FOLK STORIES FROM SOUTHERN NIGERIA WEST AFRICA
BY
ELPHINSTONE DAYRELL, F.R.G.S., F.R.A.I.
DISTRICT COMMISSIONER, SOUTHERN NIGERIA

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY
ANDREW LANG
1910

published by Longmans, Green and Co.

 

CONTENTS
Introduction
I. The Tortoise with a Pretty Daughter
II. How a Hunter obtained Money from his Friends the Leopard, Goat, Bush 
Cat, and
Cock, and how he got out of repaying them
III. The Woman with two Skins.
IV. The King's Magic Drum
V. Ituen and the King's Wife
VI. Of the Pretty Stranger who Killed the King
VII. Why the Bat flies by Night
VIII. The Disobedient Daughter who Married a Skull
IX. The King who Married the Cock's Daughter
X. Concerning the Woman, the Ape, and the Child
XI. The Fish and The Leopard's Wife; or, Why the Fish lives in the Water
XII. Why the Bat is Ashamed to be seen in the Daytime
XIII. Why the Worms live Underneath the Ground
XIV. The Elephant and the Tortoise; or, Why the Worms are Blind and the 
Elephant has Small
Eyes
XV. Why a Hawk kills Chickens
XVI. Why the Sun and the Moon live in the Sky
XVII. Why the Flies Bother the Cows
XVIII. Why the Cat kills Rats
XIX. The Story of the Lightning and the Thunder
XX. Why the Bush Cow and the Elephant are bad Friends
XXI. The Cock who caused a Fight between two Towns
XXII. The Affair of the Hippopotamus and the Tortoise; or, Why the 
Hippopotamus lives in the Water
XXIII. Why Dead People are Buried
XXIV. Of the Fat Woman who Melted Away
XXV. Concerning the Leopard, the Squirrel, and the Tortoise
XXVI. Why the Moon Waxes and Wanes
XXVII. The Story of the Leopard, the Tortoise and the Bush Rat
XXVIII. The King and the Ju Ju Tree
XXIX. How the Tortoise overcame the Elephant and the Hippopotamus
XXX. Of the Pretty Girl and the Seven jealous Women
XXXI. How the Cannibals drove the People from Insofan Mountain to the Cross 
River (Ikom)
XXXII. The Lucky Fisherman
XXXIII. The Orphan Boy and the Magic Stone
XXXIV. The Slave Girl who tried to Kill her Mistress
XXXV. The King and the 'Nsiat Bird
XXXVI. Concerning the Fate of Essido and his Evil Companions
XXXVII Concerning the Hawk and the Owl
XXXVIII. The Story of the Drummer and the Alligators
XXXIX. The 'Nsasak Bird and the Odudu Bird
XL. The Election of the King Bird (the black-and-white Fishing Eagle)

 

INTRODUCTION
 

MANY years ago a book on the Folk-Tales of the Eskimo was published, and the 
editor of The Academy (Dr. Appleton) told one of his minions to send it to 
me for revision. By mischance it was sent to an eminent expert in Political 
Economy, who, never suspecting any error, took the book for the text of an 
interesting essay on the economics of "the blameless Hyperboreans."

Mr. Dayrell's "Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria" appeal to the 
anthropologist within me, no less than to the lover of what children and 
older people call "Fairy Tales." The stories are full of mentions of strange 
institutions, as well as of rare adventures. I may be permitted to offer 
some running notes and comments on this mass of African curiosities from the 
crowded lumber-room of the native mind.

I. The Tortoise with a Pretty Daughter.-The story, like the tales of the 
dark native tribes of Australia, rises from that state of fancy by which man 
draws (at least for purposes of fiction) no line between himself and the 
lower animals. Why should not the fair heroine, Adet, daughter of the 
tortoise, be the daughter of human parents? The tale would be none the less 
interesting, and a good deal more credible to the mature intelligence. But 
the ancient fashion of animal parentage is presented. It may have 
originated, like the stories of the Australians, at a time when men were 
totemists, when every person had a bestial or vegetable "family-name," and 
when, to account for these hereditary names, stories of descent from a 
supernatural, bestial, primeval race were invented. In the fables of the 
world, speaking animals, human in all but outward aspect, are the 
characters. The fashion is universal among savages; it descends to the 
Buddha's jataka, or parables, to Æsop and La Fontaine. There could be no 
such fashion if fables had originated among civilised human beings.

The polity of the people who tell this story seems to be despotic. The king 
makes a law that any girl prettier than the prince's fifty wives shall be 
put to death, with her parents. Who is to be the Paris, and give the fatal 
apple to the most fair? Obviously the prince is the Paris. He falls in love 
with Miss Tortoise, guided to her as he is by the bird who is "entranced 
with her beauty." In this tribe, as in Homer's time, the lover offers a 
bride-price to the father of the girl. In Homer cattle are the current 
medium; in Nigeria pieces of cloth and brass rods are (or were) the 
currency. Observe the queen's interest in an affair of true love. Though she 
knows that her son's life is endangered by his honourable passion, she adds 
to the bride-price out of her privy purse. It is "a long courting"; four 
years pass, while pretty Adet is "ower young to marry yet." The king is very 
angry when the news of this breach of the royal marriage Act first comes to 
his ears. He summons the whole of his subjects, his throne, a stone, is set 
out in the market-place, and Adet is brought before him. He sees and is 
conquered.

"It is no wonder," said the king,
"This tortoise-girl might be a queen."

Though a despot, his Majesty, before cancelling his law, has to consult the 
eight Egbos, or heads of secret societies, whose magical powers give the 
sacred sanction to legislation. The Egbo (see p. 4, note) is a mumbo-jumbo 
man. He answers to the bogey who presides over the rites of initiation in 
the Australian tribes.

When the Egbo is about, women must hide and keep out of the way. The king 
proclaims the cancelling of the law. The Egbos might resist, for they have 
all the knives and poisons of the secret societies behind them. But the 
king, a master of the human heart, acts like Sir Robert Walpole. He buys the 
Egbo votes "with palm-wine and money," and gives a feast to the women at the 
marriage dances. But why does the king give half his kingdom to the 
tortoise? When an adventurer in fairy tales wins the hand of the king's 
heiress, he usually gets half the kingdom. The tortoise is said to have been 
"the wisest of all men and animals." Why? He merely did not kill his 
daughter. But there is no temptation to kill daughters in a country where 
they are valuable assets, and command high bride-prices. In the Australian 
tribes, the bride-price is simply another girl. A man swops his sister to 
another man for the other man's sister, or for any girl of whose hand the 
other man has the disposal.

II. The second story is a very ingenious commercial parable, "Never lend 
money, you only make a dangerous enemy." The story also explains why bush 
cats eat poultry.

III. The Woman with Two Skins is a peculiar version of the story of the 
courteous Sir Gawain with his bride, hideous by day, and a pearl of 
loveliness by night. The Ju Ju man answers to the witch in our fairy tales 
and to the mother-in-law of the prince, who, by a magical potion, makes him 
forget his own true love. She, however, is always victorious, and the prince

"Prepares another marriage,
Their hearts so full of love and glee,"

and ousts the false bride, like Lord Bateman in the ballad, when Sophia came 
home. In this case of Lord Bateman, the scholiast (Thackeray, probably) 
suggests that his Lordship secured the consent of the Church as the king in 
the tortoise story won that of the Egbos. Our tale then wanders into the 
fairy tale of the king who is deceived into drowning his children, in 
European folk-lore, because he is informed that they are puppies. The Water 
Ju Ju, however, saves these black princes, and brings forward the rightful 
heir very dramatically at a wrestling match, where the lad overthrows more 
than he thought, like Orlando in As You Like It, and conquers the heart of 
the jealous queen as well as his athletic opponents.

In the conclusion the jealous woman is handed over to the ecclesiastical arm 
of the Egbos; she
is flogged, and, as in the case of Jeanne d'Arc, is burned alive, "and her 
ashes were thrown into the river." Human nature is much the same everywhere.

IV. The King's Magic Drum.-The drum is the mystic cauldron of ancient Welsh 
romance, which "always provides plenty of good food and drink." But the drum 
has its drawback, the food "goes bad" if its owner steps over a stick in the 
road or a fallen tree, a tabu like the geisas of ancient Irish legends. The 
tortoise, in this tale, has the geisas power; he can make the king give him 
anything he chooses to ask. This very queer constraint occurs constantly in 
the Cuchullain cycle of Irish romances, and in The Black Thief. (You can buy 
it for a penny in Dublin, or read it in Thackeray's Little Tour in Ireland.) 
The King is constrained to part with the drum, but does not tell the 
tortoise about the tabu and the drawback. The tortoise, though disappointed, 
at least pays his score off in public, and then the tale wanders into the 
Hop o' my Thumb formula, and the trail of ashes. Finally the story, like 
most stories, explains the origin of an animal peculiarity, why tortoises 
live under prickly tie-tie palms. That explanation was clearly in the 
author's mind from the first, but to reach his point he adopted the formula 
of the mystic object, drum or cauldron, which provides endless supplies, and 
has a counteracting charm attached to it, a tabu.

V. Ituen and the King's Wife.-Some of these tales have this peculiarity, 
that the characters possess names, as Ituen, Offiong, and Attem. They are 
thus what people call sagas, not mere Märchen. All the pseudo-historic 
legends of the Greek states, of Thebes, Athens, Mycenæ, Pylos, and so on, 
are folk-tales converted into saga, and adapted and accepted as historical. 
Some of these Nigerian fairy-tales are in the same cast. The story of 
Athamas of Iolcos and the sacrifice of any of his descendants who went into 
the town hall, exactly corresponds to the fate of the family of Ituen (p. 
32).[1] The whole Athamas story, in Greece, is a tissue of popular tales 
found in every part of the world. This Ituen story, as usual, explains the 
habits of animals, vultures, and dogs, and illustrates the awful cruelties 
of Egbo law.

V1. The Pretty Stranger is a native variant of Judith and Holofernes.

VII. A "Just So Story," a myth to explain the ways of animals. The cauldron 
of Medea, which destroyed the wrong old person, and did not rejuvenate him, 
is introduced, "All the stories have been told," all the world over.

VIII. The Disobedient Daughter who Married a Skull. -This is most original; 
though all our ballads and tales about the pretty girl who is carried to the 
land of the dead by her lover's ghost (Bürger's Lenore) have the same 
fundamental idea. Then comes in the common moral, the Reward of Courtesy, as 
in Perrault's Les Fées. But the machinery of the Nigerian romance leads up 
to the Return of Proserpine from the Dead in a truly fanciful way.

IX. The King who Married the Cock's Daughter is Æsop's man who married the 
woman that had been a cat. As Adia unen pecks at the corn, the other lady 
caught and ate a mouse.

[1. See the Platonic dialogue, Minos, 315-6, and Athamas in Roscher's 
Lexikon.]

X. The Woman, the Ape, and the Child.-This tale illustrates Egbo 
juridicature very powerfully, and is told to account for Nigerian marriage 
law.

XI. The Fish and the Leopards Wife.-Another "just So Story."

XII. The Bat.-Another explanation of the nocturnal habits of the bat. The 
tortoise appears as the wisest of things, like the hare in North America, 
Brer Rabbit, the Bushman Mantis insect, and so on.

XIII., XIV., XV. All of these are explanatory "Just So Stories."

XVI. Why the Sun and Moon live in the Sky.-Sun and Moon, in savage myth, 
lived on earth at first, but the Nigerian explanation of their retreat to 
the sky is, as far as I know, without parallel elsewhere.

XVII., XVIII., "Just So Stories."

XIX. Quite an original myth of Thunder and Lightning: much below the divine 
dignity of such myths elsewhere. Thunder is not the Voice of Zeus or of 
Baiame the Father (Australian), but of an old sheep! The gods have not made 
the Nigerians poetical.

XX. Another " just So Story."

XXI. The Cock who caused a Fight illustrates private war and justice among 
the natives, and shows the Egbos refusing to admit the principle of a fine 
in atonement for an offence.

XXII. The Affair of the Hippopotamus and of the Tortoise.-A very curious 
variant of the Whuppitie Stoorie, or Tom-Tit-Tot story, depending on the 
power conferred by learning the secret name of an opponent. These secret 
names are conferred at Australian ceremonies. Any amount of the learning 
about secret names is easily accessible.

XXIII. Why Dead People are Buried.-Here we meet the Creator so common in the 
religious beliefs of Africans as of most barbarous and savage peoples. "The 
Creator was a big chief." The Euahlayi Baiame is rendered "Big Man" by Mrs. 
Langloh Parker (see The Euahlayi Tribe). The myth is one of world-wide 
diffusion, explaining The Origin of Death, usually by the fable of a 
message, forgotten and misrendered, from the Creator.

XXIV. The Fat Woman who Melted Away.-The revival of this beautiful creature, 
from all that was left of her, the toe, is an incident very common in folk-
tales, i.e. the Scottish Rashin Coade. (The word "dowry" is used throughout 
where " bride-price " would better express the institution. The Homeric hena 
is meant.)

XXV. The Leopard, the Squirrel, and the Tortoise.-A "Just So Story."

XXVI. Why the Moon Waxes and Wanes.-A lunar myth; not a poetical though a 
kindly explanation of the habits of the moon.

XXVII. The Story of the Leopard, the Tortoise, and the Bush Rat.-A "Just So 
Story."

XXVIII. The King and the Ju Ju Tree.-This is a fine example of Ju Ju 
beliefs, and of an extraordinary sacrifice to a Ju Ju power located in a 
tree. Goats, chickens, and white men are common offerings, but "seven 
baskets of flies " might propitiate Beelzebub. The "spirit-man " who can 
succeed when sacrifice fails, chooses the king's daughter as his reward, as 
is usual in Märchen. Compare Melampus and Pero in Greece. The skull in 
spirit-land here plays a friendly part, in advising the princess, like 
Proserpine, not to eat among the dead. This caution is found everywhere-in 
the Greek version of Orpheus and Eurydice, in the Kalewala, and in Scott's 
"Wandering Willie's Tale," in Redgauntlet. Like Orpheus, the girl is not to 
look back while leaving spirit-land. Her successful escape, by obeying the 
injunctions of the skull, is unusual.

XXIX. How the Tortoise overcame the Elephant and the Hippopotamus.-A "Just 
So Story," with the tortoise as cunning as Brer Rabbit.

XXX. Of the Pretty Girl and the Seven Jealous Women. -Here the good little 
bird plays the part of the popinjay who "up and spake" with good effect in 
the first ballads. The useful Ju Ju man divines by casting lots, a common 
method among the Zulus. The revenge of the pretty girl's father is certainly 
adequate.

XXXI. How the Cannibals drove the People from Insofan Mountain to the Cross 
River (Ikom).-This professes to be historical, and concerns human 
sacrifices, "to cool the new yams," and cannibalism.

XXXII. is unimportant.

In XXXIII. we find the ordeal poison, which destroys fifty witches.

XXXIV. The Slave Girl who tried to Kill her Mistress is a form of our common 
tale of the waiting-maid who usurps the place of her mistress, the Bride. 
The resurrection of the Bride from the water, at the cry of her little 
sister, occurs in a remote quarter, among the Samoyeds in Castrens 
Samoyedische Märchen, but there the opening is in the style of Asterinos and 
Pulja (Phrixus and Helli) in Van Hahn's Griechische Märchen. The False Bride 
story is, in an ancient French chanson de geste, part of the legend of the 
mother of Charlemagne. The story also occurs in Callaway's collection of 
Zulu fairy tales. In the Nigerian version the manners, customs, and 
cruelties are all thoroughly West African.

XXXV. The King and the 'Nsiat Bird accounts, as usual, for the habits of the 
bird; and also illustrates the widespread custom of killing twins.

XXXVI. reflects the well-known practices of poison and the ordeal by poison.

XXXVII. is another "Just So Story."

XXXVIII. The Drummer and the Alligators.-In this grim tale of one of the 
abominable secret societies the human alligators appear to be regarded as 
being capable of taking bestial form, like werewolves or the leopards of 
another African secret society.

XXXIX. and XL. are both picturesque "Just So Stories," so common in the 
folk-lore of all countries.

The most striking point in the tales is the combination of good humour and 
good feeling with horrible cruelties, and the reign of terror of the Egbos 
and lesser societies. European influences can scarcely do much harm, apart 
from whisky, in Nigeria. As to religion, we do not learn that the Creator 
receives any sacrifice: in savage and barbaric countries He usually gets 
none. Only Ju Jus, whether ghosts or fiends in general, are propitiated. The 
Other is "too high and too far."

I have briefly indicated the stories which have variants in ancient myth and 
European Märchen or fairy tales.

ANDREW LANG.

 

FOLK STORIES
FROM SOUTHERN NIGERIA
I
The Tortoise with a Pretty Daughter
THERE was once a king who was very powerful. He had great influence over the 
wild beasts and animals. Now the tortoise was looked upon as the wisest of 
all beasts and men. This king had a son named Ekpenyon, to whom he gave 
fifty young girls as wives, but the prince did not like any of them. The 
king was very angry at this, and made a law that if any man had a daughter 
who was finer than the prince's wives, and who found favour in his son's 
eyes, the girl herself and her father and mother should be killed.

Now about this time the tortoise and his wife had a daughter who was very 
beautiful. The mother thought it was not safe to keep such a fine child, as 
the prince might fall in love with her, so she told her husband that her 
daughter ought to be killed and thrown away into the bush. The tortoise, 
however, was unwilling, and hid her until she was three years old. One day, 
when both the tortoise and his wife were away on their farm, the king's son 
happened to be hunting near their house, and saw a bird perched on the top 
of the fence round the house. The bird was watching the little girl, and was 
so entranced with her beauty that he did not notice the prince coming. The 
prince shot the bird with his bow and arrow, and it dropped inside the 
fence, so the prince sent his servant to gather it. While the servant was 
looking for the bird he came across the little girl, and was so struck with 
her form, that he immediately returned to his master and told him what he 
had seen. The prince then broke down the fence and found the child, and fell 
in love with her at once. He stayed and talked with her for a long time, 
until at last she agreed to become his wife. He then went home, but 
concealed from his father the fact that he had fallen in love with the 
beautiful daughter of the tortoise.

But the next morning he sent for the treasurer, and got sixty pieces of 
cloth[1] and three hundred rods,[2] and sent them to the tortoise. Then in 
the early afternoon he went down to the tortoise's house, and told him that 
he wished to marry his daughter. The tortoise saw at once that what he had 
dreaded had come to pass, and that his life was in danger, so he told the 
prince that if the king knew, he would kill not only himself (the tortoise), 
but also his wife and daughter. The prince replied that he would be killed 
himself before he allowed

[1. A piece of cloth is generally about 8 yards long by 1 yard broad, and is 
valued at 5s.

2. A rod is made of brass, and is worth 3d. It is in the shape of a narrow 
croquet hoop, about 16 inches long and 6 inches across. A rod is native 
currency on the Cross River.]

the tortoise and his wife and daughter to be killed. Eventually, after much 
argument, the tortoise consented, and agreed to hand his daughter to the 
prince as his wife when she arrived at the proper age. Then the prince went 
home and told his mother what he had done. She was in great distress at the 
thought that she would lose her son, of whom she was very proud, as she knew 
that when the king heard of his son's disobedience he would kill him. 
However, the queen, although she knew how angry her husband would be, wanted 
her son to marry the girl he had fallen in love with, so she went to the 
tortoise and gave him some money, clothes, yams, and palm-oil as further 
dowry on her son's behalf in order that the tortoise should not give his 
daughter to another man. For the next five years the prince was constantly 
with the tortoise's daughter, whose name was Adet, and when she was about to 
be put in the fatting house,[1] the prince told his father that he was going 
to take Adet as his wife. On hearing this the king was very angry, and sent 
word all round his kingdom that all people should come on a certain day to 
the marketplace to hear the palaver. When the appointed day arrived the 
market-place was quite full of people, and the stones belonging to the king 
and queen were placed in the middle of the market-place.

When the king and queen arrived all the people stood up and greeted them, 
and they then sat down on their stones. The king then told his attendants

[1. The fatting house is a room where a girl is kept for some weeks previous 
to her marriage. She is given plenty of food, and made as fat as possible, 
as fatness is looked upon as a great beauty by the Efik people.]

to bring the girl Adet before him. When she arrived the king was quite 
astonished at her beauty. He then told the people that he had sent for them 
to tell them that he was angry with his son for disobeying him and taking 
Adet as his wife without his knowledge, but that now he had seen her himself 
he had to acknowledge that she was very beautiful, and that his son had made 
a good choice. He would therefore forgive his son.

When the people saw the girl they agreed that she was very fine and quite 
worthy of being the prince's wife, and begged the king to cancel the law he 
had made altogether, and the king agreed and as the law had been made under 
the "Egbo" law, he sent for eight Egbos,[1] and told them that the order was 
cancelled throughout his kingdom, and that for the future no one would be 
killed who had a daughter more beautiful than the prince's wives, and gave 
the Egbos palm wine and money to remove the law, and

[1. The Egbo Society has many branches, extending from Calabar up the Cross 
River as far as the German Cameroons. Formerly this society used to levy 
blackmail to a certain extent and collect debts for people. The head Ju Ju, 
or fetish man, of each society is disguised, and frequently wears a hideous 
mask. There is a bell tied round his waist, hanging behind and concealed by 
feathers; this bell makes a noise as be runs. When the Egbo is out no women 
are allowed outside their houses, and even at the present time the women 
pretend to be very frightened. The Egbo very often carries a whip in his 
hand, and hits out blindly at any one he comes across. He runs round the 
town, followed by young men of his society beating drums and firing off 
guns. There is generally much drinking going on when the Egbo is playing. 
There is an Egbo House in most towns, the end part of which is screened off 
for the Egbo to change in. Inside the house are hung human skulls and the 
skulls of buffalo, or bush cow, as they are called; also heads of the 
various antelopes, crocodiles, apes, and other animals which have been 
killed by the members. The skulls of cows and goats killed by the society 
are also hung up. A fire is always kept in the Egbo House; and in the 
morning and late afternoon, the members of the society frequently meet there 
to drink gin and palm wine.]

sent them away. Then he declared that the tortoise's daughter, Adet, should 
marry his son, and he made them marry the same day. A great feast was then 
given which lasted for fifty days, and the king killed five cows and gave 
all the people plenty of foo-foo[1] and palm-oil chop, and placed a large 
number of pots of palm wine in the streets for the people to drink as they 
liked. The women brought a big play to the king's compound, and there was 
singing and dancing kept up day and night during the whole time. The prince 
and his companions also played in the market square. When the feast was over 
the king gave half of his kingdom to the tortoise to rule over, and three 
hundred slaves to work on his farm. The prince also gave his father-in-law 
two hundred women and one hundred girls to work for him, so the tortoise 
became one of the richest men in the kingdom. The prince and his wife lived 
together for a good many years until the king died, when the prince ruled in 
his place. And all this shows that the tortoise is the wisest of all men and 
animals.

MORAL.-Always have pretty daughters, as no matter how poor they may be, 
there is always the chance that the king's son may fall in love with them, 
and they may thus become members of the royal house and obtain much wealth.

[1. Foo-foo =yams boiled and mashed up.]

