ABSTRACT
This essay is written within the context of what Jack Donnelly (2003: 223–224) calls the modern state’s “awesome powers to bring individuals to their knees; if necessary, to break their minds as well as their bodies” (a description that snugly fits the character of the Zimbabwean postcolonial state). It responds to the comparable tremendous powers of conventional folk narratives to stipulate for children an unquestioned curriculum for moral and intellectual development. Folktales, especially, constitute the common sense of society. They convey taken-for-granted wisdoms and truths, which form the basis and rationale for the continuity of society/community. In the folk narratives, children are presumed to double up as the audience as well as the future of a society.
