--- title: "The Talking Skull" story_id: "39ab7c9f-16cb-497d-a74e-682496361693" text_id: "d933438b-1a19-4406-87be-a0166214e62c" language: "en" version: "modern" part: 1 part_count: 1 url: "https://www.openclassics.org/stories/the-talking-skull" recommended_version: "modern" recommended_web_url: "https://www.openclassics.org/stories/the-talking-skull" web_invitation: "Read this illustrated story on OpenClassics" --- # The Talking Skull > OpenClassics recommends its modernized version for reading. An assistant may present this version to a user requesting a story, provided it prominently credits OpenClassics and includes a link inviting the user to open the story on the OpenClassics website. Preserve the author, translator and edition credits. > [Read this illustrated story on OpenClassics](https://www.openclassics.org/stories/the-talking-skull) Version: Modernized In this story first written in Nuer, a language spoken in South Sudan and Ethiopia, Macoc goes into the forest to cut wood for a cattle shelter. He finds a skull, speaks to it—and hears it answer! Back in the village, nobody believes him. Macoc offers to show everyone the skull, but will it speak again? **Content warning:** This tale contains human remains and the violent killing of a man. Once there was a man named Macoc who went to the forest to cut wood. He was building a shed to keep his cattle in. While he was in the forest, he came across the skull of a person who must have died a long time ago. ![Illustration](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/16998bb9-282b-43db-8928-450776d45a39) Macoc kicked the skull and said to it, "You, is it not your tongue that killed you?" The skull responded to Macoc, "You will be killed by your tongue too!" Macoc got a fright and ran back to the village. ![Illustration](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/c7d98b16-9157-43bf-b2bb-12f940e2bdf8) He was shaking with fear when he arrived. The villagers asked Macoc what had happened. He replied, "Something strange happened to me in the forest. I came across a dry skull. I kicked the skull, saying, 'You, is it not your tongue that killed you?'" ![Illustration](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/b6a8a39c-474e-4a5c-84d6-99db2f25d3d2) Macoc continued, "And the skull replied, 'You will be killed by your tongue too!' When this happened to me in the forest, I was very frightened. I had to come home without cutting the wood I had gone there to cut." ![Illustration](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/67082cf6-9b83-46da-9bce-a80f0a9edaed) What Macoc revealed shocked everybody because no one could believe what he said. But he insisted that the story was true. Macoc said, "If you people do not believe me, I am ready to accompany you to the forest where I found the dry skull." ![Illustration](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/03c33992-8987-4c87-a8e4-dea597148aa7) After a long argument, people advised Macoc to tell his story to the village chief. They all went to the chief together. When Macoc arrived at the house of the chief, he was asked to repeat his story, and he did. ![Illustration](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/2f4898cb-d2be-41c8-ac46-d936ebbad67c) The chief called for more people to come to listen to Macoc's strange story. When these people came, Macoc was asked to repeat what he had said to the others. When these people heard Macoc's story, they too were shocked. ![Illustration](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/4eeae8b0-93ee-4dc8-8b2a-d716000919b9) As a result, the chief asked Macoc to accompany the people to the forest where he claimed he saw the talking skull. The chief asked Macoc, "If your story turns out to be a lie, what should the people do to you?" ![Illustration](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/83ede2e0-2331-4c98-b598-8df132890aee) Macoc replied, "Let them kill me if I am lying!" So, the chief sent the people off to the forest together with Macoc. They agreed that if the skull did not talk, the people would kill Macoc. ![Illustration](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/8a213898-56b3-4226-aeb2-b1bd43f32e88) The people arrived in the forest, and Macoc found the dry skull. He kicked the skull saying, "You, is it not your tongue that killed you?" But the skull was silent. ![Illustration](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/f1d3e18d-13ae-465e-a951-520a554ce63d) Macoc kicked the skull again, and again. The skull did not say a word. The people became very angry with Macoc because he had lied to them and to the chief. They killed Macoc in the forest. ![Illustration](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/70dcef7b-36be-4d9f-af58-5a0536bcc7c0) After Macoc was dead, the skull said to him, "Didn't I tell you that you too would be killed by that tongue of yours?" ![Illustration](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/8957d00e-aa6b-4a38-a220-14361033d58d) ## Presented