World of Tales
Stories for children, folktales, fairy tales and fables from around the world

Welcome to the African folktales page!


Africa is the second largest continent in the world. The earliest humans we know of are discovered in Africa.

The people from Africa included unique characteristics in their folklore, showing their way of life and the animals and plants that surround them. African stories sometimes include trickster animals and spirits.

The collection of folktales from Africa consists of four books with 88 stories: 28 South African folktales, 40 Nigerian folktales and 10 Tanzanian folktales.

Top African folktales

Songs for Ikenga by Natty Mark Samuels
The Banana Ballad by Natty Mark Samuels
Tale of Silk Cotton by Natty Mark Samuels

1.The man who never lied
2.Lion and Jackal
3.The Tortoise with a Pretty Daughter
4.The Woman with Two Skins
5.The King's Magic Drum
6.Why the Bat flies by Night
7.The Hare and the Lion
8.Why the sun and the moon live in the sky
9.The Story of the Lightning and the Thunder
10.The Ape, the Snake, and the Lion




Outa Karel's Stories
South African Folk-Lore Tales


Notes: Contains 15 South African folktales.

Author: Sanni Metelerkamp
Published: 1914
Publisher: Macmillan and Co., Limited St. Martin's Street, London


Old Hendrik's Tales


Notes: Contains 13 South African folktales.

Author: Captain Arthur Owen Vaughan
Published: 1904
Publisher: Longmans, Green and Co., London, New York & Bombay


Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria


Notes: Contains 40 Nigerian folktales. The introduction is written by Andrew Lang.

Author: Elphinstone Dayrell
Published: 1910
Publisher:Longmans, Green and Co., London, New York, Bombay & Calcutta

Zanzibar Tales


Notes: Contains 10 fairy tales told by natives of the East Coast of Africa.

Author: Various
Translator: George W. Bateman
Published: 1901
Publisher: A.C. McClurg & Co., Chicago




Book Spotlight
Bechstein book cover
The Book of German Folk- and Fairy Tales