Everyone knows that the hippo lives in water. But it used to be different. Back then, the hippo lived on land and was one of the kings of the animals. The hippo had seven large round females, which it loved very much and was proud of. Only they knew his real name, no one else.

Once, King Hippo invited all the animals to a feast. The seven women cooked a delicious meal and soon the guests arrived and all sat down. But before they could reach for the food, King Hippo said: "You have all come as my guests. But you may only eat if you know my name."

The animals looked at each other, perplexed. None of them knew King Hippos' name and so they had to go home again without eating or drinking. The tortoise also made his way home, but because he was so slow, he heard King Hippo laughing and saying to his wives: "I'd rather live in the river than let anyone guess my name!"

"Just wait," thought the turtle, "I'll find out!"

King Hippo went to the river every morning with his seven wives to bathe, the king in front and the wives behind. The turtle knew this. In the evening, he went to the path by the river and dug a small hole. Then he hid. The next morning, King Hippo and his wives made their way to the river, only two women were a little slower. The turtle quickly came out of its hiding place and slipped into the hole so that only its shell was visible. As the two female hippos passed by, one of them bumped her foot on the turtle's shell. She hobbled on slowly and called out to King Hippo: "Isantim, wait, I can't run that fast, I've hurt my foot."

As soon as they had passed, the turtle slipped out of its hole and went home contentedly.

When King Hippo invited them to a feast again, he said to the animals: "You have all come as my guests. But only those who know my name may partake of the food."

The tortoise called out: "Your name is Isantim!"

All the animals were happy - at last they could eat, drink and be merry!

King Hippo, however, moved to the river with his family the very next day and has lived in the water ever since. He only comes ashore to eat at night, when no one can see him.

Fassung Djamila Jaenike, nach: E. Dayrell, Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa, New York 1910 unter dem Titel “The Affair of the Hippopotamus and the Tortoise; or, Why the Hippopotamus lives in the water”, englische Fassung Lysander Jaenike ©Mutabor Märchenstiftung