Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears - West African

My name is Iguana, and my shiny green scales love to soak up the sun in the jungle. I usually enjoy listening to all the jungle chatter, but one day a tiny mosquito buzzed by and whispered the most ridiculous story I had ever heard. She told me a farmer had a yam that was bigger than he was. What nonsense. I didn't want to hear any more silly tales, so I snapped off two small sticks and popped them into my ears. This is the story of Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears, and it all started because I just wanted a little peace and quiet.

With the sticks in my ears, I ambled off, bobbing my head and ignoring the world. I didn't even notice my friend, Python, who was slithering nearby. He called out a friendly, "Good morning!" but I walked right past him. Poor Python thought I was angry with him. His feelings were so hurt that he slithered down the nearest rabbit hole to hide and think. But that hole was already home to a rabbit. Terrified by the long, slithery snake, the rabbit shot out of her hole and dashed through the undergrowth. A crow, startled by the rushing rabbit, flew into the air with a loud caw. A monkey, swinging high in the treetops, heard the crow's alarm and thought danger was near. He began leaping wildly from branch to branch, which caused a dead limb to crack and fall. It tumbled down, down, down, and tragically struck a nest, knocking a baby owlet to the ground. Mother Owl was so heartbroken and full of sorrow that she couldn't hoot to wake the sun. The next morning, the jungle stayed dark and silent.

With no sun to warm the air or light the day, all the animals grew worried. The mighty King Lion called a great meeting to solve the mystery. "Why is the night so long?" he roared. One by one, the animals told their story. The monkey pointed a shaky finger at the crow, saying his panicked cawing made him leap. The crow blamed the rabbit for startling him. The rabbit, trembling, blamed the python for invading her home. The python sadly looked at me and said the iguana had been rude and ignored him. All eyes turned to me. I finally pulled the sticks out of my ears and heard what everyone was saying. "I wasn't being rude," I explained. "I just didn't want to listen to a mosquito tell a silly story about a giant yam.". At last, King Lion knew who had really started all the trouble.

The animals all agreed that the mosquito was the one to blame. When they brought her before King Lion, she was too ashamed to admit she had told a fib. She was so tiny that she managed to slip away and hide before anyone could punish her. And she has been hiding ever since. To this day, that mosquito and all her children fly around, buzzing in people’s ears. They are asking, "Zeee. Is everyone still angry with me?". And that is why, when a mosquito buzzes near your ear, you are very likely to give it a slap. This old story from West Africa teaches us that even a little fib can cause a great big mess.