THE GIRAFFE IN THE SKY
(An ancient Bushman legend)

At the very beginning of time, say the Bushman, the Sun did not know its way around the heavens. Giraffe had a habit of staring curiously at everything, and so the Creator thought that it would be a good idea to give Giraffe the task of watching over the Sun, so that it didn't go astray.

Giraffe took his job very seriously (indeed, he was so good at it that the Sun never again took a wrong turn). The Creator was very proud of Giraffe, and He decided to honour him. He rearranged a few stars so that they made a giraffe shape in the sky, and you can still see it to this day.

The Bushman calls the pattern Tutwa (Giraffe), and uses it to guide them when they travel at night. English speaking people call Tutwa "The Southern Cross", and use it as a guide, too. 

WHY OSTRICH HAS A LONG NECK
(A Sesotho Story)

Once upon a time, Ostrich had a normal sized neck, just like other birds. In those days, Ostrich and Crocodile were friends. All the other animals warned Ostrich that Crocodile was an evil animal, and not to be trusted. But Ostrich, for such a big bird, has a small head and few brains, so he took no notice.

One day Crocodile was very hungry, as he hadn't eaten for several days. None of the animals had dared to come near the water for fear of being caught and dragged into the river.
So Crocodile said to Ostrich: "My dear friend, a tooth of mine is aching. I have so many teeth; there always seem to be something wrong with them. Please put your head inside my mouth and see if you can tell me which one it is". And he opened his jaws wide.

Foolish Ostrich did what he was asked, and wicked Crocodile closed his mouth on the bird's head. Then Crocodile pulled backwards into the water, where Ostrich would drown and thus made a fine meal for him. But Ostrich, although stupid, was a large bird and very strong. He did not want to die, and so he pulled in the opposite direction.

Both were equally determined to win this fight, and as they pulled and pulled, Ostrich's neck started to stretch and stretch. It grew longer and longer; it must have been very painful for poor old Ostrich, but he did not give in. At last Crocodile got tired and let go. Poor Ostrich ran away, and ever since then he has lived in sandy places, far away from rivers. He still has a long neck and he never, ever goes near crocodiles.

TAKEN FROM TALES FROM AFRICA (NICK GREAVES)