TEE HEE

while rummaging through old papers in search of an address, i came across what could be my all-time favourite short story. i got it from my grade ten english teacher, who read it to us as a break from regular stuff. she was a little off the wall. but so am i. so here, i present to you, the African tale called

Chit-Chat

One day, a farmer was in his field, getting ready to pull some sweet potatoes out of the ground in order to sell them at the market, when one of the sweet potatoes said, "Fine, now you want to pull me up and sell me, but all the time I've been growing, you've hardly given me any water."

Startled, the farmer looked around and said, "Who's talking to me?" And his dog replied, "It was the sweet potato, you silly farmer!"

The farmer had never heard of a talking sweet potato or a talking dog -- and he became a bit frightened. To protect himself, he started to pull a big branch from a tree. "Oh, no, you don't," said the tree. "You can't take a branch from me to use as a stick. For years you've been enjoying my shade without ever saying 'Thank you.'"

Now the farmer was really frightened. And he ran all the way to the King's castle.

When he arrived, he told the King exactly what happened. "First the sweet potato talked to me," he said, "then the dog, then the tree."

"I think," said the King, "you've been working in the sun too long. You need a rest." And he waved the farmer away.

After the farmer left, the King pulled up his favourite chair. As he did, the chair laughed and said to the King, "Can you believe that farmer? Who ever heard of a talking sweet potato?"