How the Giraffe Got His Long Neck
Original Ɔkɔkɔ Kɔn Tenten
Story by: Akan Traditional Storyteller
Source: Akan Oral Tradition
Listen well, children, to the tale of Ɔkɔkɔ, the giraffe, and how his gentle patience earned him the greatest gift of all the forest creatures. This is a story of humility rewarded, of quiet strength recognized, and of how sometimes the greatest blessings come to those who serve others without seeking recognition.
In the time when all animals were the same height and the acacia trees grew tall and proud with the sweetest leaves at their very tops, there lived a gentle creature named Ɔkɔkɔ. While other animals competed and quarreled over the easily reached food, Ɔkɔkɔ would quietly help the smaller animals reach whatever they needed, never complaining about his own hunger.
During a great drought when food became scarce, the animals gathered to ask Nyame for help. Each animal presented themselves boastfully, demanding special abilities to reach the high leaves. But when Ɔkɔkɔ’s turn came, he simply said, “Great Nyame, I ask for nothing for myself. If you could help the smaller animals reach food, I would be content to continue serving them as I always have.”
Nyame was so moved by this selfless request that he gave Ɔkɔkɔ the most magnificent gift of all—a neck so long and graceful that he could reach the highest leaves in any tree. But more importantly, the Sky God blessed him with a heart that would always use this gift to help others, sharing the high leaves with creatures who could not reach them.
From that day forward, when other animals see Ɔkɔkɔ’s majestic height, they remember that the greatest gifts come not to those who demand them for themselves, but to those who seek blessings for others. His long neck serves as a reminder that true nobility comes from service, and that patience and humility are rewarded by the divine in ways we cannot imagine.
Ɔbaa a ɔsoa obi, Nyame na ɔsoa no - She who carries others, God carries her.
And so we learn that like Ɔkɔkɔ the giraffe, when we serve others without seeking reward, the universe responds with blessings beyond our dreams.
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