Queen of the Tortoises: 6 by Mhlophe Gcina

Queen of the Tortoises is a folktale by Gcina Mhlophe about a tortoise who becomes envious of the beauty, colour of other animals and strives to change her appearance to match theirs. In her quest, she goes to extremes—such as trying to fly—to be noticed and admired like the peacock, the snake, and others. The story explores themes of envy, self‑acceptance, identity, and the idea that trying to be what one is not may lead to harm. It’s a “how and why”‐type folktale, explaining things (in this case, including how the tortoise got her cracked shell) via a moral lesson.