Why the Tortoise’s Shell Is Not Smooth

by Chinua Achebe – Educated in Nigeria, has taught at universities in Nigeria and U.S.

Low voices, broken now and again by singing, reached Okonkwo from his wives’ huts as each woman
and her children told folk stories. Ekwefi and her daughter, Ezinma, sat on a mat on the floor. It was Ekwefi’s
turn to tell a story.
“Once upon a time,” she began, “all the birds were invited to a feast in the sky. They were very happy
and began to prepare themselves for the great day. They painted their bodies with red camwood and drew
beautiful patterns on them with dye.
“Tortoise saw all these preparations and soon discovered what it all meant. Nothing that happened in
the world of the animals ever escaped his notice; he was full of cunning. As soon as he heard of the great feast
in the sky his throat began to itch at the very thought. There was a famine in those days and Tortoise had not
eaten a good meal for two moons. His body rattled like a piece of dry stick in his empty shell. So he began to
plan how he would go to the sky.”
“But he had no wings,” said Ezinma.
“Be patient,” replied her mother. “That is the story. Tortoise had no wings, but he went to the birds and
asked to be allowed to go with them,
“ ‘We know you too well,’ said the birds when they had heard him. ‘You are full of cunning and you are
ungrateful. If we allow you to come with us you will soon begin your mischief.’
“ ‘You do not know me,’ said Tortoise. ‘I am a changed man. I have learned that a man who makes
trouble for others is also making it for himself.’
“Tortoise had a sweet tongue, and within a short time all the birds agreed that he was a changed man,
and they each gave him a feather, with which he made two wings.
“At last the great day came and Tortoise was the first to arrive at the meeting place. When all the birds
had gathered together, they set off in a body. Tortoise was very happy as he flew among the birds, and he was
soon chosen as the man to speak for the party because he was a great orator.
“ ‘There is one important thing which we must not forget,’ he said as they flew on their way. ‘When
people are invited to a great feast like this, they take new names for the occasion. Our hosts in the sky will
expect us to honor this age-old custom.’
“None of the birds had heard of this custom but they knew that Tortoise, in spite of his failings in other
directions, was a widely traveled man who knew the customs of different peoples. And so they each took a new
name. When they had all taken, Tortoise also took one. He was to be called All of you.
At last the party arrived in the sky and their hosts were very happy to see them. Tortoise stood up in his
many-colored plumage and thanked them for their invitation. His speech was so eloquent that all the birds
were glad they had brought him, and nodded their heads in approval of all he said. Their hosts took him as the
king of the birds, especially as he looked somewhat different from the others.
“After kola nuts had been presented and eaten, the people of the sky set before their guests the most
delectable dishes Tortoise had even seen or dreamed of. The soup was brought out hot from the fire and in the
very pot in which it had been cooked. It was full of meat and fish. Tortoise began to sniff aloud. There was
pounded yam and also yam pottage cooked with palm oil and fresh fish. There were also pots of palm wine.
When everything had been set before the guests, one of the people of the sky came forward and tasted a little
from each pot. He then invited the birds to eat. But Tortoise jumped to his feet and asked: ‘For whom have you
prepared this feast?’
“ ‘For all of you,’ replied the man.
“Tortoise turned to the birds and said: ‘You remember that my name is all of you. The custom here is to
serve the spokesman first and the others later. They will serve you when I have eaten.’ ”
 He began to eat and the birds grumbled angrily. The people of the sky thought it must be their custom
to leave all the food for their king. And so Tortoise ate the best part of the food and then drank two pots of
palm wine, so that he was full of food and drink and his body grew fat enough to fill out his shell.
“The birds gathered round to eat what was left and to peck at the bones he had thrown all about the
floor. Some of them were too angry to eat. They chose to fly home on an empty stomach. But before they left
each took back the feather he had lent to Tortoise. And there he stood in his hard shell full of food and wine
but without any wings to fly home. He asked the birds to take a message for his wife, but they all refused. In
the end Parrot, who had felt more angry than the others, suddenly changed his mind and agreed to take the
message.
“ ‘Tell my wife,’ said Tortoise, ‘to bring out all the soft things in my house and cover the compound with
them so that I can jump down from the sky without very great danger.’
“Parrot promised to deliver the message, and then flew away. But when he reached Tortoise’s house he
told his wife to bring out all the hard things in the house. And so she brought out her husband’s hoes,
machetes, spears, guns, and even his cannon. Tortoise looked down from the sky and saw his wife bringing
things out, but it was too far to see what they were. When all seemed ready he let himself go. He fell and fell
and fell until he began to fear that he would never stop falling. And then like the sound of his cannon he
crashed on the compound.”
“Did he die?” asked Ezinma.
“No,” replied Ekwefi. “His shell broke into pieces. But there was a great medicine man in the
neighborhood. Tortoise’s wife sent for him and he gathered all the bits of shell and stuck them together. That is
why Tortoise’s shell is not smooth.”

(1958)

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