II
How a Hunter obtained Money from his Friends the Leopard, Goat, Bush Cat, 
and Cock, and how he got out of repaying them
MANY years ago there was a Calabar hunter called Effiong, who lived in the 
bush, killed plenty of animals, and made much money. Every one in the 
country knew him, and one of his best friends was a man called Okun, who 
lived near him. But Effiong was very extravagant, and spent much money in 
eating and drinking with every one, until at last he became quite poor, so 
he had to go out hunting again; but now his good luck seemed to have 
deserted him, for although he worked hard, and hunted day and night, he 
could not succeed in killing anything. One day, as he was very hungry, he 
went to his friend Okun and borrowed two hundred rods from him, and told him 
to come to his house on a certain day to get his money, and he told him to 
bring his gun, loaded, with him.

Now, some time before this Effiong had made friends with a leopard and a 
bush cat, whom he had met in the forest whilst on one of his hunting 
expeditions; and he had also made friends with a goat and a cock at a farm 
where he had stayed for the night. But though Effiong had borrowed the money 
from Okun, he could not think how he was to repay it on the day he had 
promised. At last, however, he thought of a plan, and on the next day he 
went to his friend the leopard, and asked him to lend him two hundred rods, 
promising to return the amount to him on the same day as he had promised to 
pay Okun; and he also told the leopard, that if he were absent when he came 
for his money, he could kill anything he saw in the house and eat it. The 
leopard was then to wait until the hunter arrived, when he would pay him the 
money; and to this the leopard agreed. The hunter then went to his friend 
the goat, and borrowed two hundred rods from him in the same way. Effiong 
also went to his friends the bush cat and the cock, and borrowed two hundred 
rods from each of them on the same conditions, and told each one of them 
that if he were absent when they arrived, they could kill and eat anything 
they found about the place.

When the appointed day arrived the hunter spread some corn on the ground, 
and then went away and left the house deserted. Very early in the morning, 
soon after he had begun to crow, the cock remembered what the hunter had 
told him, and walked over to the hunter's house, but found no one there. On 
looking round, however, he saw some corn on the, ground, and, being hungry, 
he commenced to eat. About this time the bush cat also arrived, and not 
finding the hunter at home, he, too, looked about, and very soon he espied 
the cock, who was busy picking up the grains of corn. So the bush cat went 
up very softly behind and pounced on the cock and killed him at once, and 
began to eat him. By this time the goat had come for his money; but not 
finding his friend, he walked about until he came upon the bush cat, who was 
so intent upon his meal off the cock, that he did not notice the goat 
approaching; and the goat, being in rather a bad temper at not getting his 
money, at once charged at the bush cat and knocked him over, butting him 
with his horns. This the bush cat did not like at all, so, as he was not big 
enough to fight the goat, he picked up the remains of the cock and ran off 
with it to the bush, and so lost his money, as he did not await the arrival 
of the hunter. The goat was thus left master of the situation and started 
bleating, and this noise attracted the attention of the leopard, who was on 
his way to receive payment from the hunter. As he got nearer the smell of 
goat became very strong, and being hungry, for he had not eaten anything for 
some time, he approached the goat very carefully. Not seeing any one about 
he stalked the goat and got nearer and nearer, until he was within springing 
distance. The goat, in the meantime, was grazing quietly, quite unsuspicious 
of any danger, as he was in his friend the hunter's compound. Now and then 
he would say Ba!! But most of the time he was busy eating the young grass, 
and picking up the leaves which had fallen from a tree of which he was very 
fond. Suddenly the leopard sprang at the goat, and with one crunch at the 
neck brought him down. The goat was dead almost at once, and the leopard 
started on his meal.

It was now about eight o'clock in the morning, and Okun, the hunter's 
friend, having had his early morning meal, went out with his gun to receive 
payment of the two hundred rods he had lent to the hunter. When he got close 
to the house he heard a crunching sound, and, being a hunter himself, he 
approached very cautiously, and looking over the fence saw the leopard only 
a few yards off busily engaged eating the goat. He took careful aim at the 
leopard and fired, whereupon the leopard rolled over dead. The death of the 
leopard meant that four of the hunter's creditors were now disposed of, as 
the bush cat had killed the cock, the goat had driven the bush cat away (who 
thus forfeited his claim), and in his turn the goat had been killed by the 
leopard, who had just been slain by Okun. This meant a saving of eight 
hundred rods to Effiong; but he was not content with this, and directly he 
heard the report of the gun he ran out from where he had been hiding all the 
time, and found the leopard lying dead with Okun standing over it. Then in 
very strong language Effiong began to upbraid his friend, and asked him why 
he had killed his old friend the leopard, that nothing would satisfy him but 
that he should report the whole matter to the king, who would no doubt deal 
with him as he thought fit. When Effiong said this Okun was frightened, and 
begged him not to say anything more about the matter, as the king would be 
angry; but the hunter was obdurate, and refused to listen to him; and at 
last Okun said, "If you will allow the whole thing to drop and will say no 
more about it, I will make you a present of the two hundred rods you 
borrowed from me." This was just what Effiong wanted, but still he did not 
give in at once; eventually, however, he agreed, and told Okun he might go, 
and that he would bury the body of his friend the leopard.

Directly Okun had gone, instead of burying the body Effiong dragged it 
inside the house and skinned it very carefully. The skin he put out to dry 
in the sun, and covered it with wood ash, and the body he ate. When the skin 
was well cured the hunter took it to a distant market, where he sold it for 
much money. And now, whenever a bush cat sees a cock he always kills it, and 
does so by right, as he takes the cock in part payment of the two hundred 
rods which the hunter never paid him.

MORAL.-Never lend money to people, because if they cannot pay they will try 
to kill you or get rid of you in some way, either by poison or by setting 
bad Ju Ju's for you.

III
The Woman with Two Skins
EYAMBA I. of Calabar was a very powerful king. He fought and conquered all 
the surrounding countries, killing all the old men and women, but the able-
bodied men and girls he caught and brought back as slaves, and they worked 
on the farms until they died.

This king had two hundred wives, but none of them had borne a son to him. 
His subjects, seeing that he was becoming an old man, begged him to marry 
one of the spider's daughters, as they always had plenty of children. But 
when the king saw the spider's daughter he did not like her, as she was 
ugly, and the people said it was because her mother had had so many children 
at the same time. However, in order to please his people he married the ugly 
girl, and placed her among his other wives, but they all complained because 
she was so ugly, and said she could not live with them. The king, therefore, 
built her a separate house for herself, where she was given food and drink 
the same as the other wives. Every one jeered at her on account of her 
ugliness; but she was not really ugly, but beautiful, as she was born with 
two skins, and at her birth her mother was made to promise that she should 
never remove the ugly skin until a certain time arrived save only during the 
night, and that she must put it on again before dawn. Now the king's head 
wife knew this, and was very fearful lest the king should find it out and 
fall in love with the spider's daughter; so she went to a Ju Ju man and 
offered him two hundred rods to make a potion that would make the king 
forget altogether that the spider's daughter was his wife. This the Ju Ju 
man finally consented to do, after much haggling over the price, for three 
hundred and fifty rods; and he made up some "medicine," which the head wife 
mixed with the king's food. For some months this had the effect of making 
the king forget the spider's daughter, and he used to pass quite close to 
her without recognising her in any way. When four months had elapsed and the 
king had not once sent for Adiaha (for that was the name of the spider's 
daughter), she began to get tired, and went back to her parents. Her father, 
the spider, then took her to another Ju Ju man, who, by making spells and 
casting lots, very soon discovered that it was the king's head wife who had 
made the Ju Ju and had enchanted the king so that he would not look at 
Adiaha. He therefore told the spider that Adiaha should give the king some 
medicine which he would prepare, which would make the king remember her. He 
prepared the medicine, for which the spider had to pay a large sum of money; 
and that very day Adiaha made a small dish of food, into which she had 
placed the medicine, and presented it to the king. Directly he had eaten the 
dish his eyes were opened and he recognised his wife, and told her to come 
to him that very evening. So in the afternoon, being very joyful, she went 
down to the river and washed, and when she returned she put on her best 
cloth and went to the king's palace.

Directly it was dark and all the lights were out she pulled off her ugly 
skin, and the king saw how beautiful she was, and was very pleased with her; 
but when the cock crowed Adiaha pulled on her ugly skin again, and went back 
to her own house.

This she did for four nights running, always taking the ugly skin off in the 
dark, and leaving before daylight in the morning. In course of time, to the 
great surprise of all the people, and particularly of the king's two hundred 
wives, she gave birth to a son; but what surprised them most of all was that 
only one son was born, whereas her mother had always had a great many 
children at a time, generally about fifty.

The king's head wife became more jealous than ever when Adiaha had a son; so 
she went again to the Ju Ju man, and by giving him a large present induced 
him to give her some medicine which would make the king sick and forget his 
son. And the medicine would then make the king go to the Ju Ju man, who 
would tell him that it was his son who had made him sick, as he wanted to 
reign instead of his father. The Ju Ju man would also tell the king that if 
he wanted to recover he must throw his son away into the water.

And the king, when he had taken the medicine., went to the Ju Ju man, who 
told him everything as had been arranged with the head wife. But at first 
the king did not want to destroy his son. Then his chief subjects begged him 
to throw his son away, and said that perhaps in a year's time he might get 
another son. So the king at last agreed, and threw his son into the river, 
at which the mother grieved and cried bitterly.

Then the head wife went again to the Ju Ju man and got more medicine, which 
made the king forget Adiaha for three years, during which time she was in 
mourning for her son. She then returned to her father, and he got some more 
medicine from his Ju Ju man, which Adiaha gave to the king. And the king 
knew her and called her to him again, and she lived with him as before. Now 
the Ju Ju who had helped Adiaha's father, the spider, was a Water Ju Ju, and 
he was ready when the king threw his son into the water, and saved his life 
and took him home and kept him alive. And the boy grew up very strong.

After a time Adiaha gave birth to a daughter, and her the jealous wife also 
persuaded the king to throw away. It took a longer time to persuade him, but 
at last he agreed, and threw his daughter into the water too, and forgot 
Adiaha again. But the Water Ju Ju was ready again, and when he had saved the 
little girl, he thought the time had arrived to punish the action of the- 
jealous wife; so he went about amongst the head young men and persuaded them 
to hold a wrestling match in the market-place every week. This was done, and 
the Water Ju Ju told the king's son, who had become very strong, and was 
very like to his father in appearance, that he should go and wrestle, and 
that no one would be able to stand up before him. It was then arranged that 
there should be a grand wrestling match, to which all the strongest men in 
the country were invited, and the king promised to attend with his head 
wife.

On the day of the match the Water Ju Ju told the king's son that he need not 
be in the least afraid, and that his Ju Ju was so powerful, that even the 
strongest and best wrestlers in the country would not be able to stand up 
against him for even a few minutes. All the people of the country came to 
see the great contest, to the winner of which the king had promised to 
present prizes of cloth and money, and all the strongest men came. When they 
saw the king's son, whom nobody knew, they laughed and said, "Who is this 
small boy? He can have no chance against us." But when they came to wrestle, 
they very soon found that they were no match for him. The boy was very 
strong indeed, beautifully made and good to look upon, and all the people 
were surprised to see how like he was to the king.

After wrestling for the greater part of the day the king's son was declared 
the winner, having thrown every one who had stood up against him; in fact, 
some of his opponents had been badly hurt, and had their arms or ribs broken 
owing to the tremendous strength of the boy. After the match was over the 
king presented him with cloth and money, and invited him to dine with him in 
the evening. The boy gladly accepted his father's invitation; and after he 
had had a good wash in the river, put on his cloth and went up to the 
palace, where he found the bead chiefs of the country and some of the king's 
most favoured wives. They then sat down to their meal, and the king had his 
own son, whom he did not know, sitting next to him. On the other side of the 
boy sat the jealous wife, who had been the cause of all the trouble. All 
through the dinner this woman did her best to make friends with the boy, 
with whom she had fallen violently in love on account of his beautiful 
appearance, his strength, and his being the best wrestler in the country. 
The woman thought to herself, It I will have this boy as my husband, as my 
husband is now an old man and will surely soon die." The boy, however, who 
was as wise as he was strong, was quite aware of everything the jealous 
woman had done, and although he pretended to be very flattered at the 
advances of the king's head wife, he did not respond very readily, and went 
home as soon as he could.

When he returned to the Water Ju Ju's house he told him everything that had 
happened, and the Water Ju Ju said-

"As you are now in high favour with the king, you must go to him to-morrow 
and beg a favour from him. The favour you will ask is that all the country 
shall be called together, and that a certain case shall be tried, and that 
when the case is finished, the man or woman who is found to be in the wrong 
shall be killed by the Egbos before all the people."

So the following morning the boy went to the king, who readily granted his 
request, and at once sent all round the country appointing a day for all the 
people to come in and hear the case tried. Then the boy went back to the 
Water Ju Ju, who told him to go to his mother and tell her who he was, and 
that when the day of the trial arrived, she was to take off her ugly skin 
and appear in all her beauty, for the time had come when she need no longer 
wear it. This the son did.

When the day of trial arrived, Adiaha sat in a corner of the square, and 
nobody recognised the beautiful stranger as the spider's daughter. Her son 
then sat down next to her, and brought his sister with him. Immediately his 
mother saw her she said-

"This must be my daughter, whom I have long mourned as dead," and embraced 
her most affectionately.

The king and his head wife then arrived and sat on their stones in the 
middle of the square, all the people saluting them with the usual greetings. 
The king then addressed the people, and said that he had called them 
together to hear a strong palaver at the request of the young man who had 
been the victor of the wrestling, and who had promised that if the case went 
against him he would offer up his life to the Egbo. The king also said that 
if, on the other hand, the case was decided in the boy's favour, then the 
other party would be killed, even though it were himself or one of his 
wives; whoever it was would have to take his or her place on the killing-
stone and have their heads cut off by the Egbos. To this all the people 
agreed, and said they would like to hear what the young man had to say. The 
young man then walked round the square, and bowed to the king and the 
people, and asked the question, "Am I not worthy to be the son of any chief 
in the country?" And all the people answered "Yes!"

The boy then brought his sister out into the middle, leading her by the 
hand. She was a beautiful girl and well made. When every one had looked at 
her he said, "Is not my sister worthy to be any chief's daughter?" And the 
people replied that she was worthy of being any one's daughter, even the 
king's. Then he called his mother Adiaha, and she came out, looking very 
beautiful with her best cloth and beads on, and all the people cheered, as 
they had never seen a finer woman. The boy then asked them, "Is this woman 
worthy of being the king's wife?" And a shout went up from every one present 
that she would be a proper wife for the king, and looked as if she would be 
the mother of plenty of fine healthy sons.

Then the boy pointed out the jealous woman who was sitting next to the king, 
and told the people his story, how that his mother, who had two skins, was 
the spider's daughter; how she had married the king, and how the head wife 
was jealous and had made a bad Ju Ju for the king, which made him forget his 
wife; how she had persuaded the king to throw himself and his sister into 
the river, which, as they all knew, had been done, but the Water Ju Ju had 
saved both of them, and had brought them up.

Then the boy said - "I leave the king and all of you people to judge my 
case. If I have done wrong, let me be killed on the stone by the Egbos; if, 
on the other hand, the woman has done evil, then let the Egbos deal with her 
as you may decide."

When the king knew that the wrestler was his son he was very glad, and told 
the Egbos to take the jealous woman away, and punish her in accordance with 
their laws. The Egbos decided that the woman was a witch; so they took her 
into the forest and tied her up to a stake, and gave her two hundred lashes 
with a whip made from hippopotamus hide, and then burnt her alive, so that 
she should not make any more trouble, and her ashes were thrown into the 
river. The king then embraced his wife and daughter, and told all the people 
that she, Adiaha, was his proper wife, and would be the queen for the 
future.

When the palaver was over, Adiaha was. dressed in fine clothes and beads, 
and carried back in state to the palace by the king's servants.

That night the king gave a big feast to all his subjects, and told them how 
glad he was to get back his beautiful wife whom he had never known properly 
before, also his son who was stronger than all men, and his fine daughter. 
The feast continued for a hundred and sixty-six days; and the king made a 
law that if any woman was found out getting medicine against her husband, 
she should be killed at once. Then the king built three new compounds, and 
placed many slaves in them, both men and women. One compound he gave to his 
wife, another to his son, and the third he gave to his daughter. They all 
lived together quite happily for some years until the king died, when his 
son came to the throne and ruled in his stead.

IV
The King's Magic Drum
EFRIAM DUKE was an ancient king of Calabar. He was a peaceful man, and did 
not like war. He had a wonderful drum, the property of which, when it was 
beaten, was always to provide plenty of good food and drink. So whenever any 
country declared war against him, he used to call all his enemies together 
and beat his drum; then to the surprise of every one, instead of fighting 
the people found tables spread with all sorts of dishes, fish, foo-foo, 
palm-oil chop, soup, cooked yams and ocros, and plenty of palm wine for 
everybody. In this way he kept all the country quiet and sent his enemies 
away with full stomachs, and in a happy and contented frame of mind. There 
was only one drawback to possessing the drum, and that was, if the owner of 
the drum walked over any stick on the road or stept over a fallen tree, all 
the food would immediately go bad, and three hundred Egbo men would appear 
with sticks and whips and beat the owner of the drum and all the invited 
guests very severely.

Efriam Duke was a rich man. He had many farms and hundreds of slaves, a 
large store of kernels on the beach, and many puncheons of palm-oil. He also 
had fifty wives and many children. The wives were all fine women and 
healthy; they were also good mothers, and all of them had plenty of 
children, which was good for the king's house.

Every few months the king used to issue invitations to all his subjects to 
come to a big feast, even the wild animals were invited; the elephants, 
hippopotami, leopards, bush cows, and antelopes used to come, for in those 
days there was no trouble, as they were friendly with man, and when they 
were at the feast they did not kill one another. All the people and the 
animals as well were envious of the king's drum and wanted to possess it, 
but the king would not part with it.

One morning lkwor Edem, one of the king's wives, took her little daughter 
down to the spring to wash her, as she was covered with yaws, which are bad 
sores all over the body. The tortoise happened to be up a palm tree, just 
over the spring, cutting nuts for his midday meal; and while he was cutting, 
one of the nuts fell to the ground, just in front of the child. The little 
girl, seeing the good food, cried for it, and the mother, not knowing any 
better, picked up the palm nut and gave it to her daughter. Directly the 
tortoise saw this he climbed down the tree, and asked the woman where his 
palm nut was. She replied that she had given it to her child to eat.

Then the tortoise, who very much wanted the king's drum, thought he would 
make plenty palaver over this and force the king to give him the drum, so he 
said to the mother of the child-

"I am a poor man, and I climbed the tree to get food for myself and my 
family. Then you took my palm nut and gave it to your child. I shall tell 
the whole matter to the king, and see what he has to say when he hears that 
one of his wives has stolen my food," for this, as every one knows, is a 
very serious crime according to native custom.

lkwor Edem then said to the tortoise-

"I saw your palm nut lying on the ground, and thinking it had fallen from 
the tree, I gave it to my little girl to eat, but I did not steal it. My 
husband the king is a rich man, and if you have any complaint to make 
against me or my child, I will take you before him."

So when she had finished washing her daughter at the spring she took the 
tortoise to her husband, and told him what had taken place. The king then 
asked the tortoise what he would accept as compensation for the loss of his 
palm nut, and offered him money, cloth, kernels or palm-oil, all of which 
things the tortoise refused one after the other.

The king then said to the tortoise, "What will you take? You may have 
anything you like."

And the tortoise immediately pointed to the king's drum, and said that it 
was the only thing he wanted.

In order to get rid of the tortoise the king said, "Very well, take the 
drum," but he never told the tortoise about the bad things that would happen 
to him if he stept over a fallen tree, or walked over a stick on the road.

The tortoise was very glad at this, and carried the drum home in triumph to 
his wife, and said, "I am now a rich man, and shall do no more work. 
Whenever I want food, all I have to do is to beat this drum, and food will 
immediately be brought to me, and plenty to drink."

His wife and children were very pleased when they heard this, and asked the 
tortoise to get food at once, as they were all hungry. This the tortoise was 
only too pleased to do, as he wished to show off his newly acquired wealth, 
and was also rather hungry himself, so he beat the drum in the same way as 
he had seen the king do when he wanted something to eat, and immediately 
plenty of food appeared, so they all sat down and made a great f east. The 
tortoise did this for three days, and everything went well; all his children 
got fat, and had as much as they could possibly eat. He was therefore very 
proud of his drum, and in order to display his riches he sent invitations to 
the king and all the people and animals to come to a feast. When the people 
received their invitations they laughed, as they knew the tortoise was very 
poor, so very few attended the feast; but the king, knowing about the drum, 
came, and when the tortoise beat the drum, the food was brought as usual in 
great profusion, and all the people sat down and enjoyed their meal very 
much. They were much astonished that the poor tortoise should be able to 
entertain so many people, and told all their friends what fine dishes had 
been placed before them, and that they had never had a better dinner. The 
people who had not gone were very sorry when they heard this, as a good 
feast, at somebody else's expense, is not provided every day. After the 
feast all the people looked upon the tortoise as one of the richest men in 
the kingdom, and he was very much respected in consequence. No one, except 
the king, could understand how the poor tortoise could suddenly entertain so 
lavishly, but they all made up their minds that if the tortoise ever gave 
another feast, they would not refuse again.

When the tortoise had been in possession of the drum for a few weeks he 
became lazy and did no work, but went about the country boasting of his 
riches, and took to drinking too much. One day after he had been drinking a 
lot of palm wine at a distant farm, he started home carrying his drum; but 
having had too much to drink, he did not notice a stick in the path. He 
walked over the stick, and of course the Ju Ju was broken at once. But he 
did not know this, as nothing happened at the time, and eventually he 
arrived at his house very tired, and still not very well from having drunk 
too much. He threw the drum into a corner and went to sleep. When he woke up 
in the morning the tortoise began to feel hungry, and as his wife and 
children were calling out for food, he beat the drum; but instead of food 
being brought, the house was filled with Egbo men, who beat the tortoise, 
his wife and children, badly. At this the tortoise was very angry, and said 
to himself-

"I asked every one to a feast, but only a few came, and they had plenty to 
eat and drink. Now, when I want food for myself and my family, the Egbos 
come and beat me. Well, I will let the other people share the same fate, as 
I do not see why I and my family should be beaten when I have given a feast 
to all people."

He therefore at once sent out invitations to all the men and animals to come 
to a big dinner the next day at three o'clock in the afternoon.

When the time arrived many people came, as they did not wish to lose the 
chance of a free meal a second time. Even the sick men, the lame, and the 
blind got their friends to lead them to the feast. When they had all 
arrived, with the exception of the king and his wives, who sent excuses, the 
tortoise beat his drum as usual, and then quickly hid himself under a bench, 
where he could not be seen. His wife and children he had sent away before 
the feast, as he knew what would surely happen. Directly he had beaten the 
drum three hundred Egbo men appeared with whips, and started flogging all 
the guests, who could not escape, as the doors had been fastened. The 
beating went on for two hours, and the people were so badly punished, that 
many of them had to be carried home on the backs of their friends. The 
leopard was the only one who escaped, as directly he saw the Egbo men arrive 
he knew that things were likely to be unpleasant, so he gave a big spring 
and jumped right out of the compound.

