terrible drought. The rains refused to fall, the rivers shrank to dusty beds, and the grasses withered under the merciless sun. Hunger stalked the land like a prowling leopard. Birds grew weak and thin, their songs fading to desperate chirps. Animals moved slowly, their ribs showing through dull coats, searching endlessly for any scrap of food.
From their home above the clouds, the Cloud People looked down upon the suffering world. Their hearts filled with sorrow at the sight of the struggling creatures below. After much discussion, they made a decision that would be remembered for generations to come.
“Come up, all you who have wings,” they called out in voices that echoed across the sky like distant thunder. “Come to us, and let us feed you, for here in our realm there is plenty to eat. Our stores overflow with fruits and grains, and you shall feast until your hunger is forgotten.”
The birds received this miraculous invitation with joy that spread like wildfire through their ranks. Word passed from sparrow to eagle, from dove to hawk, until every winged creature knew of the Cloud People’s generosity. They agreed to gather at a certain great rock that jutted up from the plain, a launching place where they could all take flight together.
As the birds assembled, their excited chatter filled the air. They spoke of the feast awaiting them, imagining tables laden with seeds and berries, nuts and grains. The rock itself was ancient and weathered, its surface pockmarked with countless hollows and holes worn smooth by wind and time.
In one of these holes lived a tortoise and his wife. Like all creatures during the drought, they too suffered terribly from hunger. On this particular day, while his wife was out searching desperately for any morsel of food, the husband tortoise overheard the birds’ excited conversations. His empty stomach ached, and longing filled his heart.
Slowly, painfully, he dragged himself from his hole and approached the gathered birds. “Oh, my friends,” he said, his voice weak with hunger, “how I wish I had wings like you! Can’t you take me with you? I’m just as hungry as you are—perhaps even more so, for I cannot fly away in search of food as you can.”
The tortoise understood that he looked nothing like a bird. His hard shell, his stumpy legs, his lack of feathers all marked him as an earthbound creature. But the invitation had been for “all who have wings,” and surely the kind Cloud People would take pity on him if he could only reach them.
The birds looked at one another, their hearts touched by his plea. “We would be happy to have you with us,” they said after some discussion, “but you are far too heavy for any of us to carry, and without wings of your own, you cannot fly.”
“But I’m starving!” the tortoise sobbed, and his desperation was genuine and heartbreaking.
The birds conferred among themselves in whispered tweets and chirps. Finally, one wise old bird suggested, “What if we each pluck a single feather from our wings and attach them to his feet? Together, our feathers might grant him the gift of flight!”
This idea sparked great excitement. The birds imagined arriving at the Cloud People’s realm with the tortoise at their center they could present him as their king! What an honor that would be!
Without delay, they set to work. Each bird carefully plucked one strong feather and helped attach it to the tortoise’s feet and shell. It was slow, meticulous work, but finally, the transformation was complete. The tortoise, adorned with feathers of every color brilliant blues and reds, soft browns and grays, striking blacks and whites looked utterly strange, but undeniably magnificent.
When he flapped his borrowed wings experimentally and lifted into the air, the birds couldn’t help but laugh at how peculiar he looked. But their plan had succeeded! The tortoise could fly!
As they neared the realm above the clouds, one bird raised an important question: “What shall we call him? We cannot present him to the Cloud People without a proper name.”
Many names were suggested and debated as they soared higher. Finally, they reached a decision. “We shall call him ‘All Of You,'” they declared. “This name means he represents all of us together the greatest of us all, our chosen king.”
When they arrived in the Cloud People’s realm, it was more beautiful than they had imagined. Soft, billowing clouds formed the ground beneath their feet, and the air itself seemed to shimmer with kindness. The Cloud People greeted them with warm smiles and gentle voices.
“Welcome, welcome!” they said. “We are deeply honored that you have brought your king to visit us.” They gestured toward the tortoise, who puffed up with pride at being recognized as royalty.
The Cloud People had prepared a magnificent feast. They led the visitors to a large hut where tables groaned under the weight of countless dishes. There were bowls overflowing with the finest seeds, platters of ripe fruits that gleamed like jewels, and baskets of grains that smelled of sunshine and rain. The birds’ eyes widened at the abundance before them.
“Whose food is this?” they asked politely, hardly daring to believe it was all for them.
“It is for ‘all of you,'” replied the Cloud People with generous smiles, using the phrase that meant “everyone here.”
But the tortoise’s ears perked up at these words. His new name! The food was for him!
Before any bird could take a single seed, the tortoise strode forward with great confidence. “Thank you, thank you!” he said, and began to eat with tremendous enthusiasm. He gobbled down fruits and grains, seeds and nuts, moving from dish to dish with astonishing speed. His mouth was constantly full, his cheeks bulging, as he devoured nearly everything in sight.
The birds watched in growing horror and disbelief. They had carried him here on their own feathers, honored him as their king, and now he was eating everything! When he finally paused, satisfied and round-bellied, only a few pitiful scraps remained for his companions.
The Cloud People, observing this, thought to themselves, “It must be their custom to allow their king to eat first and eat his fill. How respectful these birds are!” They stood aside patiently, waiting for the tortoise to finish.
The birds picked at the meager remains, their stomachs still aching with hunger, their hearts now burning with anger. This ungrateful creature had tricked them and betrayed their kindness!
