For millennia, Somalia has been crossed and recrossed by camel caravans of merchants bringing stories with them.

Elizabeth Laird heard most of these oral retellings in Jigjiga, the capital of Ethiopia's Somali region, in gardens, bars, small huts and beautiful old Harari houses.

Some of them are written down here for the very first time.

This wonderful collection of down-to-earth tales makes a perfect introduction to a fascinating and little-known country.