ow however, the author muses:
Will they ever be laid to rest, these age-old accounts of Tortoise? He just continues to be regenerated as the pre-eminent icon of an era when it was the case that either animals co-existed and interacted with humans without any species discrimination whatsoever or some humans simply spotted the names of animals as fancied! Whichever way it happened so that this character has been so much elaborated on from one generation to another, he has certainly accrued far more exploits to his individual account than others of any class or status in his time.

There were obviously many things that others were endowed with and he lacked. Yet there are but so few events of his era that he was not central to. Which in a way proves that one does not have be a big man in any sense of the word in order to make an impact on minds, memories and the imagination. Tortoise was no embodiment of physical strength or good looks and, for that matter, no paragon of virtue. What was it about him then that ensured this distinction?

One thing which Tortoise cannot be denied is wit or brains, or what is known in the modern age as the intelligence quotient, which in his case was of a very high order. This attribute is by itself amoral in nature. Consequently, and ironically also in spite of this, Tortoise remains for succeeding eras a prime object of fascination. While an ever-rising premium continues to be placed on the intellect, moral principles too remain undying in spite of all the buffetings they receive from the resultant over-sharpened faculty for rationalisation.

Thus, whenever Tortoise employs this genius of his on the side of honour and propriety, it is easy to recognise positive wisdom in him. On the other hand, he is notoriously capable of coming across merely as a diabolically clever one, a trickster, a con-man, or a ‘419er’ – to use a word the world has coined from the law books of a ruling class whose fondness for integrity is famously borne out, even if by no other visible act, at least by their promulgation of a handy decree for the virtue.

The many exploits of Tortoise are guaranteed therefore to provide generations of human beings with entertainment and instructive lessons on the workings of the attribute of a high I. Q. when it is left free to range within and without the constraints of virtue. To the delight of all the fans of this icon, his experiences are quite varied and colourful depending on the orientation of his intellect in relation to morality on different occasions.

Earlier, on another occasion about twenty years ago, the author had made a reference to Tortoise in a speech in which he argued that even when an African expresses himself in a foreign language, his imagery, same as common sense, need not be also imported. He illustrated his point with a little incident in a children's quiz program on television which he had earlier chanced on:

” ‘Complete this expression,’ the quiz master, a lady, called out to one of the two little girls in the contest: ‘As cunning as –?’ Contrary to my doubts, the child sorted out the meaning of the word 'cunning' within the ten seconds she had to answer the question and as if to convince me personally that she understood the word, supplied what I thought was a resoundingly apt simile. ‘As cunning as a tortoise,’ she answered just before her time was up. ‘As a tortoise?’ rejoined the quiz master, a dilemma registering on her sympathetic face. And I pictured the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters engaged in a robust dispute with our vernacular folklore tradition in this lady’s mind. I thought I could hear the American Academy say inside her: ‘Now of course you know the answer. A fox. As cunning as a fox.’ To which the quiz master’s indigenous folklore traditions replied in her mind: ‘Fox ke? Which is fox? I am not saying that I don’t know what it is. It is kọlọkọlọ, not so? Yes, but in how many stories of cunning have I ever mentioned kọlọkọlọ to you? Don’t be misled o. You know the most cunning creature ever created is the tortoise. What does a fox know where a tortoise stands!’

”By now, the American Academy had become impatient. ‘Listen to me and listen good. This  is a test of intellect, see? You can be a provincial wallowing in vernacular wisdom if you like, or you can show how well you’ve learnt your stuff. It’s your choice. As cunning as a fox. That’s what you’ve learnt in the book. FirstAid in English Grammar, remember? As cunning as a fox. It is fox. Fox it is!’

”Poor lady, that was too much for her. Just compare the two, she thought. ‘As cunning as a tortoise.’ ‘As cunning as a fox.’ Folklore. First Aid in English Grammar. It is fox. Fox it is. Tortoise it is. No, that hasn’t got the ring of the other one. No. Fox it is! And she capitulated. And I wasn’t just imagining it now. ‘N-n-no,’ she said without apparent conviction, ‘I am afraid I can’t give you any marks for that.’ Saying which she then threw the question as a bonus to the other girl who could not offer any guess. I suppose she found it all a little bit confusing. ‘As cunning as a fox,’ quiz master finally elucidated, rescuing the poor children from the embarrassing vernacular English of West Africa.”