Preface
Table Fables was conceived with several goals in mind. First, it was an opportunity for me to share my love for storytelling. Secondly, it allowed me to impart life lessons and morals to my young daughters. Thirdly, it was a way for me to share some of my experiences with my daughters around the kitchen table at dinner that would hold their attention and inspire their imagination.
Each story would typically begin by asking each of my daughters to pick an animal. No matter how dissimilar the animals were in terms of their real world habitat or surroundings, my task was to weave a story that could bring these characters to life in some adventure, mystery, with hopefully a moral lesson. Virtues such as love, honor, friendship, beauty, self-awareness, hope and wisdom are displayed as well as vices such as selfishness, deceitfulness, fear, hatred and self-doubt.
The full series of Table Fables have main characters that are animals, ranging from domesticated farm animals native to my North Carolina home, to those in the wilds of Africa, Australia and Antarctica. A couple of stories are human-based, yet all have a common fable theme. Each story, hopefully, includes enough adventure and surprises to entertain any reader.
The first of the Table Fable series, "Bukosi - King of the Ants" started one day when I spontaneously picked up my daughters' little guitar and plastic bongo and pounded on them. This got their attention. I followed it with a loud call, and then made the sound of wind blowing, and announced "Here is the story of 'Seymore, King of The Ants." My daughters immediately drew near. At that moment, I did not know what I had gotten myself into or where the story was going, but as the saying goes, "I went with the flow." They were intrigued, and the ritual was often repeated at the dinner table.
Later, I decided to put the story of Seymore to paper. I changed the characters' names to African names, with meanings tied to their nature exemplified in the story.
I have also used Adinkra symbols to represent key moral lessons with each of the Table Fables, that can be seen on the cover page as well as the beginning and end of each story. The Adinkra symbols are based on West African wisdom that express various themes that relate to the history, beliefs, nature, philosophy, and moral values originally created by the Ashanti Akan of Ghana and the Gyaman of Cote d’Ivoire in West Africa. They mostly have rich proverbial meaning or marks of wisdom, since proverbs play an important role in the Asanti culture and their rich tradition of storytelling.
Bukosi, the smallest of the ants, is convinced that he will become King of the Ants. One day, he sets out on a journey to prove his worth to accomplish something no other ant has ever done. To meet the challenges of his adventure, he has to rely on faith, wisdom, generosity, courage, friendship, and a persistent belief in himself to dare to achieve his dream.
The Table Fables are intended for children of all ages and those who are still children at heart. I hope you enjoy them.
*****
Visit us at www.thetablefables.com to learn more.
In the summer of 2017, we're releasing a printed hardcover collection of eight stories entitled "Table Fables" that will nclude this ebook story. Look for it on our site as well as numerous online bookstores.