When the tortoise was satisfied with the beating the people had received he 
crept to the door and opened it. The people then ran away, and when the 
tortoise gave a certain tap on the drum all the Egbo men vanished. The 
people who had been beaten were so angry, and made so much palaver with the 
tortoise, that he made up his mind to return the drum to the king the next 
day. So in the morning the tortoise went to the king and brought the drum 
with him. He told the king that he was not satisfied with the drum, and 
wished to exchange it for something else; he did not mind so much what the 
king gave him so long as he got full value for the drum, and he was quite 
willing to accept a certain number of slaves, or a few farms, or their 
equivalent in cloth or rods.

The king, however, refused to do this; but as he was rather sorry for the 
tortoise, he said he would present him with a magic foo-foo tree, which 
would provide the tortoise and his family with food, provided he kept a 
certain condition. This the tortoise gladly consented to do. Now this foo-
foo tree only bore fruit once a year, but every day it dropped foo-foo and 
soup on the ground. And the condition was, that the owner should gather 
sufficient food for the day, once, and not return again for more. The 
tortoise, when he had thanked the king for his generosity, went home to his 
wife and told her to bring her calabashes to the tree. She did so, and they 
gathered plenty of foo-foo and soup quite sufficient for the whole family 
for that day, and went back to their house very happy.

That night they all feasted and enjoyed themselves. But one of the sons, who 
was very greedy, thought to himself-

"I wonder where my father gets all this good food from? I must ask him."

So in the morning he said to his father-

"Tell me where do you get all this foo-foo and soup from?"

But his father refused to tell him, as his wife, who was a cunning woman, 
said-

"If we let our children know the secret of the foo-foo tree, some day when 
they are hungry, after we have got our daily supply, one of them may go to 
the tree and gather more, which will break the Ju Ju."

But the envious son, being determined to get plenty of food for himself, 
decided to track his father to the place where he obtained the food. This 
was rather difficult to do, as the tortoise always went out alone, and took 
the greatest care to prevent any one following him. The boy, however, soon 
thought of a plan, and got a calabash with a long neck and a hole in the 
end. He filled the calabash with wood ashes, which he obtained from the 
fire, and then got a bag which his father always carried on his back when he 
went out to get food. In the bottom of the bag the boy then made a small 
hole, and inserted the calabash with the neck downwards, so that when his 
father walked to the foo-foo tree he would leave a small trail of wood ashes 
behind him. Then when his father, having slung his bag over his back as 
usual, set out to get the daily supply of food, his greedy son followed the 
trail of the wood ashes, taking great care to hide himself and not to let 
his father perceive that he was being followed. At last the tortoise arrived 
at the tree, and placed his calabashes on the ground and collected the food 
for the day, the boy watching him from a distance. When his father had 
finished and went home the boy also returned, and having had a good meal, 
said nothing to his parents, but went to bed. The next morning he got some 
of his brothers, and after his father had finished getting the daily supply, 
they went to the tree and collected much foo-foo and soup, and so broke the 
Ju Ju.

At daylight the tortoise went to the tree as usual, but he could not find 
it, as during the night the whole bush had grown up, and the foo-foo tree 
was hidden from sight. There was nothing to be seen but a dense mass of 
prickly tie-tie palm. Then the tortoise at once knew that some one had 
broken the Ju Ju, and had gathered foo-foo from the tree twice in the same 
day; so he returned very sadly to his house, and told his wife. He then 
called all his family together and told them what had happened, and asked 
them who had done this evil thing. They all denied having had anything to do 
with the tree, so the tortoise in despair brought all his family to the 
place where the foo-foo tree had been, but which was now all prickly tie-tie 
palm, and said-

"My dear wife and children, I have done all that I can for you, but you have 
broken my Ju Ju; you must therefore for the future live on the tie-tie 
palm."

So they made their home underneath the prickly tree, and from that day you 
will always find tortoises living under the prickly tie-tie palm, as they 
have nowhere else to go to for food.

V
Ituen and the King's Wife
ITUEN was a young man of Calabar. He was the only child of his parents, and 
they were extremely fond of him, as he was of fine proportions and very good 
to look upon. They were poor people, and when Ituen grew up and became a 
man, he had very little money indeed, in fact he had so little food, that 
every day it was his custom to go to the market carrying an empty bag, into 
which he used to put anything eatable he could find after the market was 
over.

At this time Offiong was king. He was an old man, but he had plenty of 
wives. One of these women, named Attem, was quite young and very good-
looking. She did not like her old husband, but wished for a young and 
handsome husband. She therefore told her servant to go round the town and 
the market to try and find such a man and to bring him at night by the side 
door to her house, and she herself would let him in, and would take care 
that her husband did not discover him.

That day the servant went all round the town, but failed to find any young 
man good-looking enough. She was just returning to report her ill-success 
when, on passing through the market-place, she saw Ituen picking up the 
remains of corn and other things which had been left on the ground. She was 
immediately struck with his fine appearance and strength, and saw that he 
was just the man to make a proper lover for her mistress, so she went up to 
him, and said that the queen had sent for him, as she was so taken with his 
good looks. At first Ituen was frightened and refused to go, as he knew that 
if the king discovered him he would be killed. However, after much 
persuasion he consented, and agreed to go to the queen's side door when it 
was dark.

When the night came he went with great fear and trembling, and knocked very 
softly at the queen's door. The door was opened at once by the queen 
herself, who was dressed in all her best clothes, and had many necklaces, 
beads, and anklets on. Directly she saw Ituen she fell in love with him at 
once, and praised his good looks and his shapely limbs. She then told her 
servant to bring water and clothes, and after he had had a good wash and put 
on a clean cloth, he rejoined the queen. She hid him in her house all the 
night.

In the morning when he wished to go she would not let him, but, although it 
was very dangerous, she hid him in the house, and secretly conveyed food and 
clothes to him. Ituen stayed there for two weeks, and then he said that it 
was time for him to go and see his mother; but the queen persuaded him to 
stay another week, much against his will.

When the time came for him to depart the queen got together fifty carriers 
with presents for Ituen's mother, who, she knew, was a poor woman. Ten 
slaves carried three hundred rods; the other forty carried yams, pepper, 
salt, tobacco, and cloth. When all the presents arrived Ituen's mother was 
very pleased and embraced her son, and noticed with pleasure that he was 
looking well, and was dressed in much finer clothes than usual; but when she 
heard that he had attracted the queen's attention she was frightened, as she 
knew the penalty imposed on any one who attracted the attention of one of 
the king's wives.

Ituen stayed for a. month in his parents' house and worked on the farm; but 
the queen could not be without her lover any longer, so she sent for him to 
go to her at once. Ituen went again, and, as before, arrived at night, when 
the queen was delighted to see him again.

In the middle of the night some of the king's servants, who had been told 
the story by the slaves who had carried the presents to Ituen's mother, came 
into the queen's room and surprised her there with Ituen. They hastened to 
the king, and told him what they had seen. Ituen was then made a prisoner, 
and the king sent out to all his people to attend at the palaver house to 
hear the case tried. He also ordered eight Egbos to attend armed with 
matchets. When the case was tried Ituen was found guilty, and the king told 
the eight Egbo men to take him into the bush and deal with him according to 
native custom. The Egbos then took Ituen into the bush and tied him up to a 
tree; then with a sharp knife they cut off his lower jaw, and carried it to 
the king.

When the queen heard the fate of her lover she was very sad, and cried for 
three days. This made the king angry, so he told the Egbos to deal with his 
wife and her servant according to their law. They took the queen and the 
servant into the bush, where Ituen was still tied up to the tree dying and 
in great pain. Then, as the queen had nothing to say in her defence, they 
tied her and the girl up to different trees, and cut the queen's lower jaw 
off in the same way as they had her lover's. The Egbos then put out both the 
eyes of the servant, and left all three to die of starvation. The king then 
made an Egbo law that for the future no one belonging to Ituen's family was 
to go into the market on market day, and that no one was to pick up the 
rubbish in the market. The king made an exception to the law in favour of 
the vulture and the dog, who were not considered very fine people, and would 
not be likely to run off with one of the king's wives, and that is why you 
still find vultures and dogs doing scavenger in the market-places even at 
the present time.

VI
Of the Pretty Stranger who Killed the King
MBOTU was a very famous king of Old Town, Calabar. He was frequently at war, 
and was always successful, as he was a most skilful leader. All the 
prisoners he took were made slaves. He therefore became very rich, but, on 
the other hand, he had many enemies. The people of Itu in particular were 
very angry with him and wanted to kill him, but they were not strong enough 
to beat Mbotu in a pitched battle, so they had to resort to 'craft. The Itu 
people had an old woman who was a witch and could turn herself into whatever 
she pleased, and when she offered to kill Mbotu, the people were very glad, 
and promised her plenty of money and cloth if she succeeded in ridding them 
of their worst enemy. The witch then turned herself into a young and pretty 
girl, and having armed herself with a very sharp knife, which she concealed 
in her bosom, she went to Old Town, Calabar, to seek the king.

It happened that when she arrived there was a big play being held in the 
town, and all the people from the surrounding country had come in to dance 
and feast. Oyaikan, the witch, went to the play, and walked about so that 
every one could see her. Directly she appeared the people all marvelled at 
her beauty, and said that she was as beautiful as the setting sun when all 
the sky was red. Word was quickly brought to King Mbotu, who, it was well 
known, was fond of pretty girls, and he sent for her at once, all the people 
agreeing that she was quite worthy of being the king's wife. When she 
appeared before him he fancied her so much, that he told her he would marry 
her that very day. Oyaikan was very pleased at this, as she had never 
expected to get her opportunity so quickly. She therefore prepared a dainty 
meal for the king, into which she placed a strong medicine to make the king 
sleep, and then went down to the river to wash.

When she had finished it was getting dark, so she went to the king's 
compound, carrying her dish on her head, and was at once shown in to the 
king, who embraced her affectionately. She then offered him the food, which 
she said, quite truly, she had prepared with her own hands. The king ate the 
whole dish, and immediately began to feel very sleepy, as the medicine was 
strong and took effect quickly.

They retired to the king's chamber, and the king went to sleep at once. 
About midnight, when all the town was quiet, Oyaikan drew her knife from her 
bosom and cut the king's head off. She put the head in a bag and went out 
very softly, shutting and barring the door behind her. Then she walked 
through the town without any one observing her, and went straight to Itu, 
where she placed King Mbotu's head before her own king.

When the people heard that the witch had been successful and that their 
enemy was dead, there was great rejoicing, and the king of Itu at once made 
up his mind to attack Old Town, Calabar. He therefore got his fighting men 
together and took them in canoes by the creeks to Old Town, taking care that 
no one carried word to Calabar that he was coming.

The morning following the murder of Mbotu his people were rather surprised 
that he did not appear at his usual time, so his head wife knocked at his 
door. Not receiving any answer she called the household together, and they 
broke open the door. When they entered the room they found the king lying 
dead on his bed covered in blood, but his head was missing. At this a great 
shout went up, and the whole town mourned. Although they missed the pretty 
stranger, they never connected her in their minds with the death of their 
king, and were quite unsuspicious of any danger, and were unprepared for 
fighting. In the middle of the mourning, while they were all dancing, 
crying, and drinking palm wine, the king of Itu with all his soldiers 
attacked Old Town, taking them quite by surprise, and as their leader was 
dead, the Calabar people were very soon defeated, and many killed and taken 
prisoners.

MORAL.-Never marry a stranger, no matter how pretty she may be.

VII
Why the Bat flies by Night
A BUSH rat called Oyot was a great friend of Emiong, the bat; they always 
fed together, but the bat was jealous of the bush rat. When the bat cooked 
the food it was always very good, and the bush rat said, "How is it that 
when you make the soup it is so tasty?"

The bat replied, "I always boil myself in the water, and my flesh is so 
sweet, that the soup is good."

He then told the bush rat that he would show him how it was done; so he got 
a pot of warm water, which he told the bush rat was boiling water, and 
jumped into it, and very shortly afterwards came out again. When the soup 
was brought it was as strong and good as usual, as the bat had prepared it 
beforehand.

The bush rat then went home and told his wife that he was going to make good 
soup like the bat's. He therefore told her to boil some water, which she 
did. Then, when his wife was not looking, he jumped into the pot, and was 
very soon dead.

When his wife looked into the pot and saw the dead body of her husband 
boiling she was very angry, and reported the matter to the king, who gave 
orders that the bat should be made a prisoner. Every one turned out to catch 
the bat, but as he expected trouble he flew away into the bush and hid 
himself. All day long the people tried to catch him, so he had to change his 
habits, and only came out to feed when it was dark, and that is why you 
never see a bat in the daytime.

VIII
The Disobedient Daughter who Married a Skull
EFFIONG Edem was a native of Cobham Town. He had a very fine daughter, whose 
name was Afiong. All the young men in the country wanted to marry her on 
account of her beauty; but she refused all offers of marriage in spite of 
repeated entreaties from her parents, as she was very vain, and said she 
would only marry the best-looking man in the country, who would have to be 
young and strong, and capable of loving her properly. Most of the men her 
parents wanted her to marry, although they were rich, were old men and ugly, 
so the girl continued to disobey her parents, at which they were very much 
grieved. The skull who lived in the spirit land heard of the beauty of this 
Calabar virgin, and thought he would like to possess her; so he went about 
amongst his friends and borrowed different parts of the body from them, all 
of the best. From one he got a good head, another lent him a body, a third 
gave him strong arms, and a fourth lent him a fine pair of legs. At last he 
was complete, and was a very perfect specimen of manhood.

He then left the spirit land and went to Cobham market, where he saw Afiong, 
and admired her very much.

About this time Afiong heard that a very fine man had been seen in the 
market, who was better-looking than any of the natives. She therefore went 
to the market at once, and directly she saw the Skull in his borrowed 
beauty, she fell in love with him, and invited him to her house. The Skull 
was delighted, and went home with her, and on his arrival was introduced by 
the girl to her parents, and immediately asked their consent to marry their 
daughter. At first they refused, as they did not wish her to marry a 
stranger, but at last they agreed.

He lived with Afiong for two days in her parents' house, and then said he 
wished to take his wife back to his country, which was far off. To this the 
girl readily agreed, as he was such a fine man, but her parents tried to 
persuade her not to go. However, being very headstrong, she made up her mind 
to go, and they started off together. After they had been gone a few days 
the father consulted his Ju Ju man, who by casting lots very soon discovered 
that his daughter's husband belonged to the spirit land, and that she would 
surely be killed. They therefore all mourned her as dead.

After walking for several days, Afiong and the Skull crossed the border 
between the spirit land and the human country. Directly they set foot in the 
spirit land, first of all one man came to the Skull and demanded his legs, 
then another his head, and the next his body, and so on, until in a few 
minutes the skull was left by itself in all its natural ugliness. At this 
the girl was very frightened, and wanted to return home, but the skull would 
not allow this, and ordered her to go with him. When they arrived at the 
skull's house they found his mother, who was a very old woman quite 
incapable of doing any work, who could only creep about. Afiong tried her 
best to help her, and cooked her food, and brought water and firewood for 
the old woman. The old creature was very grateful for these attentions, and 
soon became quite fond of Afiong.

One day the old woman told Afiong that she was very sorry for her, but all 
the people in the spirit land were cannibals, and when they heard there was 
a human being in their country, they would come down and kill her and eat 
her. The skull's mother then hid Afiong, and as she had looked after her so 
well, she promised she would send her back to her country as soon as 
possible, providing that she promised for the future to obey her parents. 
This Afiong readily consented to do. Then the old woman sent for the spider, 
who was a very clever hairdresser, and made him dress Afiong's hair in the 
latest fashion. She also presented her with anklets and other things on 
account of her kindness. She then made a Ju Ju and called the winds to come 
and convey Afiong to her home. At first a violent tornado came, with 
thunder, lightning and rain, but the skull's mother sent him away as 
unsuitable. The next wind to come was a gentle breeze, so she told the 
breeze to carry Afiong to her mother's house, and said good-bye to her. Very 
soon afterwards the breeze deposited Afiong outside her home, and left her 
there.

When the parents saw their daughter they were very glad, as they had for 
some months given her up as lost. The father spread soft animals' skins on 
the ground from where his daughter was standing all the way to the house, so 
that her feet should not be soiled. Afiong then walked to the house and her 
father called all the young girls who belonged to Afiong's company to come 
and dance, and the feasting and dancing was kept up for eight days and 
nights. When the rejoicing was over, the father reported what had happened 
to the head chief of the town. The chief then passed a law that parents 
should never allow their daughters to marry strangers who came from a far 
country. Then the father told his daughter to marry a friend of his, and she 
willingly consented, and lived with him for many years, and had many 
children.

IX
THE King who Married the Cock's Daughter
KING EFFIOM of Duke Town, Calabar, was very fond of pretty maidens, and 
whenever he heard of a girl who was unusually good-looking, he always sent 
for her, and if she took his fancy, he made her one of his wives. This he 
could afford to do, as he was a rich man, and could pay any dowry which the 
parents asked, most of his money having been made by buying and selling 
slaves.

Effiom had two hundred and fifty wives, but he was never content, and wanted 
to have all the finest women in the land. Some of the king's friends, who 
were always on the look-out for pretty girls, told Effiom that the Cock's 
daughter was a lovely virgin, and far superior to any of the king's wives. 
Directly the king heard this he sent for the Cock, and said he intended to 
have his daughter as one of his wives. The Cock, being a poor man, could not 
resist the order of the king, so he brought his daughter, who was very good-
looking and pleased the king immensely. When the king had paid the Cock a 
dowry of six puncheons of palm-oil, the Cock told Effiom that if he married 
his daughter he must not forget that she had the natural instincts of a hen, 
and that he should not blame Adia unen (his daughter) if she picked up corn 
whenever she saw it. The king replied that he did not mind what she ate so 
long as he possessed her.

The king then took Adia unen as his wife, and liked her so much, that he 
neglected all his other wives, and lived entirely with Adia unen, as she 
suited him exactly and pleased him more than any of his other wives. She 
also amused the king, and played with him and enticed him in so many 
different ways that he could not live without her, and always had her with 
him to the exclusion of his former favourites, whom he would not even speak 
to or notice in any way when he met them This so enraged the neglected wives 
that they met together, and although they all hated one another, they agreed 
so far that they hated the Cock's daughter more than any one, as now that 
she had come to the king none of them ever had a chance with him. Formerly 
the king, although he always had his favourites, used to favour different 
girls with his attentions when they pleased him particularly. That was very 
different in their opinion to being excluded from his presence and all his 
affections being concentrated on one girl, who received all his love and 
embraces. In consequence of this they were very angry, and determined if 
possible to disgrace Adia unen. After much discussion, one of the wives, who 
was the last favourite, and whom the arrival of the Cock's daughter had 
displaced, said: "This girl, whom we all hate, is, after all, only a Cock's 
daughter, and we can easily disgrace her in the king's eyes, as I heard her 
father tell the king that she could not resist corn, no matter how it was 
thrown about."

Very shortly after the king's wives had determined to try and disgrace Adia 
unen, all the people of the country came to pay homage to the king. This was 
done three times a year, the people bringing yams, fowls, goats, and new 
corn as presents, and the king entertained them with a feast of foo-foo, 
palm-oil chop, and tombo.[1] A big dance was also held, which was usually 
kept up for several days and nights. Early in the morning the king's head 
wife told her servant to wash one head of corn, and when all the people were 
present she was to bring it in a calabash and throw it on the ground and 
then walk away. The corn was to be thrown in front of Aida unen, so that all 
the people and chiefs could see.

About ten o'clock, when all the chiefs and people had assembled, and the 
king had taken his seat on his big wooden chair, the servant girl came and 
threw the corn on the ground as she had been ordered. Directly she had done 
this Adia unen started towards the corn, picked it up, and began to eat. At 
this all the people laughed, and the king was very angry and ashamed. The 
king's wives and many people said that they thought the king's finest wife 
would have learnt better manners than to pick up corn which had been thrown 
away as refuse. Others said: "What can you expect from a Cock's daughter? 
She should not be blamed for obeying

[1. Tombo is an intoxicating drink made from the juice which is extracted 
from the tombo palm, and which ferments very quickly. It is drawn from the 
tree twice a day-in the morning very early, and again in the afternoon.]

her natural instincts." But the king was so vexed, that he told one of his 
servants to pack up Adia unen's things and take them to her father's house. 
And this was done, and Aida unen returned to her parents.

That night the king's third wife, who was a friend of Adia unen's, talked 
the whole matter over with the king, and explained to him that it was 
entirely owing to the jealousy of his head wife that Adia unen had been 
disgraced. She also told him that the whole thing had been arranged 
beforehand in order that the king should get rid of Adia unen, of whom all 
the other wives were jealous. When the king heard this he was very angry, 
and made up his mind to send the jealous woman back to her parents empty-
handed, without her clothes and presents. When she arrived at her father's 
house the parents refused to take her in, as she had been given as a wife to 
the king, and whenever the parents wanted anything, they could always get it 
at the palace. It was therefore a great loss to them. She was thus turned 
into the streets, and walked about very miserable, and after a time died, 
very poor and starving.

The king grieved so much at having been compelled to send his favourite wife 
Adia unen away, that he died the following year. And when the people saw 
that their king had died of a broken heart, they passed a law that for the 
future no one should marry any bird or animal.

X
The Woman, the Ape, and the Child
OKUN ARCHIBONG was one of King Archibong's slaves, and lived on a farm near 
Calabar. He was a hunter, and used to kill bush buck and other kinds of 
antelopes and many monkeys. The skins he used to dry in the sun , and when 
they were properly cured, he used to sell them in the market; the monkey 
skins were used for making drums, and the antelope skins were used for 
sitting mats. The flesh, after it had been well smoked over a wood fire, he 
also sold, but he did not make much money.

Okun Archibong married a slave woman of Duke's house named Nkoyo. He paid a 
small dowry to the Dukes, took his wife home to his farm, and in the dry 
season time she had a son. About four months after the birth of the child 
Nkoyo took him to the farm while her husband was absent hunting. She placed 
the little boy under a shady tree and went about her work, which was 
clearing the ground for the yams which would be planted about two months 
before the rains. Every day while the mother was working a big ape used to 
come from the forest and play with the little boy; he used to hold him in 
his arms and carry him up a tree, and when Nkoyo had finished her work, he 
used to bring the baby back to her. There was a hunter named Edem Effiong 
who had for a long time been in love with Nkoyo, and had made advances to 
her, but she would have nothing to do with him, as she was very fond of her 
husband. When she had her little child Effiong Edem was very jealous, and 
meeting her one day on the farm without her baby, he said: "Where is your 
baby?" And she replied that a big ape had taken it up a tree and was looking 
after it for her. When Effiong Edem saw that the ape was a big one, he made 
up his mind to tell Nkoyo's husband. The very next day he told Okun 
Archibong that he had seen his wife in the forest with a big ape. At first 
Okun would not believe this, but the hunter told him to come with him and he 
could see it with his own eyes. Okun Archibong therefore made up his mind to 
kill the ape. The next day he went with the other hunter to the farm and saw 
the ape up a tree playing with his son, so he took very careful aim and shot 
the ape, but it was not quite killed. It was so angry, and its strength was 
so great, that it tore the child limb from limb and threw it to the ground.

