The Princess Who Lost Her Hair An Akamba Legend retold by Tololwa M. Mollel (1993) feels convoluted to me, as if the translation from East Africa to Troll Associates publishing lost significant context. This book is one of the Legends of the World Series. I struggled through Turquoise Boy: A Navajo Legend. I had so many questions about that story that I wrote to the author. She didn’t reply. I have little faith in any stories that are “retold.” This one has hints of Juan Bobo and the Horse of Seven Colors by Jan Mike (1998). Both books are illustrated by Charles Reasoner. In both stories is a princess in distress. In both stories the least likely young man comes to her rescue. Juan Bobo has seven strands of hair from a magical horse. A beggar named Muoma recovers the princess’s hair with the help of a magical bird. I think both stories end with a wedding and a happily ever after.
