Why Tortoise Has A Cracked Shell A long time ago, when animals could talk like humans, there was a great famine in Anambra land. The sky refused to bring rain. The rivers dried. Only in the sky, where the birds lived, there was still food. Tortoise was clever but greedy. He went to the birds and said, "My friends, take me with you to the sky feast. I will be good." The birds did not trust him, but Tortoise swore. So each bird gave him one feather. With many feathers, Tortoise made wings and could fly. He also told them, "For this feast, we must take new names. My name will be All Of You." When they reached the sky, the sky people brought out pounded yam and egusi soup and said, "This food is for all of you." Tortoise quickly stood up and said, "You heard them! The food is for All Of You! That is me!" And he ate everything. He ate the fufu, he ate the soup, he ate the meat, while the birds watched with empty stomachs. The birds were angry. One by one, they took back their feather. "Please, I will fall!" Tortoise shouted. But the birds had already flown away. Tortoise fell from the sky. He fell and fell and fell from the clouds. Parrot was flying below and saw him falling. Parrot shouted to Tortoise's wife, "Put something soft outside! Your husband is falling!" Tortoise's wife thought, "Soft? Let me bring out all our hard things so he does not sink." She brought out wooden tables, mortars, and stones and put them in the compound. Tortoise fell directly on them. His smooth shell broke into many pieces. Kpam! Kpam! Kpam! His wife tried to pack the shell back with palm oil and clay, but the cracks remained. That is why, till today, Tortoise has a cracked shell. And that is why he moves slowly, still carrying the shame of his greed.

Every full moon in Nnewi, my 89-year-old grandmother Mama Nnukwu gathered us children under the moon to tell stories the city has forgotten.This is the story of Chike, the first ghostwriter of Anambra — a boy whose words made kings weep, but who had no voice of his own.From why Tortoise has a cracked shell to how a love letter stopped a war between Abagana and Nawfia, these are African Moonlight Tales with real Igbo lessons.I am Charles, the Ghostwriter from Anambra. These are the stories that made me.