This so enraged Okun Archibong that seeing his wife standing near he shot 
her also. He then ran home and told King Archibong what had taken place. 
This king was very brave and fond of fighting, so as he knew that King Duke 
would be certain to make war upon him, he immediately called in all his 
fighting men. When he was quite prepared he sent a messenger to tell King 
Duke what had happened. Duke was very angry, and sent the messenger back to 
King Archibong to say that he must send the hunter to him, so that he could 
kill him in any way he pleased. This Archibong refused to do, and said he 
would rather fight. Duke then got his men together, and both sides met and 
fought in the market square. Thirty men were killed of Duke's men, and 
twenty were killed on Archibong's side; there were also many wounded. On the 
whole King Archibong had the best of the fighting, and drove King Duke back. 
When the fighting was at its hottest the other chiefs sent out all the Egbo 
men with drums and stopped the fight, and the next day the palaver was tried 
in Egbo house. King Archibong was found guilty, and was ordered to pay six 
thousand rods to King Duke. He refused to pay this amount to Duke , and said 
he would rather go on fighting, but he did not mind paying the six thousand 
rods to the town, as the Egbos had decided the case. They were about to 
commence fighting again when the whole country rose up and said they would 
not have any more fighting, as Archibong said to Duke that the woman's death 
was not really the fault of his slave Okun Archibong, but of Effiong Edem, 
who made the false report. When Duke heard this he agreed to leave the whole 
matter to the chiefs to decide, and Effiong Edem was called to take his 
place on the stone. He was tried and found guilty, and two Egbos came out 
armed with cutting whips and gave him two hundred lashes on his bare back, 
and then cut off his head and sent it to Duke, who placed it before his Ju 
Ju. From that time to the present all apes and monkeys have been frightened 
of human beings; and even of little children. The Egbos also passed a law 
that a chief should not allow one of his men slaves to marry a woman slave 
of another house, as it would probably lead to fighting.

XI
The Fish and the Leopard's Wife; or, Why the Fish lives in the Water
MANY years ago, when King Eyo was ruler of Calabar, the fish used to live on 
the land; he was a great friend of the leopard, and frequently used to go to 
his house in the bush, where the leopard entertained him. Now the leopard 
had a very fine wife, with whom the fish fell in love. And after a time, 
whenever the leopard was absent in the bush, the fish used to go to his 
house and make love to the leopard's wife, until at last an old woman who 
lived near informed the leopard what happened whenever he went away. At 
first the leopard would not believe that the fish, who had been his friend 
for so long, would play such a low trick, but one night he came back 
unexpectedly, and found the fish and his wife together; at this the leopard 
was very angry, and was going to kill the fish, but he thought as the fish 
had been his friend for so long, he would not deal with him himself, but 
would report his behaviour to King Eyo. This he did, and the king held a big 
palaver, at which the leopard stated his case quite shortly, but when the 
fish was put upon his defence he had nothing to say, so the king addressing 
his subjects said, "This is a very bad case, as the fish has been the 
leopard's friend, and has been trusted by him, but the fish has taken 
advantage of his friend's absence, and has betrayed him." The king, 
therefore, made an order that for the future the fish should live in the 
water, and that if he ever came on the land he should die; he also said that 
all men and animals should kill and eat the fish whenever they could catch 
him, as a punishment for his behaviour with his friend's wife.

XII
Why the Bat is Ashamed to be seen in the Daytime
THERE was once an old mother sheep who had seven lambs, and one day the bat, 
who was about to make a visit to his father-in-law who lived a long day's 
march away, went to the old sheep and asked her to lend him one of her young 
lambs to carry his load for him. At first the mother sheep refused, but as 
the young lamb was anxious to travel and see something of the world, and 
begged to be allowed to go, at last she reluctantly consented. So in the 
morning at daylight the bat and the lamb set off together, the lamb carrying 
the bat's drinking-horn. When they reached half-way, the bat told the lamb 
to leave the horn underneath a bamboo tree. Directly he arrived at the 
house, he sent the lamb back to get the horn. When the lamb had gone the 
bat's father-in-law brought him food, and the bat ate it all, leaving 
nothing for the lamb. When the lamb returned, the bat said to him, "Hullo! 
you have arrived at last I see, but you are too late for food; it is all 
finished." He then sent the lamb back to the tree with the horn, and when 
the lamb returned again it was late, and he went supperless to bed. The next 
day, just before it was time for food, the bat sent the lamb off again for 
the drinking-horn, and when the food arrived the bat, who was very greedy, 
ate it all up a second time. This mean behaviour on the part of the bat went 
on for four days, until at last the lamb became quite thin and weak. The bat 
decided to return home the next day, and it was all the lamb could do to 
carry his load. When he got home to his mother the lamb complained bitterly 
of the treatment he had received from the bat, and was baa-ing all night, 
complaining of pains in his inside. The old mother sheep, who was very fond 
of her children, determined to be revenged on the bat for the cruel way he 
had starved her lamb; she therefore decided to consult the tortoise, who, 
although very poor, was considered by all people to be the wisest of all 
animals. When the old sheep had told the whole story to the tortoise, he 
considered for some time, and then told the sheep that she might leave the 
matter entirely to him, and he would take ample revenge on the bat for his 
cruel treatment of her son.

Very soon after this the bat thought he would again go and see his father-
in-law, so he went to the mother sheep again and asked her for one of her 
sons to carry his load as before. The tortoise, who happened to be present, 
told the bat that he was going in that direction, and would cheerfully carry 
his load for him. They set out on their journey the following day, and when 
they arrived at the half-way halting-place the bat pursued the same tactics 
that he had on the previous occasion. He told the tortoise to hide his 
drinking-horn under the same tree as the lamb had hidden it before; this the 
tortoise did, but when the bat was not looking he picked up the drinking-
horn again and hid it in his bag. When they arrived at the house the 
tortoise hung the horn up out of sight in the back yard, and then sat down 
in the house. just before it was time for food the bat sent the tortoise to 
get the drinking-horn, and the tortoise went outside into the yard, and 
waited until he heard that the beating of the boiled yams into foo-foo had 
finished; he then went into the house and gave the drinking-horn to the bat, 
who was so surprised and angry, that when the food was passed he refused to 
eat any of it, so the tortoise ate it all; this went on for four days, until 
at last the bat became as thin as the poor little lamb had been on the 
previous occasion. At last the bat could stand the pains of his inside no 
longer, and secretly told his mother-in-law to bring him food when the 
tortoise was not looking. He said, "I am now going to sleep for a little, 
but you can wake me up when the food is ready." The tortoise, who had been 
listening all the time, being hidden in a corner out of sight, waited until 
the bat was fast asleep, and then carried him very gently into the next room 
and placed him on his own bed; he then very softly and quietly took off the 
bat's cloth and covered him self in it, and lay down where the bat had been; 
very soon the bat's mother-in-law brought the food and placed it next to 
where the bat was supposed to be sleeping, and having pulled his cloth to 
wake him, went away. The tortoise then got up and ate all the food; when he 
had finished he carried the bat back again, and took some of the palm-oil 
and foo-foo and placed it inside the bat's lips while he was asleep; then 
the tortoise went to sleep himself. In the morning when he woke up the bat 
was more hungry than ever, and in a very bad temper, so he sought out his 
mother-in-law and started scolding her, and asked her why she had not 
brought his food as he had told her to do. She replied she had brought his 
food, and that he had eaten it; but this the bat denied, and accused the 
tortoise of having eaten the food. The woman then said she would call the 
people in and they should decide the matter; but the tortoise slipped out 
first and told the people that the best way to find out who had eaten the 
food was to make both the bat and himself rinse their mouths out with clean 
water into a basin. This they decided to do, so the tortoise got his tooth-
stick which he always used, and having cleaned his teeth properly, washed 
his mouth out, and returned to the house.

When all the people had arrived the woman told them how the bat had abused 
her, and as he still maintained stoutly that he had had no food for five 
days, the people said that both he and the tortoise should wash their mouths 
out with clean water into two clean calabashes; this was done, and at once 
it could clearly be seen that the bat had been eating, as there were 
distinct traces of the palm-oil and foo-foo which the tortoise had put 
inside his lips floating on the water. When the people saw this they decided 
against the bat, and he was so ashamed that he ran away then and there, and 
has ever since always hidden himself in the bush during the daytime, so that 
no one could see him, and only comes out at night to get his food.

The next day the tortoise returned to the mother sheep and told her what he 
had done, and that the bat was for ever disgraced. The old sheep praised him 
very much, and told all her friends, in consequence of which the reputation 
of the tortoise for wisdom was greatly increased throughout the whole 
country.

XIII
Why the Worms live Underneath the Ground
WHEN Eyo III. was ruling over all men and animals, he had a very big palaver 
house to which he used to invite his subjects at intervals to feast. After 
the feast had been held and plenty of tombo had been drunk, it was the 
custom of the people to make speeches. One day after the feast the head 
driver ant got up and said he and his people were stronger than any one, and 
that no one, not even the elephant, could stand before him, which was quite 
true. He was particularly offensive in his allusions to the worms (whom he 
disliked very much), and said they were poor wriggling things.

The worms were very angry and complained, so the king said that the best way 
to decide the question who was the stronger was for both sides to meet on 
the road and fight the matter out between themselves to a finish. He 
appointed the third day from the feast for the contest, and all the people 
turned out to witness the battle.

The driver ants left their nest in the early morning in thousands and 
millions, and, as is their custom, marched in a line about one inch broad 
densely packed, so that it was like a dark-brown band moving over the 
country. In front of the advancing column they had out their scouts, advance 
guard, and flankers, and the main body followed in their millions close 
behind.

When they came to the battlefield the moving band spread out, and as the 
thousands upon thousands of ants rolled up, the whole piece of ground was a 
moving mass of ants and bunches of struggling worms. The fight was over in a 
very few minutes, as the worms were bitten in pieces by the sharp pincer-
like mouths of the driver ants. The few worms who survived squirmed away and 
buried themselves out of sight.

King Eyo decided that the driver ants were easy winners, and ever since the 
worms have always been afraid and have lived underground; and if they happen 
to come to the surface after the rain they hide themselves under the ground 
whenever anything approaches, as they fear all people.

XIV
The Elephant and the Tortoise; or, Why the Worms are Blind and why the 
Elephant has Small Eyes
WHEN Ambo was king of Calabar, the elephant was not only a very big animal, 
but he had eyes in proportion to his immense bulk. In those days men and 
animals were friends, and all mixed together quite freely. At regular 
intervals King Ambo used to give a feast, and the elephant used to eat more 
than any one, although the hippopotamus used to do his best; however, not 
being as big as the elephant, although he was very fat, he was left a long 
way behind.

As the elephant ate so much at these feasts, the tortoise, who was small but 
very cunning, made up his mind to put a stop to the elephant eating more 
than a fair share of the food provided. He therefore placed some dry kernels 
and shrimps, of which the elephant was very fond, in his bag, and went to 
the elephant's house to make an afternoon call.

When the tortoise arrived the elephant told him to sit down, so he made 
himself comfortable, and, having shut one eye, took one palm kernel and a 
shrimp out of his bag, and commenced to eat them with much relish.

When the elephant saw the tortoise eating, he said, as he was always hungry 
himself, "You seem to have some good food there; what are you eating?"

The tortoise replied that the food was "sweet too much," but was rather 
painful to him, as he was eating one of his own eyeballs; and he lifted up 
his head, showing one eye closed.

The elephant then said, "If the food is so good, take out one of my eyes and 
give me the same food."

The tortoise, who was waiting for this, knowing how greedy the elephant was, 
had brought a sharp knife with him for that very purpose, and said to the 
elephant, "I cannot reach your eye, as you are so big."

The elephant then took the tortoise up in his trunk and lifted him up. As 
soon as he came near the elephant's eye, with one quick scoop of the sharp 
knife he had the elephant's right eye out. The elephant trumpeted with pain; 
but the tortoise gave him some of the dried kernels and shrimps, and they so 
pleased the elephant's palate that he soon forgot the pain.

Very soon the elephant said, That food is so sweet, I must have some more 
but the tortoise told him that before he could have any the other eye must 
come out. To this the elephant agreed; so the tortoise quickly got his knife 
to work, and very soon the elephant's left eye was on the ground, thus 
leaving the elephant quite blind. The tortoise then slid down the elephant's 
trunk on to the ground and hid himself. The elephant then began to make a 
great noise, and started pulling trees down and doing much damage, calling 
out for the tortoise but of course he never answered, and the elephant could 
not find him.

The next morning, when the elephant heard the people passing, he asked them 
what the time was, and the bush buck, who was nearest, shouted out, "The sun 
is now up, and I am going to market to get some yams and fresh leaves for my 
food."

Then the elephant perceived that the tortoise had deceived him, and began to 
ask all the passers-by to lend him a pair of eyes, as he could not see, but 
every one refused, as they wanted their eyes themselves. At last the worm 
grovelled past, and seeing the big elephant, greeted him in his humble way. 
He was much surprised when the king of the forest returned his salutation, 
and very much flattered also.

The elephant said, " Look here, worm, I have mislaid my eyes. Will you lend 
me yours for a few days? I will return them next market-day."

The worm was so flattered at being noticed by the elephant that he gladly 
consented, and took his eyes out-which, as every one knows, were very small-
and gave them to the elephant. When the elephant had put the worm's eyes 
into his own large eye-sockets, the flesh immediately closed round them so 
tightly that when the market-day arrived it was impossible for the elephant 
to get them out again to return to the worm; and although the worm 
repeatedly made applications to the elephant to return his eyes, the 
elephant always pretended not to hear, and sometimes used to say in a very 
loud voice, " If there are any worms about, they had better get out of my 
way, as they are so small I cannot see them, and if I tread on them they 
will be squashed into a nasty mess."

Ever since then the worms have been blind, and for the same reason elephants 
have such small eyes, quite out of proportion to the size of their huge 
bodies.

XV
Why a Hawk kills Chickens
IN the olden days there was a very fine young hen who lived with her parents 
in the bush.

One day a hawk was hovering round, about eleven o'clock in the morning, as 
was his custom, making large circles in the air and scarcely moving his 
wings. His keen eyes were wide open, taking in everything (for nothing 
moving ever escapes the eyes of a hawk, no matter how small it may be or how 
high up in the air the hawk may be circling). This hawk saw the pretty hen 
picking up some corn near her father's house. He therefore closed his wings 
slightly, and in a second of time was close to the ground; then spreading 
his wings out to check his flight, he alighted close to the hen and perched 
himself on the fence, as a hawk does not like to walk on the ground if he 
can help it.

He then greeted the young hen with his most enticing whistle, and offered to 
marry her. She agreed, so the hawk spoke to the parents, and paid the agreed 
amount of dowry, which consisted mostly of corn, and the next day took the 
young hen off to his home.

Shortly after this a young cock who lived near the hen's former home found 
out where she was living, and having been in love with her for some months-
in fact, ever since his spurs had grown-determined to try and make her 
return to her own country. He therefore went at dawn, and, having flapped 
his wings once or twice, crowed in his best voice to the young hen. When she 
heard the sweet voice of the cock she could not resist his invitation, so 
she went out to him, and they walked off together to her parent's house, the 
young cock strutting in front crowing at intervals.

The hawk, who was hovering high up in the sky, quite out of sight of any 
ordinary eye, saw what had happened, and was very angry. He made up his mind 
at once that he would obtain justice from the king, and flew off to Calabar, 
where he told the whole story, and asked for immediate redress. So the king 
sent for the parents of the hen, and told them they must repay to the hawk 
the amount of dowry they had received from him on the marriage of their 
daughter, according to the native custom; but the hen's parents said that 
they were so poor that they could not possibly afford to pay. So the king 
told the hawk that he could kill and eat any of the cock's children whenever 
and wherever he found them as payment of his dowry, and, if the cock made 
any complaint, the king would not listen to him.

From that time until now, whenever, a hawk sees a chicken he swoops down and 
carries it off in part-payment of his dowry.

XVI
Why the Sun and the Moon live in the Sky
MANY years ago the sun and water were great friends, and both lived on the 
earth together. The sun very often used to visit the water, but the water 
never returned his visits. At last the sun asked the water why it was that 
he never came to' see him in his house, the water replied that the sun's 
house was not big enough, and that if he came with his people he would drive 
the sun out.

He then said, "If you wish me to visit you, you must build a very large 
compound; but I warn you that it will have to be a tremendous place, as my 
people are very numerous, and take up a lot of room."

The sun promised to build a very big compound, and soon afterwards he 
returned home to his wife, the moon, who greeted him with a broad smile when 
he opened the door. The sun told the moon what he had promised the water, 
and the next day commenced building a huge compound in which to entertain 
his friend.

When it was completed, he asked the water to come and visit him the next 
day.

When the water arrived, he called out to the sun, and asked him whether it 
would be safe for- him to enter, and the sun answered, "Yes, come in, my 
friend."

The water then began to flow in, accompanied by the fish and all the water 
animals.

Very soon the water was knee-deep, so he asked the sun if it was still safe, 
and the sun again said, "Yes," so more water came in.

When the water was level with the top of a man's head, the water said to the 
sun, "Do you want more of my people to come?" and the sun and moon both 
answered, "Yes, not knowing any better, so the water flowed on, until the 
sun and moon had to perch themselves on the top of the roof.

Again the water addressed the sun, but receiving the same answer, and more 
of his people rushing in, the water very soon overflowed the top of the 
roof, and the sun and moon were forced to go up into the sky, where they 
have remained ever since.

XVII
Why the Flies Bother the Cows
WHEN Adiaha Umo was Queen of Calabar, being very rich and hospitable, she 
used to give big feasts to all the domestic animals, but never invited the 
wild beasts, as she was afraid of them.

At one feast she gave there were three large tables, and she told the cow to 
sit at the head of the table, as she was the biggest animal present, and 
share out the food. The cow was quite ready to do this, and the first course 
was passed, which the cow shared out amongst the people, but forgot the fly, 
because he was so small.

When the fly saw this, he called out to the cow to give him his share, but 
the cow said: "Be quiet, my friend, you must have patience."

When the second course arrived, the fly again called out to the cow, but the 
cow merely pointed to her eye, and told the fly to look there, and he would 
get food later.

At last all the dishes were finished, and the fly, having been given no food 
by the cow, went supperless to bed.

The next day the fly complained to the queen, who decided that , as the cow 
had presided at the feast, and had not given the fly his share, but had 
pointed to her eye, for the future the fly could always get his food from 
the cow's eyes wherever she went; and even at the present time, wherever the 
cows are, the flies can always be seen feeding off their eyes in accordance 
with the queen's orders.

XVIII
Why the Cat kills Rats
ANSA was King of Calabar for fifty years. He had a very faithful cat as a 
housekeeper, and a rat was his house-boy. The king was an obstinate, 
headstrong man, but was very fond of the cat, who had been in his store for 
many years.

The rat, who was very poor, fell in love with one of the king's servant 
girls, but was unable to give her any presents, as he had no money.

At last he thought of the king's store, so in the night-time, being quite 
small, he had little difficulty, having made a hole in the roof, in getting 
into the store. He then stole corn and native pears, and presented them to 
his sweetheart.

At the end of the month, when the cat had to render her account of the 
things in the store to the king, it was found that a lot of corn and native 
pears were missing. The king was very angry at this, and asked the cat for 
an explanation. But the cat-could not account for the loss, until one of her 
friends told her that the rat had been stealing the corn and giving it to 
the girl.

When the cat told the king, he called the girl before him and had her 
flogged. The rat he handed over to the cat to deal with, and dismissed them 
both from his service. The cat was so angry at this that she killed and ate 
the rat, and ever since that time whenever a cat sees a rat she kills and 
eats it.

XIX
The Story of the Lightning and the Thunder
IN the olden days the thunder and lightning lived on the earth amongst all 
the other people, but the king made them live at the far end of the town, as 
far as possible from other people's houses.

The thunder was an old mother sheep, and the lightning was her son, a ram. 
Whenever the ram got angry he used to go about and burn houses and knock 
down trees; he even did damage on the farms, and sometimes killed people. 
Whenever the lightning did these things, his mother used to call out to him 
in a very loud voice to stop and not to do any more damage; but the 
lightning did not care in the least for what his mother said, and when he 
was in a bad temper used to do a very large amount of damage. At last the 
people could not stand it any longer, and complained to the king.

So the king made a special order that the sheep (Thunder) and her son, the 
ram (Lightning), should leave the town and live in the far bush. This did 
not do much good, as when the ram got angry he still burnt the forest, and 
the flames sometimes spread to the farms and consumed them.

So the people complained again, and the king banished both the lightning and 
the thunder from the earth and made them live in the sky, where they could 
not cause so much destruction. Ever since, when the lightning is angry, he 
commits damage as before, but you can hear his mother, the thunder, rebuking 
him and telling him to stop. Sometimes, however, when the mother has gone 
away some distance from her naughty son, you can still see that he is angry 
and is doing damage, but his mother's voice cannot be heard.

XX
Why the Bush Cow and the Elephant are bad Friends
THE bush cow and the elephant were always bad friends, and as they could not 
settle their disputes between themselves, they agreed to let the head chief 
decide.

The cause of their unfriendliness was that the elephant was always boasting 
about his strength to all his friends, which made the bush cow ashamed of 
himself, as he was always a good fighter and feared no man or animal. When 
the matter was referred to the head chief, he decided that the best way to 
settle the dispute was for the elephant and bush cow to meet and fight one 
another in a large open space. He decided that the fight should take place 
in the market-place on the next market-day, when all the country people 
could witness the battle.

When the market-day arrived, the bush cow went out in the early morning and 
took up his position some distance from the town on the main road to the 
market, and started bellowing and tearing up the ground. As the people 
passed he asked them whether they had seen anything of the "Big, Big one," 
which was the name of the elephant.

A bush buck, who happened to be passing, replied, I am only a small 
antelope, and am on my way to the market. How should I know anything of the 
movements of the 'Big, Big one?'" The bush cow then allowed him to pass.

After a little time the bush cow heard the elephant trumpeting, and could 
hear him as he came nearer breaking down trees and trampling down the small 
bush.

When the elephant came near the bush cow, they both charged one another, and 
a tremendous fight commenced, in which a lot of damage was done to the 
surrounding farms, and many of the people were frightened to go to the 
market, and returned to their houses.

At last the monkey, who had been watching the fight from a distance whilst 
he was jumping from branch to branch high up in the trees, thought he would 
report what he had seen to the head chief. Although he forgot several times 
what it was he wanted to do, which is a little way monkeys have, he 
eventually reached the chief's house, and jumped upon the roof, where he 
caught and ate a spider. He then climbed to the ground again, and commenced 
playing with a small stick. But he very soon got tired of this, and then, 
picking up a stone, he rubbed it backwards and forwards on the ground in an 
aimless sort of way, whilst looking in the opposite direction. This did not 
last long, and very soon he was busily engaged in a minute personal 
inspection.

