Los cuentos de Tinga Tinga (2010 - 2011)

You see there was a time when Snake did have legs - hundreds and hundreds of them. But poor old Snake had no eyes, not a single one. Then on the day of the great Tinga Tinga Festival of Colours, Snake quite literally bumped into Millipede, who was stuck in a hole. They decided to swap eyes and legs just for one day, so that Snake could see all the wonderful colours and Millipede could run all over Tinga Tinga. But when Snake came back to return Millipede's eyes, Millipede couldn't be found anywhere! So to this day, Snake has no legs.

You see there was a time when Hippo did have hair - lots of hair! She was always harrumphingly hot. Then one hot night while Hippo was sleeping, a spark from the fire caught the end of her hairy tail. Hippo was on fire! She ran through the bush until she jumped in the waterhole. From that day on Hippo stayed in the cool waters without a single hair on her hide. Tales from Africa.

You see there was a time when Tortoise's shell was all shiny and smooth. One day Tortoise discovered the birds were having a Feast in the Heavens and he tricked the Birds into making him a pair of wings. Greedy Tortoise raced the birds beyond the clouds and scoffed the whole feast! When the Birds found out Tortoise had to jump off a cloud until - BOOF! He landed on his shiny shell. All the animals pieced Tortoise's shell back together but from that day on Tortoise's shell was all bumpy and broken and he never moved speedily again. Tales from Africa.

You see, there was a time when Hen didn't peck the ground. She was a proud mother who spent all her time looking after and cleaning her chicks. Fancy pancy Peacock upset Mama Hen and made her feel plain.

You see there was a time when Bat didn't hang upside down. He used to fly all over Tinga Tinga, saying 'Boo!' to all the animals and giving them a fright. Nothing could be more fun for Bat. But one day Bat went too far and the animals decided to give Bat a dose of his own medicine. Tales from Africa.

You see, there was a time when Warthog was really rather handsome. And did he know it! He strutted around Tinga Tinga as if he owned the place. All the animals were fed up with Warthog's boasting, and then one day Lion decided to give chase. Yikes! Warthog ran headfirst into Porcupine's burrow! After that, he was no longer the prettiest beast in Tinga Tinga.

You see there was a time when Owl's head didn't turn all the way round. She had tiny little eyes and tiny little ears, and she found it very hard to stay awake. Then one day all the mangoes started disappearing in Tinga Tinga. Against all the animals' better judgement, Owl was ordered to watch over the mango tree - but the mangoes kept disappearing. Desperate to catch the thief, Owl stretched and strained to see who was stealing the precious mangoes, until Ker Shwing! Her head turned all the way round and she saw who it was - it was the ants! From that day on Owl was made the official night guard of Tinga Tinga.

You see there was a time when Monkey used to play on the ground and he loved to wind up Crocodile. One day the big rains came and Monkey became stranded up a mango tree. Nasty Crocodile promised to take him to dry land but only in exchange for his heart! So Monkey tricked Crocodile, and when Crocodile found out that Monkey swapped his heart for a measly mango, he chased Monkey up a tree. From that day on Monkey swings in the trees keeping well clear of Crocodile's angry snaps.

You see there was a time when Tickbird didn't sit on Hippo's back, in fact they weren't friends at all! Tickbird was sick of Hippo splashing all the time. One day tiny Tickbird challenged big Hippo to a contest - who can drink the most water in a single gulp? Tickbird outwitted Hippo by using the tides, and from that day she has been allowed to sit on Hippo's back and pick off all the yummy ticks she can eat! Tales from Africa.

You see there was a time when Frog didn't croak. Frog sang like a bird and the birds didn't like it. Birds were the masters of song and that's the way it should be! So the birds tricked poor old Frog into a singing duel and sang and sang and sang until poor old Frog's voice was reduced to a ribbit. Tales from Africa.

One day greedy Spider heard of Four Feasts in Tinga Tinga and she wanted to go to them all! So she spun four threads and attached them to various animals going to the feasts. But Monkey, Frog, Hippo and the Bees all set off in different directions - North, South, East and West, and Spider's thread soon ran out. Eeeeek! The threads got tighter and tighter and tighter, making Spider's waist smaller and smaller and smaller! Luckily the threads broke, but from that day on Spider has always had a tiny waist.

You see there was time when Vulture was not bald. Oh no, Vulture's head was covered in a beautiful crown of golden plumage! Vain Vulture never shut up about her golden feathers and was obsessed about making them as golden as the sun! One day Vulture decided to fly up to the sun, but her precious feathers got burnt! Vulture decided to soothe her smoking feathers with golden honey, which she stole from the bees. The bees were not pleased and Vulture stuck her head down Aardvark's burrow. However, Aardvark loves feathers all covered in honey and when Vulture surfaced, she was as bald as, well, as a Vulture!

You see there was a time when Giraffe didn't have a long neck. Her neck was all short and stumpy, and she was a very delicate eater. All the food in Tinga Tinga seemed to make her tummy go funny. Then one day Lion suggested she try some honey. With the Bees' permission, Giraffe tried to lick the honey, but it was deep, deep inside the tree. Giraffe squeezed her head into the honey tree and then - eeeek! Her head got stuck! Summer, autumn and winter passed by with Giraffe's head stuck inside the tree, but she was quite happy because the honey was so delicious. The tree grew and Giraffe's neck got longer and longer! After a whole year 'POP!' she managed to pull herself free, and from that day on Giraffe has a very long neck and can eat the freshest leaves on the very tops of the trees! Tales from Africa.

You see there was a time when Porcupine didn't have quills, she had the softest coat in all of Tinga Tinga and Jackal wanted it. Despite warnings from all the animals, Porcupine allowed Jackal to invite her to his cave to keep out of the rain. Porcupine took off her coat to allow it to dry, but while she slept, naughty Jackal ran off with it. When she awoke, Porcupine was covered in lots of tiny ant bites and they itched and they itched and they itched. Tortoise suggested Elephant squeeze some milk from the milky quill bush but Porcupine couldn't wait anymore and ran into the quill bushes to relieve her itching. Crash! Crash! Crash! Porcupine crashed through the quill bushes and emerged covered in spiky quills! The animals couldn't believe their eyes! But Porcupine was delighted as no beast would ever come near her sensitive skin ever again! Tales from Africa.