They explain the origin of a certain phenomenon.

  An etiological narrative is an imaginative story triggered by question “how or why” something came to be in the world.

  Examples are:

1. Why rainbow appears in the sky after it rains.
2. Why hare has a short tail.

Why Turtles Live in Water

Turtles used to live on the land, they say, until the time a clever

turtle was caught by some hunters. They brought him to their village

and placed the turtle before the Chief, who said, “How shall

we cook him?”

“You’ll have to kill me first,” said the turtle, “and take me out of

this shell.”

“We’ll break your shell with sticks,” they said.

“That’ll never work,” said the turtle, “Why don’t you throw me

in the water and drown me?!”

“Excellent idea,” said the Chief. They took the turtle to the river

and threw him into the water to drown him.

They were congratulating themselves on their success in drowning

the turtle, when two little green eyes poked up in the water and the laughing turtle said, “Don’t get those cooking pots out too

fast, foolish people!” As he swam away he said, “I think I’ll spend

most of my time from now on, safely in the water.”

And it has been that way ever since.