When it came time to return to earth, the birds’ fury found its expression. One by one, each bird approached the tortoise and plucked back the feather they had given him. The tortoise protested and pleaded, but their decision was final. Feather by feather, his ability to fly was stripped away.
Soon he stood on the clouds with no way to descend to earth. He had more than deserved this fate, but still he wept and wailed as the birds prepared to depart, their wings carrying them downward.
The parrot was the last to leave. The tortoise, desperate now, called out to him: “Please, friend parrot, I beg you! Have pity on me! Fly at once to my wife and tell her to gather all the soft grass she can find. Tell her to pile it high near the big rock so that I might land safely. Otherwise, I shall surely be killed!”
But the parrot was as hungry and angry as all the others. When he reached the earth and found the tortoise’s wife, he delivered a very different message.
“Your husband sends word from above the clouds,” the parrot said. “He wishes you to gather as many rocks and stones as you can carry. Build them into a high platform near the big rock, for he will land upon it when he comes down.”
The loyal wife, though exhausted and confused by this strange request, did as she was told. She worked tirelessly, gathering heavy stones and piling them into a platform. When her work was complete, she looked up at the sky and waited.
High above, the tortoise could wait no longer. Believing his wife had prepared a soft landing of grass, he closed his eyes and jumped.
Down, down, down he fell, the wind screaming past his ears. And then CRASH!
He struck the platform of stones with terrible force. His beautiful, smooth shell which had been his pride shattered into countless pieces. The impact was devastating, the pain unbearable.
His wife rushed to him, horrified by what she found. She carried him gently home and nursed him with devoted care, day after day, week after week. Slowly, very slowly, he healed. But his shell never returned to its former glory. The breaks remained visible, like a map of cracks and lines, a permanent record of his greed and betrayal.
And so it has remained ever since. To this very day, every tortoise carries upon its back the pattern of that ancient broken shell a living reminder of the day when greed fell from the clouds.
The Moral of the Story
This Nigerian folktale teaches us profound lessons about the consequences of greed, dishonesty, and ingratitude. The tortoise’s hunger was real, and the birds showed him genuine compassion by sharing their feathers and including him in their journey. However, instead of being grateful and sharing the feast equally with those who had helped him, the tortoise used deception to take everything for himself. His cleverness in adopting the name “All Of You” demonstrated intelligence, but he used this intelligence selfishly rather than for the common good. The story reminds us that betraying those who help us will ultimately lead to our own downfall. The tortoise’s cracked shell serves as a permanent reminder that greed and deception leave lasting scars, and that we are all accountable for how we treat others, especially those who have shown us kindness.
Knowledge Check
Q1: Why did the Cloud People invite the birds to their realm?
A1: The Cloud People invited the birds because there was a terrible drought on earth and all creatures were suffering from hunger. Seeing the suffering of the earth dwellers from above the clouds, the Cloud People took pity on them and called all creatures with wings to come up and feast, as they had plenty of food to share.
Q2: How did the tortoise manage to fly to the Cloud People’s realm without having wings?
A2: The tortoise convinced the compassionate birds to help him by expressing his hunger and suffering. Each bird plucked a single feather from their own wings and attached these feathers to the tortoise’s feet and shell. With these borrowed feathers from all the birds combined, the tortoise was able to fly alongside them to reach the realm above the clouds.
Q3: What does the name “All Of You” symbolize in the story, and how did the tortoise exploit it?
A3: The birds gave the tortoise the name “All Of You” to represent that he was their collective king, representing all of them together. However, the tortoise exploited this name cleverly and deceitfully. When the Cloud People said the food was “for all of you” (meaning everyone), the tortoise pretended this meant the food was specifically for him because that was his name, and he ate nearly everything, leaving only scraps for the birds who had helped him.
Q4: Why did the birds take back their feathers from the tortoise?
A4: The birds took back their feathers because they were furious at the tortoise’s greed and betrayal. After they had shown him kindness by giving him their feathers and honoring him as their king, the tortoise selfishly ate nearly all the food, leaving them hungry. This act of ingratitude and deception angered the birds so much that they each reclaimed their feather, leaving the tortoise stranded above the clouds with no way to return to earth.
Q5: What message did the parrot deliver to the tortoise’s wife, and why?
A5: Instead of delivering the tortoise’s true message (to prepare soft grass for his landing), the angry and hungry parrot changed the message. He told the tortoise’s wife to gather rocks and stones and build them into a platform. The parrot did this out of anger at being deceived and left hungry by the tortoise’s greed, ensuring that the tortoise would face painful consequences for his actions.
Q6: What is the cultural significance of explaining why the tortoise has a cracked shell in African folklore?
A6: In African folklore, “why” stories (also called pourquoi tales or etiological tales) serve multiple purposes beyond entertainment. They explain natural phenomena and animal characteristics while teaching important moral lessons to communities. The tortoise’s cracked shell serves as a visible, permanent reminder of the consequences of greed, deception, and ingratitude. This story would have been told by elders to teach children about proper behavior, the importance of gratitude, and the dangers of betraying those who help you. The physical evidence (the cracked pattern on every tortoise’s shell) makes the moral lesson memorable and ever-present.
Source: Adapted from West African oral tradition, specifically Nigerian folklore. This tale has been passed down through generations as part of the Igbo storytelling tradition, though variations exist throughout West Africa.
Cultural Origin: Yoruba and Igbo peoples, Nigeria, West Africa
