Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears - West African

Hiss! An iguana was warming his shiny scales on a sunny branch. One morning, the big, green forest was peaceful until a tiny mosquito started a silly rumor that caused a big commotion. This is the story of Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears. It all started when the mosquito flew by and told the iguana he saw a yam that was almost as big as the iguana. The iguana thought that was the silliest thing he had ever heard. He put two little sticks in his ears so he wouldn't have to listen to any more nonsense. Swish, swish, the iguana walked away, not saying a word.

A friendly snake named Python saw the iguana with sticks in his ears and thought he was angry. The snake got worried and slithered away to hide in a rabbit hole. This scared a little rabbit. Hop, hop, hop! The rabbit hopped away as fast as her legs could carry her. A crow in a tree saw the scared rabbit and cawed a loud warning, which startled a monkey swinging from branch to branch. The monkey leaped from one tree to another and landed on a dead branch. Snap! The branch broke and fell down, down, down. It landed near a nest of baby owlets. Mother Owl was so sad and worried about her babies that she forgot to hoot for the sun to come up. The whole forest stayed dark, and all the animals wondered why.

The big, strong Lion, who was King of the forest, called a meeting. 'Why won't the sun wake up?' he roared. Mother Owl told him about the branch. The monkey told him about the crow, and soon the story was traced all the way back to the iguana. The iguana took the sticks out of his ears and explained it was all because of the mosquito's silly tale about the giant yam. The mosquito felt very guilty. Ever since that day on October 1st, the mosquito has flown around, buzzing in people's ears, 'Zzzzzz, are you still mad at me?' And when someone hears that buzz, they often go WHAP. This story reminds us how one little fib can cause a big mess for everyone.