Unanana and the Elephant

He looks like he could eat a couple of kids whole.

Hello, reader. This week, I'd like to look at a tale that is probably unfamiliar to you. Unanana and the Elephant is a folktale from Southern Africa and it's pretty great. You can find the version I'm talking about here, just try not to get lost in all of the pictures.

Firstly, Unanana is dedicated to her children. She has been out all morning gathering firewood and when she hears her children have been kidnapped, she only stops to get what she needs before going out again. She is going to rescue them by herself. Also, think about how far she must have already walked that morning, and how far she walked after getting her beans and knife. Once she finds the elephant, she has to be worn out, but she doesn't let the elephant know that, which leads me to my next point.

Unanana is also incredibly brave. She goaded that elephant with one tusk into eating her alive. She had no real way of knowing what would happen to her after she was eaten, but if there was a chance that her children were still alive, then she would be too. Luckily for her, they were alive and so she didn't die either. She brought her knife along not so that she could try to kill the elephant when she found it, but so that she could cut her way out from inside of it. This is not a woman you want to cross.

We aren't told much about appearance except for Unanana's children, who are beautiful. It doesn't matter in this story what anyone else looks like, which is kind of a nice change from the Grimms' formula. Although, it is sad that the children are kidnapped because they're pretty.

So, if we're looking for morals, this one is simple: don't kidnap the kids of a woman who will do anything to get them back. Especially if she has a giant knife.

Have a story you want me to talk about? Leave me a comment below!