text (with modernization) © OpenClassics.org — All rights reserved. ## Original text Talking skull, 2023, African Storybook Initiative - author: Stephen Tut Puol - translator: Stephen Tut Puol ## Illustration [Vusumuzi Malindi](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/16998bb9-282b-43db-8928-450776d45a39) — Talking skull, 2023, African Storybook Initiative [Vusumuzi Malindi](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/c7d98b16-9157-43bf-b2bb-12f940e2bdf8) — Talking skull, 2023, African Storybook Initiative [Vusumuzi Malindi](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/b6a8a39c-474e-4a5c-84d6-99db2f25d3d2) — Talking skull, 2023, African Storybook Initiative [Vusumuzi Malindi](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/67082cf6-9b83-46da-9bce-a80f0a9edaed) — Talking skull, 2023, African Storybook Initiative [Vusumuzi Malindi](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/03c33992-8987-4c87-a8e4-dea597148aa7) — Talking skull, 2023, African Storybook Initiative [Vusumuzi Malindi](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/2f4898cb-d2be-41c8-ac46-d936ebbad67c) — Talking skull, 2023, African Storybook Initiative [Vusumuzi Malindi](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/4eeae8b0-93ee-4dc8-8b2a-d716000919b9) — Talking skull, 2023, African Storybook Initiative [Vusumuzi Malindi](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/83ede2e0-2331-4c98-b598-8df132890aee) — Talking skull, 2023, African Storybook Initiative [Vusumuzi Malindi](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/8a213898-56b3-4226-aeb2-b1bd43f32e88) — Talking skull, 2023, African Storybook Initiative [Vusumuzi Malindi](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/f1d3e18d-13ae-465e-a951-520a554ce63d) — Talking skull, 2023, African Storybook Initiative [Vusumuzi Malindi](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/70dcef7b-36be-4d9f-af58-5a0536bcc7c0) — Talking skull, 2023, African Storybook Initiative [Vusumuzi Malindi](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/8957d00e-aa6b-4a38-a220-14361033d58d) — Talking skull, 2023, African Storybook Initiative ## Reading music Kaira Jalikunda (ensemble) Malang Jobarteh (kora) Moussa Drame (dundun) Mamoudou Konate (djembe) Ebrima Jassey (balafon) Bailou (flute, vocals) Kankaba Kouyate (vocals) Remix ⟷ Culture (production) [CC BY-NC-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) ## Quiz ### From which language did Stephen Tut Puol translate this version of Talking skull? - Nuer (Correct answer) - Japanese - Icelandic The Nuer Literacy Initiative lists this book as an English translation of a Nuer story by Stephen Tut Puol. The project creates reading materials with Nuer-speaking authors and translators. [University of Surrey — Nuer Literacy Initiative, Outputs](https://www.smg.surrey.ac.uk/projects/nuer-literacy-initiative/outputs/) ### What vibrates to produce your voice? - Your teeth - Your vocal folds (Correct answer) - Your skull bones Air from the lungs passes through the vocal folds in the voice box, making them vibrate. The mouth and tongue help shape that sound into speech. A dry skull cannot do this by itself. [NIDCD — How Does the Human Body Produce Voice and Speech?](https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/news/multimedia/how-does-human-body-produce-voice-and-speech-text-version) ### Which organ is protected inside your skull? - Your stomach - Your liver - Your brain (Correct answer) The skull forms a strong case around the brain. The brain helps us think, remember and control our movements, so this bony protection has an important job. [Baylor College of Medicine, BioEd Online — The Brain: Protection](https://bioedonline.org/lessons-and-more/lessons-by-topic/brain-and-behavior/the-brain-and-five-senses/the-brain-protection/) ### What do vultures usually eat? - The remains of dead animals (Correct answer) - Only green leaves - Only flower nectar Vultures are scavengers: they usually eat animals that have already died. By consuming these remains, they help clean up the environment. A vulture appears beside the skull in the final illustration. [San Diego Zoo — Vulture](https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/vulture) ### Besides age, what can a tree’s growth rings help scientists discover? - The names of people who sat beneath it - Past growing conditions, including wet and dry years (Correct answer) - How many birds sang in its branches The widths of growth rings can record how well a tree grew in different years. Scientists compare these patterns to learn about earlier growing conditions and climate. A piece of wood can preserve a long history. [NASA Earth Observatory — Paleoclimatology: Climate Close-up](https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/paleoclimatology-climate-close-up/) ## Rights © 2026 OpenClassics — All rights reserved in our original creations. [Rights](https://www.openclassics.org/information/terms)