His attention was then attracted by a large praying mantis, which had 
fluttered into the house, making much clatter with its wings. When it 
settled, it immediately assumed its usual prayerful attitude.

The monkey, after a careful stalk, seized the mantis, and having 
deliberately pulled the legs off one after the other, he ate the body, and 
sat down with his head on one side, looking very wise, but in reality 
thinking of nothing.

Just then the chief caught sight of him while he was scratching himself, and 
shouted out in a loud voice, "Ha, monkey, is that you? What do you want 
here?"

At the chief's voice the monkey gave a jump, and started chattering like 
anything. After a time he replied very nervously: "Oh yes, of course! Yes, I 
came to see you." Then he said to himself, "I wonder what on earth it was I 
came to tell the chief?" but it was no use, everything had gone out of his 
head.

Then the chief told the monkey he might take one of the ripe plantains 
hanging up in the verandah. The monkey did not want telling twice, as he was 
very fond of plantains. He soon tore off the skin, and holding the plantain 
in both hands, took bite after bite from the end of it, looking at it 
carefully after each bite.

Then the chief remarked that the elephant and the bush cow ought to have 
arrived by that time, as they were going to have a great fight. Directly the 
monkey heard this he remembered what it was he wanted to tell the chief; so, 
having swallowed the piece of plantain he had placed in the side of his 
cheek, he said: "Ah I that reminds me," and then, after much chattering and 
making all sorts of funny grimaces, finally made the chief understand that 
the elephant and bush cow, instead of fighting where they had been told, 
were having it out in the bush on the main road leading to the market, and 
had thus stopped most of the people coming in.

When the chief heard this he was much incensed, and called for his bow and 
poisoned arrows, and went to the scene of the combat. He then shot both the 
elephant and the bush cow, and throwing his bow and arrows away, ran and hid 
himself in the bush. About six hours afterwards both the elephant and bush 
cow died in great pain.

Ever since, when wild animals want to fight between themselves, they always 
fight in the big bush and not on the public roads; but as the fight was 
never definitely decided between the elephant and the bush cow, whenever 
they meet one another in the forest, even to the present time, they always 
fight.

XXI
The Cock who caused a Fight between two Towns
EKPO and Etim were half-brothers, that is to say they had the same mother, 
but different fathers. Their mother first of all had married a chief of Duke 
Town, when Ekpo was born; but after a time she got tired of him and went to 
Old Town, where she married Ejuqua and gave birth to Etim.

Both of the boys grew up and became very rich. Ekpo had a cock, of which he 
was very fond, and every day when Ekpo sat down to meals the cock used to 
fly on to the table and feed also. Ama Ukwa, a native of Old Town, who was 
rather poor, was jealous of the two brothers, and made up his mind if 
possible to bring about a quarrel between them, although he pretended to be 
friends with both.

One day Ekpo, the elder brother, gave a big dinner, to which Etim and many 
other people were invited. Ama Ukwa was also present. A very good dinner was 
laid for the guests, and plenty of palm wine was provided. When they had 
commenced to feed, the pet cock flew on to the table and began to feed off 
Etim's plate. Etim then told one of his servants to seize the cock and tie 
him up in the house until after the feast. So the servant carried the cock 
to Etim's house and tied him up for safety.

After much eating and drinking, Etim returned home late at night with his 
friend Ama Ukwa, and just before they went to bed, Ama Ukwa saw Ekpo's cock 
tied up. So early in the morning he went to Ekpo's house, who received him 
gladly.

About eight o'clock, when it was time for Ekpo to have his early morning 
meal, he noticed that his pet cock was missing. When he remarked upon its 
absence, Ama Ukwa told him that his brother had seized the cock the previous 
evening during the dinner, and was going to kill it, just to see what Ekpo 
would do. When Ekpo heard this, he was very vexed, and sent Ama Ukwa back to 
his brother to ask him to return the cock immediately. Instead of delivering 
the message as he had been instructed, Ama Ukwa told Etim that his elder 
brother was so angry with him for taking away his friend, the cock, that he 
would fight him, and had sent Ama Ukwa on purpose to declare war between the 
two towns.

Etim then told Ama Ukwa to return to Ekpo, and say he would be prepared for 
anything his brother could do. Ama Ukwa then advised Ekpo to call all his 
people in from their farms, as Etim would attack him, and on his return he 
advised Etim to do the same. He then arranged a day for the fight to take 
place between -the two brothers and their people. Etim then marched his men 
to the other side of the creek, and waited for his brother; so Ama Ukwa went 
to Ekpo and told him that Etim had got all his people together and was 
waiting to fight. Ekpo then led his men against his brother, and there was a 
big battle, many men being killed on both sides. The fighting went on all 
day, until at last, towards evening, the other chiefs of Calabar met and 
determined to stop it; so they called the Egbo men together and sent them 
out with their drums, and eventually the fight stopped.

Three days later a big palaver was held, when each of the brothers was told 
to state his case. When they had done so, it was found that Ama Ukwa had 
caused the quarrel, and the chiefs ordered that he should be killed. His 
father, who was a rich man, offered to give the Egbos five thousand rods, 
five cows, and seven slaves to redeem his son, but they decided to refuse 
his offer.

The next day, after being severely flogged, he was left for twenty-four 
hours tied up to a tree, and the following day his head was cut off.

Ekpo was then ordered to kill his pet cock, so that it should not cause any 
further trouble between himself and his brother, and a law was passed that 
for the future no one should keep a pet cock or any other tame animal.

XXII
The Affair of the Hippopotamus and the Tortoise; or, Why the Hippopotamus 
lives in the Water
MANY years ago the hippopotamus, whose name was Isantim, was one of the 
biggest kings on the land; he was second only to the elephant. The hippo had 
seven large fat wives, of whom he was very fond. Now and then he used to 
give a big feast to the people, but a curious thing was that, although every 
one knew the hippo, no one, except his seven wives, knew his name.

At one of the feasts, just as the people were about to sit down, the hippo 
said, "You have come to feed at my table, but none of you know my name. If 
you cannot tell my name, you shall all of you go away without your dinner."

As they could not guess his name, they had to go away and leave all the good 
food and tombo behind them. But before they left, the tortoise stood up and 
asked the hippopotamus what he would do if he told him his name at the next 
feast? So the hippo replied that he would be so ashamed of himself, that he 
and his whole family would leave the land, and for the future would dwell in 
the water.

Now it was the custom for the hippo and his seven wives to go down every 
morning and evening to the river to wash and have a drink. Of this custom 
the tortoise was aware. The hippo used to walk first, and the seven wives 
followed. One day when they had gone down to the river to bathe, the 
tortoise made a small hole in the middle of the path, and then waited. When 
the hippo and his wives returned, two of the wives were some distance 
behind, so the tortoise came out from where he had been hiding, and half 
buried himself in the hole he had dug, leaving the greater part of his shell 
exposed. When the two hippo wives came along, the first one knocked her foot 
against the tortoise's shell, and immediately called out to her husband, 
"Oh! Isantim , my husband, I have hurt my foot." At this the tortoise was 
very glad, and went joyfully home, as he had found out the hippo's name.

When the next feast was given by the hippo, he made the same condition about 
his name; so the tortoise got up and said, "You promise you will not kill me 
if I tell you your name?" and the hippo promised. The tortoise then shouted 
as loud as he was able, "Your name is Isantim," at which a cheer went up 
from all the people, and then they sat down to their dinner.

When the feast was over, the hippo, with his seven wives, in accordance with 
his promise, went down to the river, and they have always lived in the water 
from that day till now; and although they come on shore to feed at night, 
you never find a hippo on the land in the daytime.

XXIII
Why Dead People are Buried
IN the beginning of the world when the Creator had made men and women and 
the animals, they all lived together in the creation land. The Creator was a 
big chief, past all men, and being very kindhearted, was very sorry whenever 
any one died. So one day he sent for the dog, who was his head messenger, 
and told him to go out into the world and give his word to all people that 
for the future whenever any one died the body was to be placed in the 
compound, and wood ashes were to be thrown over it; that the dead body was 
to be left on the ground, and in twenty-four hours it would become alive 
again.

When the dog had travelled for half a day he began to get tired; so as he 
was near an old woman's house he looked in, and seeing a bone with some meat 
on it he made a meal off it, and then went to sleep, entirely forgetting the 
message which had been given him to deliver.

After a time, when the dog did not return, the Creator called for a sheep, 
and sent him out with the same message. But the sheep was a very foolish 
one, and being hungry, began eating the sweet grasses by the wayside. After 
a time, however, he remembered that he had a message to deliver, but forgot 
what it was exactly; so as he went about among the people he told them that 
the message the Creator had given him to tell the people, was that whenever 
any one died they should be buried underneath the ground.

A little time afterwards the dog remembered his message, so he ran into the 
town and told the people that they were to place wood ashes on the dead 
bodies and leave them in the compound, and that they would come to life 
again after twenty-four hours. But the people would not believe him, and 
said, "We have already received the word from the Creator by the sheep, that 
all dead bodies should be buried." In consequence of this the dead bodies 
are now always buried, and the dog is much disliked and not trusted as a 
messenger, as if he had not found the bone in the old woman's house and 
forgotten his message, the dead people might still be alive.

XXIV
Of the Fat Woman who Melted Away
THERE was once a very fat woman who was made of oil. She was very beautiful, 
and many young men applied to the parents for permission to marry their 
daughter, and offered dowry, but the mother always refused, as she said it 
was impossible for her daughter to work on a farm, as she would melt in the 
sun. At last a stranger came from a far-distant country and fell in love 
with the fat woman, and he promised if her mother would hand her to him that 
he would keep her in the shade. At last the mother agreed, and he took his 
wife away.

When he arrived at his house, his other wife immediately became very 
jealous, because when there was work to be done, firewood to be collected, 
or water to be carried, the fat woman stayed at home and never helped, as 
she was frightened of the heat.

One day when the husband was absent, the jealous wife abused the fat woman 
so much that she finally agreed to go and work on the farm, although her 
little sister, whom she had brought from home with her, implored her not to 
go, reminding her that their mother had always told them ever since they 
were born that she would melt away if she went into the sun. All the way to 
the farm the fat woman managed to keep in the shade, and when they arrived 
at the farm the sun was very hot, so the fat woman remained in the shade of 
a big tree. When the jealous wife saw this she again began abusing her, and 
asked her why she did not do her share of the work. At last she could stand 
the nagging no longer, and although her little sister tried very hard to 
prevent her, the fat woman went out into the sun to work, and immediately 
began to melt away. There was very soon nothing left of her but one big toe, 
which had been covered by a leaf. This her little sister observed, and with 
tears in her eyes she picked up the toe, which was all that remained of the 
fat woman, and having covered it carefully with leaves, placed it in the 
bottom of her basket. When she arrived at the house the little sister placed 
the toe in an earthen pot, filled it with water, and covered the top up with 
clay.

When the husband returned, he said, "Where is my fat wife?" and the little 
sister, crying bitterly, told him that the jealous woman had made her go out 
into the sun, and that she had melted away. She then showed him the pot with 
the remains of her sister, and told him that her sister would come to life 
again in three months' time quite complete, but he must send away the 
jealous wife, so that there should be no more trouble; if he refused to do 
this, the little girl said she would take the pot back to their mother, and 
when her sister became complete again they would remain at home.

The husband then took the jealous wife back to her parents, who sold her as 
a slave and paid the dowry back to the husband, so that he could get another 
wife. When he received the money, the husband took it home and kept it until 
the three months had elapsed, when the little sister opened the pot and the 
fat woman emerged, quite as fat and beautiful as she had been before. The 
husband was so delighted that he gave a feast to all his friends and 
neighbours, and told them the whole story of the bad behaviour of his 
jealous wife.

Ever since that time, whenever a wife behaves very badly the husband returns 
her to the parents, who sell the woman as a slave, and out of the proceeds 
of the sale reimburse the husband the amount of dowry which he paid when he 
married the girl.

XXV
Concerning the Leopard, the Squirrel, and the Tortoise
MANY years ago there was a great famine throughout the land, and all the 
people were starving. The yam crop had failed entirely, the plantains did 
not bear any fruit, the ground-nuts were all shrivelled up, and the corn 
never came to a head; even the palm-oil nuts did not ripen, and the peppers 
and ocros also gave out.

The leopard, however, who lived entirely on "beef," did not care for any of 
these things; and although some of the animals who lived on corn and the 
growing crops began to get rather skinny, he did not mind very much. In 
order to save himself trouble, as everybody was complaining of the famine, 
he called a meeting of all the animals and told them that, as they all knew, 
he was very powerful and must have food, that the famine did not affect him, 
as he only lived on flesh, and as there were plenty of animals about he did 
not intend to starve. He then told all the animals present at the meeting 
that if they did not wish to be killed themselves they must bring their 
grand mothers to him for food, and when they were finished he would feed off 
their mothers. The animals might bring their grandmothers in succession, and 
he would take them in their turn; so that, as there were many different 
animals, it would probably be some time before their mothers were eaten, by 
which time it was possible that the famine would be over. But in any case, 
he warned them that he was determined to have sufficient food for himself, 
and that if the grandmothers or mothers were not forthcoming he would turn 
upon the young people themselves and kill and eat them.

This, of course, the young generation, who had attended the meeting, did not 
appreciate, and in order to save their own skins, agreed to supply the 
leopard with his daily meal.

The first to appear with his aged grandmother was the squirrel. The 
grandmother was a poor decrepit old thing, with a mangy tail, and the 
leopard swallowed her at one gulp, and then looked round for more. In an 
angry voice he growled out: "This is not the proper food for me; I must have 
more at once."

Then a bush cat pushed his old grandmother in front of the leopard, but he 
snarled at her and said, "Take the nasty old thing away; I want some sweet 
food."

It was then the turn of a bush buck, and after a great deal of hesitation a 
wretchedly poor and thin old doe tottered and fell in front of the leopard, 
who immediately despatched her, and although the meal was very 
unsatisfactory, declared that his appetite was appeased for that day.

The next day a few more animals brought their old grandmothers, until at 
last it became the tortoise's turn; but being very cunning, he produced 
witnesses to prove that his grandmother was dead, so the leopard excused 
him.

After a few days all the animals' grandmothers were exhausted, and it became 
the turn of the mothers to supply food for the ravenous leopard. Now 
although most of the young animals did not mind getting rid of their 
grandmothers, whom they had scarcely even known, many of them had very 
strong objections to providing their mothers, of whom they were very fond, 
as food for the leopard. Amongst the strongest objectors were the squirrel 
and the tortoise. The tortoise, who had thought the whole thing out, was 
aware that, as every one knew that his mother was alive (she being rather an 
amiable old person and friendly with all-comers), the same excuse would not 
avail him a second time. He therefore told his mother to climb up a palm 
tree, and that he would provide her with food until the famine was over. He 
instructed her to let down a basket every day, and said that he would place 
food in it for her. The tortoise made the basket for his mother, and 
attached it to a long string of tie-tie. The string was so strong that she 
could haul her son up whenever he wished to visit her.

All went well for some days, as the tortoise used to go at daylight to the 
bottom of the tree where his mother lived and place her food in the basket; 
then the old lady would pull the basket up and have her food, and the 
tortoise would depart on his daily round in his usual leisurely manner.

In the meantime the leopard had to have his daily food, and the squirrel's 
turn came first after the grandmothers had been finished, so he was forced 
to produce his mother for the leopard to eat, as he was a poor, weak thing 
and not possessed of any cunning. The squirrel was, however, very fond of 
his mother, and when she had been eaten he remembered that the tortoise had 
not produced his grandmother for the leopard's food. He therefore determined 
to set a watch on the movements of the tortoise.

The very next morning, while he was gathering nuts, he saw the tortoise 
walking very slowly through the bush, and being high up in the trees and 
able to travel very fast, had no difficulty in keeping the tortoise in sight 
without being noticed. When the tortoise arrived at the foot of the tree 
where his mother lived, he placed the food in the basket which his mother 
had let down already by the tie-tie, and having got into the basket and 
given a pull at the string to signify that everything was right, was hauled 
up, and after a time was let down again in the basket. The squirrel was 
watching all the time, and directly the tortoise had gone, jumped from 
branch to branch of the trees, and very soon arrived at the place where the 
leopard was snoozing.

When he woke up, the squirrel said:

"You have eaten my grandmother and my mother, but the tortoise has not 
provided any food for you. It is now his turn, and he has hidden his mother 
away in a tree."

At this the leopard was very angry, and told the squirrel to lead him at 
once to the tree where the tortoise's mother lived. But the squirrel said:

"The tortoise only goes at daylight, when his mother lets down a basket; so 
if you go in the morning early, she will pull you up, and you can then kill 
her."

To this the leopard agreed, and the next morning the squirrel came at 
cockcrow and led the leopard to the tree where the tortoise's mother was 
hidden. The old lady had already let down the basket for her daily supply of 
food, and the leopard got into it and gave the line a pull; but except a few 
small jerks nothing happened, as the old mother tortoise was not strong 
enough to pull a heavy leopard off the ground. When the leopard saw that he 
was not going to be pulled up, being an expert climber, he scrambled up the 
tree, and when he got to the top he found the poor old tortoise, whose shell 
was so tough that he thought she was not worth eating, so he threw her down 
on to the ground in a violent temper, and then came down himself and went 
home.

Shortly after this the tortoise arrived at the tree, and finding the basket 
on the ground gave his usual tug at it, but there was no answer. He then 
looked about, and after a little time came upon the broken shell of his poor 
old mother, who by this time was quite dead. The tortoise knew at once that 
the leopard had killed his mother, and made up his mind that for the future 
he would live alone and have nothing to do with the other animals.

XXVI
Why the Moon Waxes and Wanes
THERE was once an old woman who was very poor, and lived in a small mud hut 
thatched with mats made from the leaves of the tombo palm in the bush. She 
was often very hungry, as there was no one to look after her.

In the olden days the moon used often to come down to the earth, although 
she lived most of the time in the sky. The moon was a fat woman with a skin 
of hide, and she was full of fat meat. She was quite round, and in the night 
used to give plenty of light. The moon was sorry for the poor starving old 
woman, so she came to her and said, "You may cut some of my meat away for 
your food." This the old woman did every evening, and the moon got smaller 
and smaller until you could scarcely see her at all. Of course this made her 
give very little light, and all the people began to grumble in consequence, 
and to ask why it was that the moon was getting so thin.

At last the people went to the old woman's house where there happened to be 
a little girl sleeping. She had been there for some little time, and had 
seen the moon come down every evening, and the old woman go out with her 
knife and carve her daily supply of meat out of the moon. As she was very 
frightened, she told the people all about it, so they determined to set a 
watch on the movements of the old woman.

That very night the moon came down as usual, and the old woman went out with 
her knife and basket to get her food; but before she could carve any meat 
all the people rushed out shouting, and the moon was so frightened that she 
went back again into the sky, and never came down again to the earth. The 
old woman was left to starve in the bush.

Ever since that time the moon has hidden herself most of the day, as she was 
so frightened, and she still gets very thin once a month, but later on she 
gets fat again, and when she is quite fat she gives plenty of light all the 
night; but this does not last very long, and she begins to get thinner and 
thinner, in the same way as she did when the old woman was carving her meat 
from her.

XXVII
The Story of the Leopard, the Tortoise, and the Bush Rat
AT the time of the great famine all the animals were very thin and weak from 
want of food; but there was one exception, and that was the tortoise and all 
his family, who were quite fat, and did not seem to suffer at all. Even the 
leopard was very thin, in spite of the arrangement he had made with the 
animals to bring him their old grandmothers and mothers for food.

In the early days of the famine (as you will remember) the leopard had 
killed the mother of the tortoise, in consequence of which the tortoise was 
very angry with the leopard, and determined if possible to be revenged upon 
him. The tortoise, who was very clever, had discovered a shallow lake full 
of fish in the middle of the forest, and every morning he used to go to the 
lake and, without much trouble, bring back enough food for himself and his 
family. One day the leopard met the tortoise and noticed how fat he was. As 
he was very thin himself he decided to watch the tortoise, so the next 
morning he hid himself in the long grass near the tortoise's house and 
waited very patiently, until at last the tortoise came along quite slowly, 
carrying a basket which appeared to be very heavy. Then the leopard sprang 
out, and said to the tortoise:

"What have you got in that basket?

The tortoise, as he did not want to lose his breakfast, replied that he was 
carrying firewood back to his home. Unfortunately for the tortoise the 
leopard had a very acute sense of smell, and knew at once that there was 
fish in the basket, so he said:

"I know there is fish in there, and I am going to eat it."

The tortoise, not being in a position to refuse, as he was such a poor 
creature, said:

"Very well. Let us sit down under this shady tree, and if you will make a 
fire I will go to my house and get pepper, oil, and salt, and then we will 
feed together."

To this the leopard agreed, and began to search about for dry wood, and 
started the fire. In the meantime the tortoise waddled off to his house, and 
very soon returned with the pepper, salt, and oil; he also brought a long 
piece of cane tie-tie, which is very strong. This he put on the ground, and 
began boiling the fish. Then he said to the leopard:

"While we are waiting for the fish to cook, let us play at tying one another 
up to a tree. You may tie me up first, and when I say 'Tighten,' you must 
loose the rope, and when I say 'Loosen,' you must tighten the rope."

The leopard, who was very hungry, thought that this game would make the time 
pass more quickly until the fish was cooked, so he said he would play. The 
tortoise then stood with his back to the tree and said, "Loosen the rope," 
and the leopard, in accordance with the rules of the game, began to tie up 
the tortoise. Very soon the tortoise shouted out, "Tighten!" and the leopard 
at once unfastened the tie-tie, and the tortoise was free. The tortoise then 
said, "Now, leopard, it is your turn; " so the leopard stood up against the 
tree and called out to the tortoise to loosen the rope, and the tortoise at 
once very quickly passed the rope several times round the leopard and got 
him fast to the tree. Then the leopard said, "Tighten the rope;" but instead 
of playing the game in accordance with the rules he bad laid down, the 
tortoise ran faster and faster with the rope round the leopard, taking great 
care, however, to keep out of reach of the leopard's claws, and very soon 
had the leopard so securely fastened that it was quite impossible for him to 
free himself.

All this time the leopard was calling out to the tortoise to let him go, as 
he was tired of the game; but the tortoise only laughed, and sat down at the 
fireside and commenced his meal. When he had finished he packed up the 
remainder of the fish for his family, and prepared to go, but before he 
started he said to the leopard:

"You killed my mother and now you want to take my fish. It is not likely 
that I am going to the lake to get fish for you, so I shall leave you here 
to starve."

He then threw the remains of the pepper and salt into the leopard's eyes and 
quietly went on his way, leaving the leopard roaring with pain.

All that day and throughout the night the leopard was calling out for some 
one to release him, and vowing all sorts of vengeance on the tortoise; but 
no one came, as the people and animals of the forest do not like to hear the 
leopard's voice.

