This book is the first in a series about the adventures of Wayo, the Tortoise. Wayo means cunning in Pidgin language, (broken English as spoken by the Delta people of Nigeria). Just as the fox is the legendary trickster in British folktales and the wolf is that of the Americans; the Tortoise is the master of cunning and crafty practices in Nigerian folklore. There is hardly a story without the Tortoise in it. THE SECRET EATING PLACE is the story of how Wayo the Tortoise broke his shell. There was a famine in the land and only the birds knew where to get food. They felt sorry for Wayo and took him along. He decided to outsmart them and the reward he got for his cunning act was a broken shell.