Folk Tales/A Tale of Unity

“A Tale of Unity” is a folk tale heard on Dana's path in the game Secret Paths in the Forest. It is narrated by Belinda Sullivan. The story serves to illustrate for Dana that a team can fall apart if no one is working together, and cooperation is essential for success.

In the Aarne-Thompson-Uther (ATU) Index, this tale is categorized as 910 "Precepts bought or given correct," variant F "Quarreling [children] and the bundle of twigs"

The Story
A Tale of Unity

Abena, Casey, and Nini walked far from their village in search of firewood. Usually they sang and played games, but today the girls were silent and worked slowly. They had been arguing for days.

The sun grew hotter and hotter. Finally their grandmother said they had gathered enough wood. They sat down in the shade of a great baobab tree.

Their grandmother cracked a kola nut between her teeth and said thoughtfully, “My girls, I am saddened to see you argue like this. Our small village has prospered because our families have always worked together. I fear for you, my grandchildren. If you cannot get along, our millet fields will die and our village will crumble.

“Abena, hand me that bundle of twigs. I want you each, in turn, to try to break this bundle.” Each girl tried to break the bundle of twigs but found they could not even bend them.

“This is a lesson of unity,” said the grandmother. “If you remain bound together in peace and common purpose, you will remain strong. Nini, untie the twigs. Now, each of you take one twig and break it.”

The girls found the twigs snapped easily. “This is a lesson of disunity. If you do not work together, you will be weak and easily broken. Many generations before you have lived in unity, so it will be up to you to care for our village.”

The girls always remembered the words of their wise grandmother and worked together. The village remained happy and healthy, and to this day the young children still play in the shade of the great baobab tree.