In the morning, when the animals began to go about to get their food, the 
leopard called out to every one he saw to come and untie him, but they all 
refused, as they knew that if they did so the leopard would most likely kill 
them at once and eat them. At last a bush rat came near and saw the leopard 
tied up to the tree and asked him what was the matter, so the leopard told 
him that he had been playing a game of "tight" and "loose" with the 
tortoise, and that he had tied him up and left him there to starve. The 
leopard then implored the bush rat to cut the ropes with his sharp teeth. 
The bush rat was very sorry for the leopard; but at the same time he knew 
that, if he let the leopard go, he would most likely be killed and eaten, so 
he hesitated, and said that he did not quite see his way to cutting the 
ropes. But this bush rat, being rather kind-hearted, and having had some 
experience of traps himself, could sympathise with the leopard in his 
uncomfortable position. He therefore thought for a time, and then hit upon a 
plan. He first started to dig a hole under the tree, quite regardless of the 
leopard's cries. When he had finished the hole he came out and cut one of 
the ropes, and immediately ran into his hole, and waited there to see what 
would happen; but although the leopard struggled frantically, he could not 
get loose, as the tortoise had tied him up so fast. After a time, when he 
saw that there was no danger, the bush rat crept out again and very 
carefully bit through another rope, and then retired to his hole as before. 
Again nothing happened, and he began to feel more confidence, so he bit 
several strands through one after the other until at last the leopard was 
free. The leopard, who was ravenous with hunger, instead of being grateful 
to the bush rat, directly he was free, made a dash at the bush rat with his 
big paw, but just missed him, as the bush rat had dived for his hole; but he 
was not quite quick enough to escape altogether, and the leopard's sharp 
claws scored his back and left marks which he carried to his grave.

Ever since then the bush rats have had white spots on their skins, which 
represent the marks of the leopard's claws.

XXVIII
The King and the Ju Ju Tree
UDO UBOK UDOM was a famous king who lived at Itam, which is an inland town, 
and does not possess a river. The king and his wife therefore used to wash 
at the spring just behind their house.

King Udo had a daughter, of whom he was very fond, and looked after her most 
carefully, and she grew up into a beautiful woman.

For some time the king had been absent from his house, and had not been to 
the spring for two years. When he went to his old place to wash, he found 
that the Idem Ju Ju tree had grown up all round the place, and it was 
impossible for him to use the spring as he had done formerly. He therefore 
called fifty of his young men to bring their matchets[1] and cut down the 
tree. They started cutting the tree, but it had no effect, as, directly they 
made a cut in the tree, it closed up again; so, after working all day, they 
found they had made no impression on it.

When they returned at night, they told the king that they had been unable to 
destroy the tree. He

[1. A matchet is a long sharp knife in general use throughout the country. 
It has a wooden handle; it is about two feet six inches long and two inches 
wide.]

was very angry when he heard this, and went to the spring the following 
morning, taking his own matchet with him.

When the Ju Ju tree saw that the king had come himself and was starting to 
try to cut his branches, he caused a small splinter of wood to go into the 
king's eye. This gave the king great pain, so he threw down his matchet and 
went back to his house. The pain, however, got worse, and he could not eat 
or sleep for three days.

He therefore sent for his witch men, and told them to cast lots to find out 
why he was in such pain. When they had cast lots, they decided that the 
reason was that the Ju Ju tree was angry with the king because he wanted to 
wash at the spring, and had tried to destroy the tree.

They then told the king that he must take seven baskets of flies, a white 
goat, a white chicken, and a piece of white cloth, and make a sacrifice of 
them in order to satisfy the Ju Ju.

The king did this, and the witch men tried their lotions on the king's eye, 
but it got worse and worse.

He then dismissed these witches and got another lot. When they arrived they 
told the king that, although they could do nothing themselves to relieve his 
pain, they knew one man who lived in the spirit land who could cure him; so 
the king told them to send for him at once, and he arrived the next day,

Then the spirit man said, "Before I do anything to your eye, what will you 
give me? " So King Udo, said, ""will give you half my town with the people 
in it, also seven cows and some money." But the spirit man refused to accept 
the king's offer. As the king was in such pain, he said, "Name your own 
price, and I will pay you." So the spirit man said the only thing he was 
willing to accept as payment was the king's daughter. At this the king cried 
very much, and told the man to go away, as he would rather die than let him 
have his daughter.

That night the pain was worse than ever, and some of his subjects pleaded 
with the king to send for the spirit man again and give him his daughter, 
and told him that when he got well he could no doubt have another daughter 
but that if he died now he would lose everything.

The king then sent for the spirit man again, who came very quickly, and in 
great grief, the king handed his daughter to the spirit.

The spirit man then went out into the bush, and collected some leaves, which 
he soaked in water and beat up. The juice he poured into the king's eye, and 
told him that when he washed his face in the morning he would be able to see 
what was troubling him in the eye.

The king tried to persuade him to stay the night, but the spirit man 
refused, and departed that same night for the spirit land, taking the king's 
daughter with him.

Before it was light the king rose up and washed his face, and found that the 
small splinter from the Ju Ju tree, which had been troubling him so much, 
dropped out of his eye, the pain disappeared, and he was quite well again.

When he came to his proper senses he realised that he had sacrificed his 
daughter for one of his eyes, so he made an order that there should be 
general mourning throughout his kingdom for three years.

For the first two years of the mourning the king's daughter was put in the 
fatting house by the spirit man, and was given food; but a skull, who was in 
the house, told her not to eat, as they were fatting her up, not for 
marriage, but so that they could eat her. She therefore gave all the food 
which was brought to her to the skull, and lived on chalk herself.

Towards the end of the third year the spirit man brought some of his friends 
to see the king's daughter, and told them he would kill her the next day, 
and they would have a good feast off her.

When she woke up in the morning the spirit man brought her food as usual; 
but the skull, who wanted to preserve her life, and who had heard what the 
spirit man had said, called her into the room and told her what was going to 
happen later in the day. She handed the food to the skull, and he said, 
"When the spirit man goes to the wood with his friends to prepare for the 
feast, you must run back to your father."

He then gave her some medicine which would make her strong for the journey, 
and also gave her directions as to the road, telling her that there were two 
roads but that when she came to the parting of the ways she was to drop some 
of the medicine on the ground and the two roads would become one.

He then told her to leave by the back door, and go through the wood until 
she came to the end of the town; she would then find the road. If she met 
people on the road she was to pass them in silence, as if she saluted them 
they would know that she was a stranger in the spirit land, and might kill 
her. She was also not to turn round if any one called to her, but was to go 
straight on till she reached her father's house.

Having thanked the skull for his kind advice, the king's daughter started 
off, and when she reached the end of the town and found the road, she ran 
for three hours, and at last arrived at the branch roads. There she dropped 
the medicine, as she had been instructed, and the two roads immediately 
became one; so she went straight on and never saluted any one or turned 
back, although several people called to her.

About this time the spirit man had returned from the wood, and went to the 
house, only to find the king's daughter was absent. He asked the skull where 
she was, and he replied that she had gone out by the back door, but he did 
not know where she had gone to. Being a spirit, however, he very soon 
guessed that she had gone home; so he followed as quickly as possible, 
shouting out all the time.

When the girl heard his voice she ran as fast as she could, and at last 
arrived at her father's house, and told him to take at once a cow, a pig, a 
sheep, a goat, a dog, a chicken, and seven eggs, and cut them into seven 
parts as a sacrifice, and leave them on the road, so that when the spirit 
man saw these things he would stop and not enter the town. This the king did 
immediately, and made the sacrifice as his daughter had told him.

When the spirit man saw the sacrifice on the road, he sat down and at once 
began to eat.

When he had satisfied his appetite, he packed up the remainder and returned 
to the spirit land, not troubling any more about the king's daughter.

When the king saw that the danger was over, he beat his drum, and declared- 
that for the future, when people died and went to the spirit land, they 
should not come to earth again as spirits to cure sick people.

XXIX
How the Tortoise overcame the Elephant and the Hippopotamus
THE elephant and the hippopotamus always used to feed together, and were 
good friends.

One day when they were both dining together, the tortoise appeared and said 
that although they were both big and strong, neither of them could pull him 
out of the water with a strong piece of tie-tie, and he offered the elephant 
ten thousand rods if he could draw him out of the river the next day. The 
elephant, seeing that the tortoise was very small, said, "If I cannot draw 
you out of the water, I will give you twenty thousand rods." So on the 
following morning the tortoise got some very strong tie-tie and made it fast 
to his leg, and went down to the river. When he got there, as he knew the 
place well, he made the tie-tie fast round a big rock, and left the other 
end on the shore for the elephant to pull by, then went down to the bottom 
of the river and hid himself. The elephant then came down and started 
pulling, and after a time he smashed the rope.

Directly this happened, the tortoise undid the rope from the rock and came 
to the land, showing all people that the rope was still fast to his leg, but 
that the elephant had failed to pull him out. The elephant was thus forced 
to admit that the tortoise was the winner, and paid to him the twenty 
thousand rods, as agreed. The tortoise then took the rods home to his wife, 
and they lived together very happily.

After three months had passed, the tortoise, seeing that the money was 
greatly reduced, thought he would make some more by the same trick, so he 
went to the hippopotamus and made the same bet with him. The hippopotamus 
said, "I will make the bet, but I shall take the water and you shall take 
the land; I will then pull you into the water."

To this the tortoise agreed, so they went down to the river as before, and 
having got some strong tie-tie, the tortoise made it fast to the 
hippopotamus' hind leg, and told him to go into the water. Directly the 
hippo had turned his back and disappeared, the tortoise took the rope twice 
round a strong palm-tree which was growing near, and then hid himself at the 
foot of the tree.

When the hippo was tired of pulling, he came up puffing and blowing water 
into the air from his nostrils. Directly the tortoise saw him coming up, he 
unwound the rope, and walked down towards the hippopotamus, showing him the 
tie-tie round his leg. The hippo had to acknowledge that the tortoise was 
too strong for him, and reluctantly handed over the twenty thousand rods.

The elephant and the hippo then agreed that they would take the tortoise as 
their friend, as he was so very strong; but he was not really so strong as 
they thought, and had won because he was so cunning.

He then told them that he would like to live with both of them, but that, as 
he could not be in two places at the same time, he said that he would leave 
his son to live with the elephant on the land, and that he himself would 
live with the hippopotamus in the water.

This explains why there are both tortoises on the land and tortoises who 
live in the water. The water tortoise is always much the bigger of the two, 
as there is plenty of fish for him to eat in the river, whereas the land 
tortoise is often very short of food.

XXX
Of the Pretty Girl and the Seven Jealous Women
THERE was once a very beautiful girl called Akim. She was a native of 
Ibibio, and the name was given to her on account of her good looks, as she 
was born in the spring-time. She was an only daughter, and her parents were 
extremely fond of her. The people of the town, and more particularly the 
young girls, were so jealous of Akim's good looks and beautiful form-for she 
was perfectly made, very strong, and her carriage, bearing, and manners were 
most graceful-that her parents would not allow her to join the young girls' 
society in the town, as is customary for all young people to do, both boys 
and girls belonging to a company according to their age; a company 
consisting, as a rule, of all the boys or girls born in the same year.

Akim's parents were rather poor, but she was a good daughter, and gave them 
no trouble, so they had a happy home. One day as Akim was on her way to draw 
water from the spring she met the company of seven girls, to which in an 
ordinary way she would have belonged, if her parents had not for bidden her. 
These girls told her that they were going to hold a play in the town in 
three days' time, and asked her to join them. She said she was very sorry, 
but that her parents were poor, and only had herself to work for them, she 
therefore had no time to spare for dancing and plays. She then left them and 
went home.

In the evening the seven girls met together, and as they were very envious 
of Akim, they discussed how they should be revenged upon her for refusing to 
join their company, and they talked for a long time as to how they could get 
Akim into danger or punish her in some way.

At last one of the girls suggested that they should all go to Akim's house 
every day and help her with her work, so that when they had made friends 
with her they would be able to entice her away and take their revenge upon 
her for being more beautiful than themselves. Although they went every day 
and helped Akim and her parents with their work, the parents knew that they 
were jealous of their daughter, and repeatedly warned her not on any account 
to go with them, as they were not to be trusted.

At- the end of the year there was going to be a big play, called the new yam 
play, to which Akim's parents had been invited. The play was going to be 
held at a town about two hours' march from where they lived. Akim was very 
anxious to go and take part in the dance, but her parents gave her plenty of 
work to do before they started, thinking that this would surely prevent her 
going, as she was a very obedient daughter, and always did her work 
properly.

On the morning of the play the jealous seven came to Akim and asked her to 
go with them, but she pointed to all the water-pots she had to fill, and 
showed them where her parents had told her to polish the walls with a stone 
and make the floor good; and after that was finished she had to pull up all 
the weeds round the house and clean up all round. She therefore said it was 
impossible for her to leave the house until all the work was finished. When 
the girls heard this they took up the water-pots, went to the spring, and 
quickly returned with them full; they placed them in a row, and then they 
got stones, and very soon had the walls polished and the floor made good; 
after that they did the weeding outside and the cleaning up, and when 
everything was completed they said to Akim, "Now then, come along; you have 
no excuse to remain behind, as all the work is done."

Akim really wanted to go to the play; so as all the work was done which her 
parents had told her to do, she finally consented to go. About half-way to 
the town, where the new yam play was being held, there was a small river, 
about five feet deep, which had to be crossed by wading, as there was no 
bridge. In this river there was a powerful Ju Ju, whose law was that 
whenever any one crossed the river and returned the same way on the return 
journey, whoever it was, had to give some food to the Ju Ju. If they did not 
make the proper sacrifice the Ju Ju dragged them down and took them to his 
home, and kept them there to work for him. The seven jealous girls knew all 
about this Ju Ju, having often crossed the river before, as they walked 
about all over the country, and had plenty of friends in the different 
towns. Akim, however, who was a good girl, and never went anywhere, knew 
nothing about this Ju Ju, which her companions had found out.

When the work was finished they all started off together, and crossed the 
river without any trouble. When they had gone a small distance on the other 
side they saw a small bird, perched on a high tree, who admired Akim very 
much, and sang in praise of her beauty, much to the annoyance of the seven 
girls; but they walked on without saying anything, and eventually arrived 
at, the town where the play was being held. Akim had not taken the trouble 
to change her clothes, but when she arrived at the town, although her 
companions had on all their best beads and their finest clothes, the young 
men and people admired Akim far more than the other girls, and she was 
declared to be the finest and most beautiful woman at the dance. They gave 
her plenty of palm wine, foo-foo, and everything she wanted, so that the 
seven girls became more angry and jealous than be fore. The people danced 
and sang all that night, but Akim managed to keep out of the sight of her 
parents until the following morning, when they asked her how it was that she 
had disobeyed them and neglected her work; so Akim told them that the work 
had all been done by her friends, and they had enticed her to come to the 
play with them Her mother then told her to return home at once, and that she 
was not to remain in the town any longer.

When Akim told her friends this they said, "Very well, we are just going to 
have some small meal, and then we will return with you." They all then sat 
down together and had their food, but each of the seven jealous girls hid a 
small quantity of foo-foo and fish in her clothes for the Water Ju Ju. 
However Akim, who knew nothing about this, as her parents had forgotten to 
tell her about the Ju Ju, never thinking for one moment that their daughter 
would cross the river, did not take any food as a sacrifice to the Ju Ju 
with her.

When they arrived at the river Akim saw the girls making their small 
sacrifices, and begged them to give her a small share so that she could do 
the same, but they refused, and all walked across the river safely. Then 
when it was Akim's turn to cross, when she arrived in the middle of the 
river, the Water Ju Ju caught hold of her and dragged her underneath the 
water, so that she immediately disappeared from sight. The seven girls had 
been watching for this, and when they saw that she had gone they went on 
their way, very pleased at the success of their scheme, and said to one 
another, "Now Akim is gone for ever, and we shall hear no more about her 
being better-looking than we are."

As there was no one to be seen at the time when Akim disappeared they 
naturally thought that their cruel action had escaped detection, so they 
went home rejoicing; but they never noticed the little bird high up in the 
tree who had sung of Akim's beauty when they were on their way to the play. 
The little bird was very sorry for Akim, and made up his mind that, when the 
proper time came, he would tell her parents what he had seen, so that 
perhaps they would be able to save her. The bird had heard Akim asking for a 
small portion of the food to make a sacrifice with, and had heard all the 
girls refusing to give her any.

The following morning, when Akim's parents returned home, they were much 
surprised to find that the door was fastened, and that there was no sign of 
their daughter anywhere about the place, so they inquired of their 
neighbours, but no one was able to give them any information about her. They 
then went to the seven girls, and asked them what had become of Akim. They 
replied that they did not know what had become of her, but that she had 
reached their town safely with them, and then said she was going home. The 
father then went to his Ju Ju man, who, by casting lots, discovered what had 
happened, and told him that on her way back from the play Akim had crossed 
the river without making the customary sacrifice to the Water Ju Ju, and 
that, as the Ju Ju was angry, he had seized Akim and taken her to his home. 
He therefore told Akim's father to take one goat, one basketful of eggs, and 
one piece of white cloth to the river in the morning, and to offer them as a 
sacrifice to the Water Ju Ju; then Akim would be thrown out of the water 
seven times, but that if her father failed to catch her on the seventh time, 
she would disappear for ever.

Akim's father then returned home, and, when he arrived there, the little 
bird who had seen Akim taken by the Water Ju Ju, told him everything that 
had happened, confirming the Ju Ju's words. He also said that it was 
entirely the fault of the seven girls, who had refused to give Akim any food 
to make the sacrifice with.

Early the following morning the parents went to the river, and made the 
sacrifice as advised by the Ju Ju. Immediately they had done so, the Water 
Ju Ju threw Akim. up from the middle of the river.

Her father caught her at once, and returned home very thankfully.

He never told any one, however, that he had recovered his daughter, but made 
up his mind to punish the seven jealous girls, so he dug a deep pit in the 
middle of his house, and placed dried palm leaves and sharp stakes in the 
bottom of the pit. He then covered the top of the pit with new mats, and 
sent out word for all people to come and hold a play to rejoice with him, as 
he had recovered his daughter from the spirit land. Many people came, and 
danced and sang all the day and night, but the seven jealous girls did not 
appear, as they were frightened. However, as they were told that everything 
had gone well on the previous day, and that there had been no trouble, they 
went to the house the following morning and mixed with the dancers; but they 
were ashamed to look Akim in the face, who was sitting down in the middle of 
the dancing ring.

When Akim's father saw the seven girls he pretended to welcome them as his 
daughter's friends, and presented each of them with a brass rod, which he 
placed round their necks. He also gave them tombo to drink.

He then picked them out, and told them to go and sit on mats on the other 
side of the pit he had prepared for them. When they walked over the mats 
which hid the pit they all fell in, and Akim's father immediately got some 
red-hot ashes from the fire and threw them in on top of the screaming girls, 
who were in great pain. At once the dried palm leaves caught fire, killing 
all the girls at once.

When the people heard the cries and saw the smoke, they all ran back to the 
town.

The next day the parents of the dead girls went to the head chief, and 
complained that Akim's father had killed their daughters, so the chief 
called him before him, and asked him for an explanation.

Akim's father went at once to the chief, taking the Ju Ju man, whom 
everybody relied upon, and the small bird, as his witnesses.

When the chief had heard the whole case, he told Akim's father that he 
should only have killed one girl to avenge his daughter, and not seven. So 
he told the father to bring Akim before him.

When she arrived, the head chief, seeing how beautiful she was, said that 
her father was justified in killing all the seven girls on her behalf, so he 
dismissed the case, and told the parents of the dead girls to go away and 
mourn for their daughters, who had been wicked and jealous women, and had 
been properly punished for their cruel behaviour to Akim.

MORAL.-Never kill a man or a woman because you are envious of their beauty, 
as if you do, you will surely be punished.

XXXI
How the Cannibals drove the People from Insofan Mountain to the Cross River 
(Ikom)
VERY many years ago, before the oldest man alive at the present time can 
remember, the towns of Ikom, Okuni, Abijon, Insofan, Obokum, and all the 
other Injor towns were situated round and near the Insofan Mountain, and the 
head chief of the whole country was called Agbor. Abragba and Enfitop also 
lived there, and were also under King Agbor. The Insofan Mountain is about 
two days' march inland from the Cross River, and as none of the people there 
could swim, and knew nothing about canoes, they never went anywhere outside 
their own country, and were afraid to go down to the big river. The whole 
country was taken up with yam farms, and was divided amongst the various 
towns, each town having its own bush. At the end of each year, when it was 
time to dig the yams, there was a big play held, which was called the New 
Yam feast. At this festival there was always a big human sacrifice, fifty 
slaves being killed in one day. These slaves were tied up to trees in a row, 
and many drums were beaten; then a strong man, armed with a sharp matchet, 
went from one slave to another and cut their heads off. This was done to 
cool the new yams, so that they would not hurt the stomachs of the people. 
Until this sacrifice was made no one in the country would eat a new yam, as 
they knew, if they did so, they would suffer great pain in their insides.

When the feast was held, all the towns brought one hundred yams each as a 
present to King Agbor. When the slaves were all killed fires were lit, and 
the dead bodies were placed over the fires to burn the hair off. A number of 
plantain leaves were then gathered and placed on the ground, and the bodies, 
having been cut into pieces, were placed on the plantain leaves.

When the yams were skinned, they were put into large pots, with water, oil, 
pepper, and salt. The cut-up bodies were then put in on top, and the pots 
covered up with other clay pots and left to boil for an hour.

The king, having called all the people together, then declared the New Yam 
feast had commenced, and singing and dancing were kept up for three days and 
nights, during which time much palm wine was consumed, and all the bodies 
and yams, which had been provided for them, were eaten by the people.

The heads were given to the king for his share, and, when he had finished 
eating them, the skulls were placed before the Ju Ju with some new yams, so 
that there should be a good crop the following season.

But although these natives ate the dead bodies of the slaves at the New Yam 
feast, they did not eat human flesh during the rest of the year.

This went on for many years, until at last the Okuni people noticed that the 
graves of the people who had been buried were frequently dug open and the 
bodies removed. This caused great wonder, and, as they did not like the idea 
of their dead relations being taken away, they made a complaint to King 
Agbor. He at once caused a watch to be set on all newly dug graves, and that 
very night they caught seven men, who were very greedy, and used to come 
whenever a body was buried, dig it up, and carry it into the bush, where 
they made a fire, and cooked and ate it.

When they were caught, the people made them show where they lived, and where 
they cooked the bodies.

After walking for some hours in the forest, they came to a place where large 
heaps of human bones and skulls were found.

The seven men were then securely fastened up and brought before King Agbor, 
who held a large palaver of all the towns, and the whole situation was 
discussed.

Agbor said that this bad custom would necessitate all the towns separating, 
as they could not allow their dead relations to be dug up and eaten by these 
greedy people, and he could see no other way to prevent it. Agbor then gave 
one of the men to each of the seven towns, and told some of them to go on 
the far side of the big river and make their towns there. The others were to 
go farther down the river on the same side as Insofan Mountain, and when 
they found suitable places, they were each to kill their man as a sacrifice 
and then build their town.

All the towns then departed, and when they had found good sites, they built 
their towns there.

When they had all gone, after a time Agbor began to feel very lonely, so he 
left the site of his old town and also went to the Cross River to live, so 
that he could see his friends.

