Kenyan Folk and Fairy Tale Stories

Kenyan folk and fairy tales are similar but different from regular, traditional stories. African Oral Literature is making a normal story your own and inviting others to participate. There are refined and changeable parts to make the story unique. They're different from the stories that we read in class because they add more interactive parts and it's easier to imagine some components.
For example, the story about the ostrich and the alligator at the only drinking pond. One can imagine what the pond, alligator and ostrich looks like and them having a conversation with each other. The alligator asks the ostrich to help him get something out of his teeth and the ostrich was nice enough to help. But only the readers knew what was going to happen if he did, so it was a bit of situational irony. We knew the alligators intentions, but of course the ostrich thought he was being nice and trying to help. The alligator tried to eat the ostrich, but it's head got stuck in between the alligator's two teeth. As the ostrich and alligator started pulling away from each other, the ostrich's neck stretched and that's why their necks are so long. This story is a great example of how a Kenyan folk story can be brought together by one's own imagination, so that the story will be more memorable. Another characteristic that makes Kenyan folk tales significant is that they have a common understanding of phenomena. It helps readers understand why things are the way they are and how it happened. Most people don't know why an ostrich looks the way it does, but this story explains why. Even though it may be an exaggeration or not true at all, Kenyan stories give readers the ability to make a story real enough to believe.