The Cow-Tail Switch and Other West African Stories

"The stories of West Africa are about men and animals, about kings, warriors, and hunters. They tell about clever people and stupid people, about good ones and bad ones, about how things and animals got to be how they are. Sometimes they are just tall tales. There are stories about Frog, Rabbit, Turtle, Guinea Fowl, and all the other animals that West Africans know. Some of the stories make you think. Some make you laugh. Here are some of the stories of the people of the forests, the seacoast, the hills, and the plains"--P. [4] of cover.

This collection of seventeen short stories gathered in the Ashanti region of Africa depicts the origins of folk sayings and customs, animal ingenuity and trickery, and clever, as well as not so clever, people. The coauthor is George Herzog.