After that the New Yam feast was held in each town, and the people still 
continued to kill and eat a few slaves at the feast, but the bodies of their 
relations and friends were kept for a long time above ground until they had 
become rotten, so that the greedy people should not dig them up and eat 
them.

This is why, even at the present time, the people do not like to bury their 
dead relations until they have become putrid.

XXXII
The Lucky Fisherman
IN the olden days there were no hooks or casting nets, so that when the 
natives wanted to catch fish they made baskets and set traps at the river 
side.

One man named Akon Obo, who was very poor, began to make baskets and traps 
out of bamboo palm, and then when the river went down he used to take his 
traps to a pool and set them baited with palm-nuts. In the night the big 
fish used to smell the palm-nuts and go into the trap, when at once the door 
would fall down, and in the morning Akon Obo would go and take the fish out. 
He was very successful in his fishing, and used to sell the fish in the 
market for plenty of money. When he could afford to pay the dowry he married 
a woman named Eyong, a native of Okuni, and had three children by her, but 
he still continued his fishing. The eldest son was called Odey, the second 
Yambi, and the third Atuk. These three boys, when they grew up, helped their 
father with his fishing, and he gradually became wealthy and bought plenty 
of slaves. At last he joined the Egbo society, and became one of the chiefs 
of the town. Even after he became a chief, he and his sons still continued 
to fish.

One day, when he was crossing the river in a small dug-out canoe, a tornado 
came on very suddenly and the canoe capsized, drowning the chief, When his 
sons heard of the death of their father, they wanted to go and drown 
themselves also, but they were persuaded not to by the people. After 
searching for two days, they found the dead body some distance down the 
river, and brought it back to the town. They then called their company 
together to play, dance, and sing for twelve days, in accordance with their 
native custom, and much palm wine was drunk.

When the play was finished, they took their father's body to a hollowed-out 
cavern, and placed two live slaves with it, one holding a native lamp of 
palm-oil, and the other holding a matchet. They were both tied up, so that 
they could not escape, and were left there to keep watch over the dead 
chief, until they died of starvation.

When the cave was covered in, the sons called the chiefs together, and they 
played Egbo[1] for seven days, which used up a lot of their late father's 
money. When the play was over, the chiefs were surprised at the amount of 
money which the sons had been able to spend on the funeral of their father, 
as they knew how poor he had been as a young man. They therefore called him 
the lucky fisherman.

[1. The Egbo society would meet together and would be provided with palm 
wine and food, as much as they could eat and drink, which frequently cost a 
lot of money. Dancing and singing would also be kept up and a band would 
play, consisting of drums made of hollowed-out trunks of trees, beaten with 
two pieces of soft wood, native made bells and rattles made of basket work, 
with stones inside, the bottom consisting of hard dried skin, and covered 
all over with long streamers of fibre. Other drums are also played by hand; 
these are made out of hollow wood, covered at one end with dried skin, the 
other end being left open. The drummer usually sits on two of these drums, 
which have a different note, one being a deep sound, and the other slightly 
higher.]

XXXIII
The Orphan Boy and the Magic Stone
A CHIEF of Inde named Inkita had a son named Ayong Kita, whose mother had 
died at his birth.

The old chief was a hunter, and used to take his son out with him when he 
went into the bush. He used to do most of his hunting in the long grass 
which grows over nearly all the Inde country, and used to kill plenty of 
bush buck in the dry season.

In those days the people had no guns, so the chief had to shoot everything 
he got with his bow and arrows, which required a lot of skill.

When his little son was old enough, he gave him a small bow and some small 
arrows, and taught him how to shoot. The little boy was very quick at 
learning, and by continually practising at lizards and small birds, soon 
became expert in the use of his little bow, and could hit them almost every 
time he shot at them.

When the boy was ten years old his father died, and as he thus became the 
head of his father's house, and was in authority over all the slaves, they 
became very discontented, and made plans to kill him, so he ran away into 
the bush.

Having nothing to eat, he lived for several days on the nuts which fell from 
the palm trees. He was too young to kill any large animals, and only had his 
small bow and arrows, with which he killed a few squirrels, bush rats, and 
small birds, and so managed to live.

Now once at night, when he was sleeping in the hollow of a tree, he had a 
dream in which his father appeared, and told him where there was plenty of 
treasure buried in the earth, but, being a small boy, he was frightened, and 
did not go to the place.

One day, some time after the dream, having walked far and being very 
thirsty, he went to a lake, and was just going to drink, when he heard a 
hissing sound, and heard a voice tell him not to drink. Not seeing any one, 
he was afraid, and ran away without drinking.

Early next morning, when he was out with his bow trying to shoot some small 
animal, he met an old woman with quite long hair. She was so ugly that he 
thought she must be a witch, so he tried to run, but she told him not to 
fear, as she wanted to help him and assist him to rule over his late 
father's house. She also told him that it was she who had called out to him 
at the lake not to drink, as there was a bad Ju Ju in the water which would 
have killed him. The old woman then took Ayong to a stream some little 
distance from the lake, and bending down, took out a small shining stone 
from the water, which she gave to him, at the same time telling him to go to 
the place which his father had advised him to visit in his dream. She then 
said, "When you get there you must dig, and you will find plenty of money; 
you must then go and buy two strong slaves, and when you have got them, you 
must take them into the forest, away from the town, and get them to build 
you a house with several rooms in it. You must then place the stone in one 
of the rooms, and whenever you want anything, all you have to do is to go 
into the room and tell the stone what you want, and your wishes will be at 
once gratified."

Ayong did as the old woman told him, and after much difficulty and danger 
bought the two slaves and built a house in the forest, taking great care of 
the precious stone, which he placed in an inside room. Then for some time, 
whenever he wanted anything, he used to go into the room and ask for a 
sufficient number of rods to buy what he wanted, and they were always 
brought at once.

This went on for many years, and Ayong grew up to be a man, and became very 
rich, and bought many slaves, having made friends with the Aro men, who in 
those days used to do a big traffic in slaves. After ten years had passed 
Ayong had quite a large town and many slaves, but one night the old woman 
appeared to him in a dream and told him that she thought that he was 
sufficiently wealthy, and that it was time for him to return the magic stone 
to the small stream from whence it came. But Ayong, although he was rich, 
wanted to rule his father's house and be a head chief for all the Inde 
country, so he sent for all the Ju Ju men in the country and two witch men, 
and marched with all his slaves to his father's town. Before he started he 
held a big palaver, and told them to point out any slave who had a bad 
heart, and who might kill him when he came to rule the country. Then the Ju 
Ju men consulted together, and pointed out fifty of the slaves who, they 
said, were witches, and would try to kill Ayong. He at once had them made 
prisoners, and tried them by the ordeal of Esere bean[1] to see whether they 
were witches or not. As none of them could vomit the beans they all died, 
and were declared to be witches. He then had them buried at once. When the 
remainder of his slaves saw what had happened, they all came to him and 
begged his pardon, and promised to serve him faithfully. Although the fifty 
men were buried they could not rest, and troubled Ayong very much, and after 
a time he became very sick himself, so he sent again for the Ju Ju men, who 
told him that it was the witch men who, although they were dead and buried, 
had power to come out at night and used to suck Ayong's blood, which was the 
cause of his sickness. They then said, "We are only three Ju Ju men; you 
must get seven more of us, making the magic number of ten." When they came 
they dug up the bodies of the fifty witches, and found they were quite 
fresh. Then Ayong had big fires made, and burned them one after the other, 
and gave the Ju Ju men a big present. He soon after became quite well again, 
and took possession of his father's property, and ruled over all the 
country.

[1. The Esere or Calabar bean is a strong poison, and was formerly much used 
by the natives. These beans are ground up in a stone mortar, and are then 
swallowed by the accused person. If the man dies he is considered guilty, 
but if he lives, he is supposed to have proved his innocence of whatever the 
charge may have been which was brought against him. Death generally ensues 
about two hours after the poison is administered. If the accused takes a 
sufficient amount of the ground-up beans to make him vomit it will probably 
save his life, otherwise he will die in great pain.]

Ever since then, whenever any one is accused of being a witch, they are 
tried by the ordeal of the poisonous Esere bean, and if they can vomit they 
do not die, and are declared innocent, but if they cannot do so, they die in 
great pain.

XXXIV
The Slave Girl who tried to Kill her Mistress
A MAN called Akpan, who was a native of Oku, a town in the Ibibio country, 
admired a girl called Emme very much, who lived at Ibibio, and wished to 
marry her, as she was the finest girl in her company. It was the custom in 
those days for the parents to demand such a large amount for their daughters 
as dowry, that if after they were married they failed to get on with their 
husbands, as they could not redeem themselves, they were sold as slaves. 
Akpan paid a very large sum as dowry for Emme, and she was put in the 
fatting-house until the proper time arrived for her to marry.

Akpan told the parents that when their daughter was ready they must send her 
over to him. This they promised to do. Emme's father was a rich man, and 
after seven years had elapsed, and it became time for her to go to her 
husband, he saw a very fine girl, who had also just come out of the fatting-
house, and whom the parents wished to sell as a slave. Emme's father 
therefore bought her, and gave her to his daughter as her handmaiden.

The next day Emme's little sister, being very anxious to go with her, 
obtained the consent of her mother, and they started off together, the slave 
girl carrying a large bundle containing clothes and presents from Emme's 
father. Akpan's house was a long day's march from where they lived. When 
they arrived just outside the town they came to a spring, where the people 
used to get their drinking water from, but no one was allowed to bathe 
there. Emme, however, knew nothing about this. They took off their clothes 
to wash close to the spring, and where there was a deep hole which led to 
the Water Ju Ju's house. The slave girl knew of this Ju Ju, and thought if 
she could get her mistress to bathe, she would be taken by the Ju Ju, and 
she would then be able to take her place and marry Akpan. So they went down 
to bathe, and when they were close to the water the slave girl pushed her 
mistress in, and she at once disappeared. The little girl then began to cry, 
but the slave girl said, "If you cry any more I will kill you at once, and 
throw your body into the hole after your sister." And she told the child 
that she must never mention what had happened to any one, and particularly 
not to Akpan, as she was going to represent her sister and marry him, and 
that if she ever told any one what she had seen, she would be killed at 
once. She then made the little girl carry her load to Akpan's house.

When they arrived, Akpan was very much disappointed at the slave girl's 
appearance, as she was not nearly as pretty and fine as he had expected her 
to be; but as he had not seen Emme for seven years, he had no suspicion that 
the girl was not really Emme, for whom he had paid such a large dowry. He 
then called all his company together to play and feast, and when they 
arrived they were much astonished, and said, "Is this the fine woman for 
whom you paid so much dowry, and whom you told us so much about?" And Akpan 
could not answer them.

The slave girl was then for some time very cruel to Emme's little sister, 
and wanted her to die, so that her position would be more secure with her 
husband. She beat the little girl every day, and always made her carry the 
largest water-pot to the spring; she also made the child place her finger in 
the fire to use as firewood. When the time came for food, the slave girl 
went to the fire and got a burning piece of wood and burned the child all 
over the body with it. When Akpan asked her why she treated the child so 
badly, she replied that she was a slave that her father had bought for her. 
When the little girl took the heavy water-pot to the river to fill it there 
was no one to lift it up for her, so that she could not get -it on to her 
head; she therefore had to remain a long time at the spring, and at last 
began calling for her sister Emme to come and help her.

When Emme heard her little sister crying for her, she begged the Water Ju Ju 
to allow her to go and help her, so he told her she might go, but that she 
must return to him again immediately. When the little girl saw her sister 
she did not want to leave her, and asked to be allowed to go into the hole 
with her. She then told Emme how very badly she had been treated by the 
slave girl, and her elder sister told her to have patience and wait, that a 
day of vengeance would arrive sooner or later. The little girl went back to 
Akpan's house with a glad heart as she had seen her sister, but when she got 
to the house, the slave girl said, "Why have you been so long getting the 
water?" and then took another stick from the fire and burnt the little girl 
again very badly, and starved her for the rest of the day.

This went on for some time, until, one day, when the child went to the river 
for water, after all the people had gone, she cried out for her sister as 
usual, but she did not come for a long time, as there was a hunter from 
Akpan's town hidden near watching the hole, and the Water Ju Ju told Emme 
that she must not go; but, as the little girl went on crying bitterly, Emme 
at last persuaded the Ju Ju to let her go, promising to return quickly. When 
she emerged from the water, she looked very beautiful with the rays of the 
setting sun shining on her glistening body. She helped her little sister 
with her water-pot, and then disappeared into the hole again.

The hunter was amazed at what he had seen, and when he returned, he told 
Akpan what a beautiful woman had come out of the water and had helped the 
little girl with her water-pot. He also told Akpan that he was convinced 
that the girl he had seen at the spring was his proper wife, Emme, and that 
the Water Ju Ju must have taken her.

Akpan then made up his mind to go out and watch and see what happened, so, 
in the early morning the hunter came for him, and they both went down to the 
river, and hid in the forest near the water-hole.

When Akpan saw Emme come out of the water, he recognised her at once, and 
went home and considered how he should get her out of the power of the Water 
Ju Ju. He was advised by some of his friends to go to an old woman, who 
frequently made sacrifices to the Water Ju Ju, and consult her as to what 
was the best thing to do.

When he went to her, she told him to bring her one white slave, one white 
goat, one piece of white cloth, one white chicken, and a basket of eggs. 
Then, when the great Ju Ju day arrived, she would take them to the Water Ju 
Ju, and make a sacrifice of them on his behalf. The day after the sacrifice 
was made, the Water Ju Ju would return the girl to her, and she would bring 
her to Akpan.

Akpan then bought the slave, and took all the other things to the old woman, 
and, when the day of the sacrifice arrived, he went with his friend the 
hunter and witnessed the old woman make the sacrifice. The slave was bound 
up and led to the hole, then the old woman called to the Water Ju Ju and cut 
the slave's throat with a sharp knife and pushed him into the hole. She then 
did the same to the goat and chicken, and also threw the eggs and cloth in 
on top of them.

After this had been done, they all returned to their homes. The next morning 
at dawn the old woman went to the hole, and found Emme standing at the side 
of the spring, so she told her that she was her friend, and was going to 
take her to her husband. She then took Emme back to her own home, and hid 
her in her room, and sent word to Akpan to come to her house, and to take 
great care that the slave woman knew nothing about the matter.

So Akpan left the house secretly by the back door, and arrived at the old 
woman's house without meeting anybody.

When Emme saw Akpan, she asked for her little sister, so he sent his friend, 
the hunter, for her to the spring, and he met her carrying her water-pot to 
get the morning supply of water for the house, and brought her to the old 
woman's house with him.

When Emme had embraced her sister, she told her to return to the house and 
do something to annoy the slave woman, and then she was to run as fast as 
she could back to the old woman's house, where, no doubt, the slave girl 
would follow her, and would meet them all inside the house, and see Emme, 
who she believed she had killed.

The little girl did as she was told, and, directly she got into the house, 
she called out to the slave woman: "Do you know that you are a wicked woman, 
and have treated me very badly? I know you are only my sister's slave, and 
you will be properly punished." She then ran as hard as she could to the old 
woman's house. Directly the slave woman heard what the little girl said, she 
was quite mad with rage, and seized a burning stick from the fire, and ran 
after the child; but the little one got to the house first, and ran inside, 
the slave woman following close upon her heels with the burning stick in her 
hand.

Then Emme came out and confronted the slave woman, and she at once 
recognised her mistress, whom she thought she had killed, so she stood quite 
still.

Then they all went back to Akpan's house, and when they arrived there, Akpan 
asked the slave woman what she meant by pretending that she was Emme, and 
why she had tried to kill her. But, seeing she was found out, the slave 
woman had nothing to say.

Many people were then called to a play to celebrate the recovery of Akpan's 
wife, and when they had all come, he told them what the slave woman had 
done.

After this, Emme treated the slave girl in the same way as she had treated 
her little sister. She made her put her fingers in the fire, and burnt her 
with sticks. She also made her beat foo-foo with her head in a hollowed-out 
tree, and after a time she was tied up to a tree and starved to death.

Ever since that time, when a man marries a girl, he is always present when 
she comes out of the fatting-house and takes her home himself, so that such 
evil things as happened to Emme and her sister may not occur again.

XXXV
The King and the 'Nsiat Bird
WHEN 'Ndarake was King of Idu, being young and rich, he was very fond of 
fine girls, and had plenty of slaves. The 'Nsiat bird was then living at 
Idu, and had a very pretty daughter, whom 'Ndarake wished to marry. When he 
spoke to the father about the matter, he replied that of course he had no 
objection personally, as it would be a great honour for his daughter to 
marry the king, but, unfortunately, when any of his family had children, 
they always gave birth to twins, which, as the king knew, was not allowed in 
the country; the native custom being to kill both the children and throw 
them into the bush, the mother being driven away and allowed to starve. The 
king, however, being greatly struck with Adit, the bird's daughter, insisted 
on marrying her, so the 'Nsiat bird had to agree. A large amount of dowry 
was paid by the king, and a big play and feast was held. One strong slave 
was told to carry Adit 'Nsiat during the whole play, and she sat on his 
shoulders with her legs around his neck; this was done to show what a rich 
and powerful man the king was.

After the marriage, in due course Adit gave birth to twins, as her mother 
had done before her. The king immediately became very fond of the two 
babies, but according to the native custom, which was too strong for any one 
to resist, he had to give them up to be killed, When the 'Nsiat bird heard 
this, he went to the king and reminded him that he had warned the king 
before he married what would happen if he married Adit, and rather than that 
the twins should be killed, he and the whole of his family would leave the 
earth and dwell in the air, taking the twins with them. As the king was so 
fond of Adit and the two children, and did not want them to be killed, he 
gladly consented, and the 'Nsiat bird took the whole of his family, as well 
as Adit and her two children, away, and left the earth to live and make 
their home in the trees; but as they had formerly lived in the town with all 
the people, they did not like to go into the forest, so they made their 
nests in the trees which grew in the town, and that is why you always see 
the 'Nsiat birds living and making their nests only in places where human 
beings are. The black birds are the cocks, and the golden-coloured ones are 
the hens. It was the beautiful colour of Adit which first attracted the 
attention of 'Ndarake and caused him to marry her.

XXXVI
Concerning the Fate of Essido and his Evil Companions
CHIEF OBORRI lived at a town called Adiagor, which is on the right bank of 
the Calabar River. He was a wealthy chief, and belonged to the Egbo Society. 
He had many large canoes, and plenty of slaves to paddle them. These canoes 
he used to fill up with new yams-each canoe being under one head slave and 
containing eight paddles; the canoes were capable of holding three puncheons 
of palm-oil, and cost eight hundred rods each. When they were full, about 
ten of them used to start off together and paddle to Rio del Rey. They went 
through creeks all the way, which run through mangrove swamps, with palm-oil 
trees here and there. Sometimes in the tornado season it was very dangerous 
crossing the creeks, as the canoes were so heavily laden, having only a few 
inches above the water, that quite a small wave would fill the canoe and 
cause it to sink to the bottom. Although most of the boys could swim, it 
often happened that some of them were lost, as there are many large 
alligators in these waters. After four days' hard paddling they would arrive 
at Rio del Rey where they had very little difficulty in exchanging their new 
yams for bags of dried shrimps and sticks with smoked fish on them.[1]

Chief Oborri had two sons, named Eyo I. and Essido. Their mother having died 
when they were babies, the children were brought up by their father. As they 
grew up, they developed entirely different characters. The eldest was very 
hard-working and led a solitary life; but the younger son was fond of gaiety 
and was very lazy, in fact, he spent most of his time in the neighbouring 
towns playing and dancing. When the two boys arrived at the respective ages 
of eighteen and twenty their father died, and they were left to look after 
themselves. According to native custom, the elder son, Eyo I., was entitled 
to the whole of his father's estate; but being very fond of his younger 
brother, he gave him a large number of rods and some land with a house. 
Immediately Essido became possessed of the money he became wilder than ever, 
gave big feasts to his companions, and always had his house full of women, 
upon whom he spent large sums. Although the amount his brother had given him 
on his father's death was very large, in the course of a few years

[1. A stick of fish consisted of two sticks with a big fish in the middle of 
each and small fish at each end, there being eight fish on each stick, 
making sixteen in all. These sticks were then tied together, and smoked over 
wood fires until they were quite dried. One stick of fish would sell at 
Calabar in the dry season time for from 3s. 6d. to 5s. a stick, and a stick 
would be got for five large yams which cost Chief Oborri only 1s., so a 
large profit was made on each canoe load-the canoes carrying about a 
thousand yams each. A bag of shrimps would be bartered for twenty-five large 
yams, and the shrimps would be sold for 15s., being a profit of 10s. on each 
bag. At the present time, however, the same sized bag of shrimps, in the wet 
season, would sell at Calabar for £3, 10s., and in the dry season for 
between; £1, 10s. and £2.]

Essido had spent it all. He then sold his house and effects, and spent the 
proceeds on feasting.

While he had been living this gay and unprofitable life, Eyo I. had been 
working harder than ever at his father's old trade, and had made many trips 
to Rio del Rey himself. Almost every week he had canoes laden with yams 
going down river and returning after about twelve days with shrimps and 
fish, which Eyo I. himself disposed of in the neighbouring markets, and he 
very rapidly became a rich man. At intervals he remonstrated with Essido on 
his extravagance, but his warnings had no effect; if anything, his brother 
became worse. At last the time arrived when all his money was spent, so 
Essido went to his brother and asked him to lend him two thousand rods, but 
Eyo refused, and told Essido that he would not help him in any way to 
continue his present life of debauchery, but that if he liked to work on the 
farm and trade, he would give him a fair share of the profits. This Essido 
indignantly refused, and went back to the town and consulted some of the 
very few friends he had left as to what was the best thing to do.

The men he spoke to were thoroughly bad men, and had been living upon Essido 
for a long time. They suggested to him that he should go round the town and 
borrow money from the people he had entertained, and then they would run 
away to Akpabryos town, which was about four days' march from Calabar. This 
Essido did, and managed to borrow a lot of money, although many people re 
fused to lend him anything. Then at night he set off with his evil 
companions, who carried his money, as they had not been able to borrow any 
themselves, being so well known. When they arrived at Akpabryos town they 
found many beautiful women and graceful dancers. They then started the same 
life again, until after a few weeks most of the money had gone. They then 
met and consulted together how to get more money, and advised Essido to 
return to his rich brother, pretending that he was going to work and give up 
his old life; he should then get poison from a man they knew of, and place 
it in his brother's food, so that he would die, and then Essido would become 
possessed of all his brother's wealth, and they would be able to live in the 
same way as they had formerly. Essido, who had sunk very low, agreed to this 
plan, and they left Akpabryos town the next morning. After marching for two 
days, they arrived at a small hut in the bush where a man who was an expert 
poisoner lived, called Okponesip. He was the head Ju Ju man of the country, 
and when they had bribed him with eight hundred rods he swore them to 
secrecy, and gave Essido a small parcel containing a deadly poison which he 
said would kill his brother in three months. All he had to do was to place 
the poison in his brother's food.

When Essido returned to his brother's house he pretended to be very sorry 
for his former mode of living, and said that for the future he was going to 
work. Eyo I. was very glad when he heard this, and at once asked his brother 
in, and gave him new clothes and plenty to eat.

