Myths and Legends

How the zebra got its stripes

When the earth was just created, there were lots and lots of animals;  Zebras, a Snake, a cloud giant, a Bear, a Monkey and a Phoenix. The Zebras were usually very curious. Every day, the Zebras looked out for things they could explore, that they hadn’t seen before.

One night the animals were all woken up by a loud stomping noise. It was the group of zebras stomping their hooves on some pebbles and stones. They kept going for the whole night and the animals couldn’t get any sleep at all. By the end of the night the animals were very fed up and terribly tired.

That morning they went up to the giant in the clouds and told him about their plan to teach the zebras a lesson.

The very next day the giant in the clouds came down to earth. The animals built a hide so they could watch the event that was about to happen. When the Zebras saw the  giant from the clouds, they were curious. In order to get the giants attention, they started tickling the him. Unknown to them, the giant had sprayed ink on his hands and he picked up all the zebras tickling him. His fingers wrapped around the zebras body and he held them tight, as if he was squeezing them and he literally was. His inky hands put stripes on the zebras coat, like a fingerprint. Then he dropped them and they landed with a loud THUMP!

When they reached the ground, they got up and ran away. And that is why to this day the Zebra has stripes.

By Annabelle :)