In the evening, when supper was being prepared, Essido went into the 
kitchen, pretending he wanted to get a light from the fire for his pipe. The 
cook being absent and no one about, he put the poison in the soup, and then 
returned to the living-room. He then asked for some tombo, which was 
brought, and when he had finished it, he said he did not want any supper, 
and went to sleep. His brother, Eyo I., had supper by himself and consumed 
all the soup. In a week's time he began to feel very ill, and as the days 
passed he became worse, so he sent for his Ju Ju man.

When Essido saw him coming, he quietly left the house; but the Ju Ju man, by 
casting lots, very soon discovered that it was Essido who had given poison 
to his brother. When he told Eyo I. this, he would not believe it, and sent 
him away. However, when Essido returned, his elder brother told him what the 
Ju Ju man had said, but that he did not believe him for one moment, and had 
sent him away. Essido was much relieved when he heard this, but as he was 
anxious that no suspicion of the crime should be attached to him, he went to 
the Household Ju Ju,[1] and having first sworn that he had never 
administered poison to his brother, he drank out of the pot.

Three months after he had taken the poison

[1. Every compound has a small Ju Ju in the centre, which generally consists 
of a few curiously shaped stones and a small tree on which the 'Nsiat bird 
frequently builds. There is sometimes a species of cactus at the foot, an 
earthenware pot is supported on sticks against the tree, and tied on with 
tie-tie, or native rope. In this pot there is always a very foul-smelling 
liquid, with frequently some rotten eggs floating in it. Small sacrifices 
are made to these Ju Ju's of chickens, &c., and this Ju Ju is frequently 
appealed to. The liquid is sometimes taken as a specific against sickness or 
poison. In the dry season the author has often observed large spiders with 
their webs all over these Ju Ju's, but they are never touched. There is also 
frequently a roughly carved image of wood, and sometimes an old matchet and 
some broken earthenware on the ground, with a brass rod or manilla. It is 
generally a very dirty spot.]

Eyo I. died, much to the grief of every one who knew him, as he was much 
respected, not only on account of his great wealth, but because he was also 
an upright and honest man, who never did harm to any one.

Essido kept his brother's funeral according to the usual custom, and there 
was much playing and dancing, which was kept up for a long time. Then Essido 
paid off his old creditors in order to make himself popular, and kept open 
house, entertaining most lavishly, and spending his money in many foolish 
ways. All the bad women about collected at his house, and his old evil 
companions went on as they had done before.

Things got so bad that none of the respectable people would have anything to 
do with him, and at last the chiefs of the country, seeing the way Essido 
was squandering his late brother's estate, assembled together, and 
eventually came to the conclusion that he was a witch man, and had poisoned 
his brother in order to acquire his position. The chiefs, who were all 
friends of the late Eyo, and who were very sorry at the death, as they knew 
that if he had lived he would have become a great and powerful chief, made 
up their minds to give Essido the Ekpawor Ju Ju, which is a very strong 
medicine, and gets into men's heads, so that when they have drunk it they 
are compelled to speak the truth, and if they have done wrong they die very 
shortly. Essido was then told to dress himself and attend the meeting at the 
palaver house, and when he arrived the chiefs charged him with having killed 
his brother by witchcraft. Essido denied having done so, but the chiefs told 
him that if he were innocent he must prove it by drinking the bowl of 
Ekpawor medicine which was placed before him. As he could not refuse to 
drink, he drank the bowl off in great fear and trembling, and very soon the 
Ju Ju having got hold of him, he confessed that he had poisoned his brother, 
but that his friends had advised him to do so. About two hours after 
drinking the Ekpawor, Essido died in great pain.

The friends were then brought to the meeting and tied up to posts, and 
questioned as to the part they had taken in the death of Eyo. As they were 
too frightened to answer, the chiefs told them that they knew from Essido 
that they had induced him to poison his brother. They were then taken to the 
place where Eyo was buried, the grave having been dug open, and their heads 
were cut off and fell into the grave, and their bodies were thrown in after 
them as a sacrifice for the wrong they had done. The grave was then filled 
up again.

Ever since that time, whenever any one is suspected of being a witch, he is 
tried by the Ekpawor Ju Ju.

XXXVII
Concerning the Hawk and the Owl
IN the olden days when Effiong was king of Calabar, it was customary at that 
time for rulers to give big feasts, to which all the subjects and all the 
birds of the air and animals of the forest, also the fish and other things 
that lived in the water, were invited. All the people, birds, animals, and 
fish, were under the king, and had to obey him. His favourite messenger was 
the hawk, as he could travel so quickly.

The hawk served the king faithfully for several years, and when he wanted to 
retire, he asked what the king proposed to do for him, as very soon he would 
be too old to work any more. So the king told the hawk to bring any living 
creature, bird or animal, to him, and he would allow the hawk for the future 
to live on that particular species without any trouble. The hawk then flew 
over a lot of country, and went from forest to forest, until at last he 
found a young owl which had tumbled out of its nest. This the hawk brought 
to the king, who told him that for the future he might eat owls. The hawk 
then carried the owlet away, and told his friends what the king had said.

One of the wisest of them said, "Tell me when you seized the young owlet, 
what did the parents say?" And the hawk replied that the father and mother 
owls kept quite quiet, and never said anything. The hawk's friend then 
advised him to return the owlet to his parents, as he could never tell what 
the owls would do to him in the nighttime, and as they had made no noise, 
they were no doubt plotting in their minds some deep and cruet revenge.

The next day the hawk carried the owlet back to his parents and left him 
near the nest. He then flew about, trying to find some other bird which 
would do as his food; but as all the birds had heard that the hawk had 
seized the owlet, they hid themselves, and would not come out when the hawk 
was near. He therefore could not catch any birds.

As he was flying home he saw a lot of fowls near a house, basking in the sun 
and scratching in the dust. There were also several small chickens running 
about and chasing insects, or picking up anything they could find to eat, 
with the old hen following them and clucking and calling to them from time 
to time. When the hawk saw the chickens, he made up his mind that he would 
take one, so he swooped down and caught the smallest in his strong claws. 
Immediately he had seized the chicken the cocks began to make a great noise, 
and the hen ran after him and tried to make him drop her child, calling 
loudly, with her feathers fluffed out and making dashes at him. But he 
carried it off, and all the fowls and chickens at once ran screaming into 
the houses, some taking shelter under bushes and others trying to hide 
themselves in the long grass. He then carried the chicken to the king, 
telling him that he had returned the owlet to his parents, as he did not 
want him for food; so the king told the hawk that for the future he could 
always feed on chickens.

The hawk then took the chicken home, and his friend who dropped in to see 
him, asked him what the parents of the chicken had done when they saw their 
child taken away; so the hawk said-

"They all made a lot of noise, and the old hen chased me, but although there 
was a great disturbance amongst the fowls, nothing happened."

His friend then said as the fowls had made much palaver, he was quite safe 
to kill and eat the chickens, as the people who made plenty of noise in the 
day-time would go to sleep at night and not disturb him, or do him any 
injury; the only people to be afraid of were those who when they were 
injured, kept quite silent; you might be certain then that they were 
plotting mischief, and would do harm in the night-time.

XXXVIII
The Story of the Drummer and the Alligators
THERE was once a woman named Aftiong Any who lived at 'Nsidung, a small town 
to the south of Calabar. She was married to a chief of Hensham Town called 
Etim Ekeng. They had lived together for several years, but had no children. 
The chief was very anxious to have a child during his lifetime, and made 
sacrifices to his Ju Ju, but they had no effect. So he went to a witch man, 
who told him that the reason he had no children was that he was too rich. 
The chief then asked the witch man how he should spend his money in order to 
get a child, and he was told to make friends with everybody, and give big 
feasts, so that he should get rid of some of his money and become poorer.

The chief then went home and told his wife. The next day his wife called all 
her company together and gave them a big dinner, which cost a lot of money; 
much food was consumed, and large quantities of tombo were drunk. Then the 
chief entertained his company, which cost a lot more money. He also wasted a 
lot of money in the Egbo house. When half of his property was wasted, his 
wife told him that she had conceived. The chief, being very glad, called a 
big play for the next day.

In those days all the rich chiefs of the country belonged to the Alligator 
Company, and used to meet in the water. The reason they belonged to the 
company was, first of all, to protect their canoes when they went trading, 
and secondly, to destroy the canoes and property of the people who did not 
belong to their company, and to take their money and kill their slaves.

Chief Etim Ekeng was a kind man, and would not join this society, although 
he was repeatedly urged to do so. After a time a son was born to the chief, 
and he called him Edet Etim. The chief then called the Egbo society 
together, and all the doors of the houses in the town were shut, the markets 
were stopped, and the women were not allowed to go outside their houses 
while the Egbo was playing. This was kept up for several days, and cost the 
chief a lot of money. Then he made up his mind that he would divide his 
property, and give his son half when he became old enough. Unfortunately 
after three months the chief died, leaving his sorrowing wife to look after 
their little child.

The wife then went into mourning for seven years for her husband, and after 
that time she became entitled to all his property, as the late chief had no 
brothers. She looked after the little boy very care fully until he grew up, 
when he became a very fine, healthy young man, and was much admired by all 
the pretty girls of the town; but his mother warned him strongly not to go 
with them, because they would make him become a bad man. Whenever the girls 
had a play they used to invite Edet Etim, and at last he went to the play, 
and they made him beat the drum for them to dance to. After much practice he 
became the best drummer 'in the town, and whenever the girls had a play they 
always called him to drum for them. Plenty of the young girls left their 
husbands, and went to Edet and asked him to marry them. This made all the 
young men of the town very jealous, and when they met together at night they 
considered what would be the best way to kill him. At last they decided that 
when Edet went to bathe they would induce the alligators to take him. So one 
night, when he was washing, one alligator seized him by the foot, and others 
came and seized him round the waist. He fought very hard, but at last they 
dragged him into the deep water, and took him to their home.

When his mother heard this, she determined to do her best to recover her 
son, so she kept quite quiet until the morning.

When the young men saw that Edet's mother remained quiet, and did not cry, 
they thought of the story of the hawk and the owl, and determined to keep 
Edet alive for a few months.

At cockcrow the mother raised a cry, and went to the grave of her dead 
husband in order to consult his spirit as to what she had better do to 
recover her lost son. After a time she went down to the beach with small 
young green branches in her hands, with which she beat the water, and called 
upon all the Ju Jus of the Calabar River to help her to recover her son. She 
then went home and got a load of rods, and took them to a Ju Ju man in the 
farm. His name was Ininen Okon; he was so called because he was very artful, 
and had plenty of strong Ju Jus.

When the young boys heard that Edet's mother had gone to Ininen Okon, they 
all trembled with fear, and wanted to return Edet, but they could not do so, 
as it was against the rules of their society. The Ju Ju man having 
discovered that Edet was still alive, and was being detained in the 
alligators' house, told the mother to be patient. After three days Ininen 
himself joined another alligators' society, and went to inspect the young 
alligators' house. He found a young man whom he knew, left on guard when all 
the alligators had gone to feed at the ebb of the tide, and came back and 
told the mother to wait, as he would make a Ju Ju which would cause them all 
to depart in seven days, and leave no one in the house. He made his Ju Ju, 
and the young alligators said that, as no one had come for Edet, they would 
all go at the ebb tide to feed, and leave no one in charge of the house. 
When they returned they found Edet still there, and everything as they had 
left it, as Ininen had not gone that day.

Three days afterwards they all went away again, and this time went a long 
way off, and did not return quickly. When Ininen saw that the tide was going 
down he changed himself into an alligator, and swam to the young alligators' 
home, where he found Edet chained to a post. He then found an axe and cut 
the post, releasing the boy. But Edet, having been in the water so long, was 
deaf and dumb. He then found several loin cloths which had been left behind 
by the young alligators, so he gathered them together and took them away to 
show to the king, and Ininen left the place, taking Edet with him.

He then called the mother to see her son, but when she came the boy could 
only look at her, and could not speak. The mother embraced her boy, but be 
took no notice, as he did not seem capable of understanding anything, but 
sat down quietly. Then the Ju Ju man told Edet's mother that be would cure 
her son in a few days, so be made several Ju Jus, and gave her son medicine, 
and after a time the boy recovered his speech and became sensible again.

Then Edet's mother put on a mourning cloth, and pretended that her son was 
dead, and did not tell the people he had come back to her. When the young 
alligators returned, they found that Edet was gone, and that some one had 
taken their loin cloths. They were therefore much afraid, and made inquiries 
if Edet had been seen, but they could hear nothing about him, as he was 
hidden in a farm, and the mother continued to wear her mourning cloth in 
order to deceive them.

Nothing happened for six months, and they had quite forgotten all about the 
matter. Affiong, the mother, then went to the chiefs of the town, and asked 
them to hold a large meeting of all the people, both young and old, at the 
palaver house, so that her late husband's property might be divided up in 
accordance with the native custom, as her son had been killed by the 
alligators.

The next day the chiefs called all the people together, but the mother in 
the early morning took her son to a small room at the back of the palaver 
house, and left him there with the seven loin cloths which the Ju Ju man had 
taken from the alligators' home. When the chiefs and all the people were 
seated, Affiong stood up and addressed them, saying-

"Chiefs and young men of my town, eight years ago my husband was a fine 
young man. He married me, and we lived together for many years without 
having any children. At last I had a son, but my husband died a few months 
afterwards. I brought my boy up carefully, but as he was a good drummer and 
dancer the young men were jealous, and had him caught by the alligators. Is 
there any one present who can tell me what my son would have become if he 
had lived?" She then asked them what they thought of the alligator society, 
which had killed so many young men.

The chiefs, who had lost a lot of slaves, told her that if she could produce 
evidence against any members of the society they would destroy it at once. 
She then called upon Ininen to appear with her son Edet. He came out from 
the room leading Edet by the hand, and placed the bundle of loin cloths 
before the chiefs.

The young men were very much surprised when they saw Edet, and wanted to 
leave the palaver house; but when they stood up to go the chiefs told them 
to sit down at once, or they would receive three hundred lashes. They then 
sat down, and the Ju Ju man explained how he had gone to the alligators' 
home, and had brought Edet back to his mother. He also said that he had 
found the seven loin cloths in the house, but he did not wish to say 
anything about them, as the owners of some of the cloths were sons of the 
chiefs.

The chiefs, who were anxious to stop the bad society, told him, however, to 
speak at once and tell them everything. Then he undid the bundle and took 
the cloths out one by one, at the same time calling upon the owners to come 
and take them. When they came to take their cloths, they were told to remain 
where they were; and they were then told to name their company. The seven 
young men then gave the names of all the members of their society, thirty-
two in all. These men were all placed in a line, and the chiefs then passed 
sentence, which was that they should all be killed the next morning on the 
beach. So they were then all tied together to posts, and seven men were 
placed as a. guard over them. They made fires and beat drums all the night.

Early in the morning, at about 4 A.M., the big wooden drum was placed on the 
roof of the palaver house, and beaten to celebrate the death of the 
evildoers, which was the custom in those days.

The boys were then unfastened from the posts, and had their hands tied 
behind their backs, and were marched down to the beach. When they arrived 
there, the head chief stood up and addressed the people. "This is a small 
town of which I am chief, and I am determined to stop this bad custom, as so 
many men have been killed." He then told a man who had a sharp matchet to 
cut off one man's head. He then told another man who had a sharp knife to 
skin another young man alive. A third man who had a heavy stick was ordered 
to beat another to death, and so the chief went on and killed all the 
thirty-two young men in the most horrible ways he could think of. Some of 
them were tied to posts in the river, and left there until the tide came up 
and drowned them. Others were flogged to death.

After they had all been killed, for many years no one was killed by 
alligators, but some little time afterwards on the road between the beach 
and the town the land fell in, making a very large and deep hole, which was 
said to be the home of the alligators, and the people have ever since tried 
to fill it up, but have never yet been able to do so.

XXXIX
The 'Nsasak Bird and the Odudu Bird
A LONG time ago, in the days of King Adam of Calabar, the king wanted to 
know if there was any animal or bird which was capable of enduring hunger 
for a long period. When he found one the king said he would make him a chief 
of his tribe.

The 'Nsasak bird is very small, having a shining breast of green and red; he 
also has blue and yellow feathers and red round the neck, and his chief food 
consists of ripe palm nuts. The Odudu bird, on the other hand, is much 
larger, about the size of a magpie, with plenty of feathers, but a very thin 
body; he has a long tail, and his colouring is black and brown with a cream-
coloured breast. He lives chiefly on grasshoppers, and is also very fond of 
crickets, which make a noise at night.

Both the 'Nsasak bird and the Odudu were great friends, and used to live 
together. They both made up their minds that they would go before the king 
and try to be made chiefs, but the Odudu bird was quite confident that he 
would win, as he was so much bigger than the 'Nsasak bird. He therefore 
offered to starve for seven days.

The king then told them both to build houses which he would inspect, and 
then he would have them fastened up, and the one who could remain the 
longest without eating would be made the chief.

They both then built their houses, but the 'Nsasak bird, who was very 
cunning, thought that he could not possibly live for seven days without 
eating anything. He therefore made a tiny hole in the wall (being very small 
himself), which he covered up so that the king would not notice it on his 
inspection. The king then came and looked carefully over both houses, but 
failed to detect the little hole in the 'Nsasak bird's house, as it had been 
hidden so carefully. He therefore declared that both houses were safe, and 
then ordered the two birds to go inside their respective houses, and the 
doors were carefully fastened on the outside.

Every morning at dawn the 'Nsasak bird used to escape through the small 
opening he had left high up in the wall, and fly away a long distance and 
enjoy himself all day, taking care, however, that none of the people on the 
farms should see him. Then when the sun went down he would fly back to his 
little house and creep through the hole in the wall, closing it carefully 
after him. When he was safely inside he would call out to his friend the 
Odudu and ask him if he felt hungry, and told him that he must bear it well 
if he wanted to win, as he, the 'Nsasak bird, was very fit, and could go on 
for a long time.

For several days this went on, the voice of the Odudu bird growing weaker 
and weaker every night, until at last he could no longer reply. Then the 
little bird knew that his friend must be dead. He was very sorry, but could 
not report the matter, as he was supposed to be confined inside his house.

When the seven days had expired the king came and had both the doors of the 
houses opened. The 'Nsasak bird at once flew out, and, perching on a branch 
of a tree which grew near, sang most merrily; but the Odudu bird was found 
to be quite dead, and there was very little left of him, as the ants had 
eaten most of his body, leaving only the feathers and bones on the floor.

The king therefore at once appointed the 'Nsasak bird to be the head chief 
of all the small birds, and in the Ibibio country even to the present time 
the small boys who have bows and arrows are presented with a prize, which 
sometimes takes the shape of a female goat, if they manage to shoot a 
'Nsasak bird, as the 'Nsasak bird is the king of the small birds, and most 
difficult to shoot on account of his wiliness and his small size.

XL
The Election of the King Bird (the black and-white Fishing Eagle)
OLD Town, Calabar, once had a king called Essiya, who, like most of the 
Calabar kings in the olden days, was rich and powerful; but although he was 
so wealthy, he did not possess many slaves. He therefore used to call upon 
the animals and birds to help his people with their work. In order to get 
the work done quickly and well, he determined to appoint head chiefs of all 
the different species. The elephant he appointed king of the beasts of the 
forest, and the hippopotamus king of the water animals, until at last it 
came to the turn of the birds to have their king elected.

Essiya thought for some time which would be the best way to make a good 
choice, but could not make up his mind, as there were so many different 
birds who all considered they had claims. There was the hawk with his swift 
flight, and of hawks there were several species. There were the herons to be 
considered, and the big spur-winged geese, the hornbill or toucan tribe, and 
the game birds, such as guinea-fowl, the partridge, and the bustards. Then 
again, of course, there were all the big crane tribe, who walked about the 
sandbanks in the dry season, but who disappeared when the river rose, and 
the big black-and-white fishing eagles. When the king thought of the plover 
tribe, the sea-birds, including the pelicans, the doves, and the numerous 
shy birds who live in the forest, all of whom sent in claims, he got so 
confused, that he decided to have a trial by ordeal of combat, and sent word 
round the whole country for all the birds to meet the next day and fight it 
out between themselves, and that the winner should be known as the king bird 
ever afterwards.

The following morning many thousands of birds came, and there was much 
screeching and flapping of wings. The hawk tribe soon drove all the small 
birds away, and harassed the big waders so much, that they very shortly 
disappeared, followed by the geese, who made much noise, and winged away in 
a straight line, as if they were playing "Follow my leader." The big forest 
birds who liked to lead a secluded life very soon got tired of all the noise 
and bustle, and after a few croaks and other weird noises went home. The 
game birds had no chance and hid in the bush, so that very soon the only 
birds left were the hawks and the big black-and-white fishing eagle, who was 
perched on a tree calmly watching everything. The scavenger hawks were too 
gorged and lazy to take much interest in the proceedings, and were quietly 
ignored by the fighting tribe, who were very busy circling and swooping on 
one another, with much whistling going on. Higher and higher they went, 
until they disappeared out of sight. Then a few would return to earth, some 
of them badly torn and with many feathers missing. At last the fishing eagle 
said-

"When you have quite finished with this foolishness please tell me, and if 
any of you fancy yourselves at all, come to me, and I will settle your 
chances of being elected head chief once and for all;" but when they saw his 
terrible beak and cruel claws, knowing his great strength and ferocity, they 
stopped fighting between themselves, and acknowledged the fishing eagle to 
be their master.

Essiya then declared that Ituen, which was the name of the fishing eagle, 
was the head chief of all the birds, and should thenceforward be known as 
the king bird.[1]

From that time to the present day, whenever the young men of the country go 
to fight they always wear three of the long black-and-white feathers of the 
king bird in their hair, one on each side and one

[1. As the king bird is always very difficult to shoot with a bow and arrow, 
owing to his sharp and keen sight, the young men, when they want his 
feathers, set traps for him baited with rats, which catch him by the foot in 
a noose when he seizes them. Except when they are nesting the king birds 
roost on very high trees, sometimes as many as twenty or thirty on 
neighbouring trees. They fly many miles from where they get their food, and 
arrive at their roosting-place just before the sun sets, leaving the next 
morning at dawn for their favourite haunts. They are very regular in their 
habits, and you can see them every night at the same time coming from the 
same direction and flying over the same trees, generally fairly high up in 
the air. There is a strong belief amongst many natives on the Cross River 
that the king bird has the power of influencing the luck or the reverse of a 
canoe. For example, when a trader, having bought a new canoe, is going to 
market and a king bird crosses the river from right to left, then if he is 
unlucky at the market that day, whenever the king bird again crosses that 
particular canoe from right to left he will be unlucky, and the bad luck 
will stick to the canoe. If, on the other hand, the bird for the first time 
crosses from left to right, and he is fortunate in his dealings that day at 
the market, then he will always be lucky in that canoe the day be sees a 
king bird flying across the river from the left to the right-hand side.]

in the middle, as they are believed to impart much courage and skill to the 
wearer; and if a young man is not possessed of any of these feathers when he 
goes out to fight, he is looked upon as a very small boy indeed.

THE END