by Amos Tutuola
ISHOLA: “My dead rat is one shilling this morning!” he shouted on them disrespectly.
FOLA (the second spirit): “Will you sell it for us for one farthing?” he priced the rat as he held it up by the tail.
ISHOLA: “You come again! I shall sell it for one shilling and there is no reduction!” he replied angrily as his mother scowled at them (the three spirits).
BOLA (the third spirit): “How much is your basket as well?” he interrupted while the mother was looking at them with great anger.
ISHOLA: “My basket is one shilling as well!” he replied as he snubbed at them.
BOLA: “Will you sell it for us for one fathing as well?”
ISHOLA: “Go away from here, the three thieves! Go away!” he shouted on them in such a shameful way that all the people or onlookers who had surrounded them bursted into a great laughter suddenly.
AJALA (the first spirit): “You call us thieves?” he asked quietly as the three of them had become annoyed.
MOTHER: “Yes! The three of you are expert thieves! But if you are not thieves why then did you price both rat and basket so cheaply as if though I had stolen them from the bush! Go away from here!” she shouted on them with anger and the onlookers bursted into a great laughter again.
FOLA (the second spirit): “All right, as you have called us thieves, I shall let you see now what you have not seen in your life before! And …” he told the mother angrily as he scowled at her.
MOTHER: “By the way, what are you?” she interrupted suddenly.
BOLA (the third spirit): commanded suddenly “Oh, let this dead rat become alive now and run back into the bush where it came from and let this basket become the palm-fronds and go back onto the palm-tree on which they had been cut!” he commanded as the rest two were looking on angrily while Ishola and his witch mother were standing up with great passion.
MOTHER: “Come back, rat! And come back, basket!” she commanded hastily as the rat had become alive and was running back into the nearby bush. She hastily commanded the palm-fronds to become the basket. As soon as the palm-fronds had become the basket and the rat had become dead and both came back to her. These three spirits were so surprised that each of them shook hands with her.
“Very wonderful! But will you follow us to our dwelling place in the jungle?” the three spirits shouted greatly with wonder.
But as she followed them then the onlookers were dispersed with great wonder. But Ishola waited in the market to sell both the dead rat and the basket before he returned to the house.
Now the witch mother was following these three spirits to their dwelling place in the jungle. These spirits were living together with their three children and their very old and weary mother. A few hours later, they came to their house in the jungle. And they put the witch mother in one room. She sat on a nice chair and then she was looking on as she crossed legs while these three spirits went into another room. They then began to discuss together and in their discussions they decided to murder her for she had the supernatural power with which she had competed with them and defeated them in the market. Fortunately, the witch mother overheard in their discussion that they were going to murder her. Having decided to murder her the three of them came back to her in that room.
Ajala and Bola sat down and both began to entertain her as Fola was leaving the room to the outside. A few minutes after, he returned with food, water and drinks. He put all down in front of the mother and then the whole of them began to eat and drink. After they had eaten the whole food and drunk all of the drinks, the basins and the empty kegs were cleared to the other room by Bola and he then returned at the same time. As the three of them sat with her and were then chatting with her, she said suddenly with a smile: “But I wonder, the three of you were entirely failed to defeat me when I competed with you in the market!” But these three spirits were then became more jealous of her supernatural power when she chatted with them like that, although she did not show in her attitudes and behaviour towards them that they had decided to murder her.
As all of them together with the mother were chatting and laughing loudly, Ajala stood up, he walked to the verandah and he called Bola loudly. He told him to come and he (Bola) went to him. As he stood before him, he called Fola again to come and he (Fola) went to him at the same time. Then the three of them stood in the verandah and were agreed to murder her in the midnight unfailingly but the witch mother overheard the time that they were going to murder her as well.
FOLA (the second spirit): “But are we going to murder her with matchet or with what weapon?” he asked and then the three of them lifted up their heads. They began to think with confusion as how they could be able to murder her successfully because they knew that she had supernatural powers more than them.
BOLA (the third spirit): “Well, I suggest, when it is time to sleep at night, we should give one white cover cloth to her with which to cover herself. After that we shall tell her to sleep with our weary mother. But as soon as she falls asleep then one of us will go in and club her to death,” he suggested to the rest and then all of them were agreed to that suggestion.
AJALA (the first spirit): “But how we can distinguish her from our weary mother as both are going to sleep together, so that we may not mistakenly murder our own mother instead?” he asked from the rest two with fear.
BOLA (the third spirit): “One of us who is going to club her to death will be able to distinguish her from our weary mother because our mother will cover herself with a black cloth. I think this is clear enough?” he explained whisperly to the rest two.
1ST AND 2ND SPIRITS: “Yes, that is clear enough.” All glanced at the witch mother but she pretended to be napping at this moment so that they might not suspect her that she was hearing their evil plan.
FOLA (the second spirit): “But who will go and club her to death among us?” he asked confusedly.
BOLA (the third spirit): “I volunteer to do the work,” he whispered.
AJALA (the first spirit): “But you must be very careful not to club our weary mother to death instead,” he warned him with fear.
BOLA (the second spirit). Then he walked back to the room, he woke the witch mother who had pretended to be sleeping but who had heard their plan “Please wake up! I think you are feeling to sleep now?” he beat her gently on the shoulder. As soon as she stood up he told her to follow him to the other room and she was following him. He took her to their mother’s room, he asked her to allow the witch mother to sleep with her and she agreed. Then the witch mother laid down on the same mat with the weary mother of these three spirits. Then Bola went out of this room but after a while he brought one white cover cloth to her. He told her to cover herself with it so that she might not feel the cold of the jungle.
As the witch mother took this white cover cloth from Bola and on his presence she covered herself with it. Then he went out of the room when he was sure that she had covered herself with it and that their weary mother had covered herself with the black cover cloth. A few minutes after, the witch mother, having seen that the weary mother fell asleep, she took her black cloth, she covered herself with it and then covered the weary mother with the white cloth which was given to her. Having done so, she began to snore very loudly as if she had slept deeply.
As soon as she began to snore loudly to the hearing of these three spirits who did not sleep but kept watching the time that she would fall asleep. Without mercy, Bola, the third spirit, took one heavy club from the corner of the house. He entered the room cautiously. He first hesitated but after a while, he was able to distinguish the black cloth from the white one because it was dark. He then with all his power, clubbed the white cloth for several times. He then came out to the rest two.
AJALA (the first spirit): “Have you killed her now?” he whispered.
BOLA (the third spirit): “Yes, I have clubbed her to death rightout!” he said loudly.
FOLA (the second spirit): “Very good! We have seen the end of her now!” he sh
outed with gladness as the three of them were going to sleep in their room. But they never knew this time that it was not the witch mother Bola had clubbed to death but their own weary mother.
But at five o’clock in the morning, the witch mother woke up first, she dressed up in her own garments. After, she walked to the front of the room of the three spirits. She knocked at the door and then she greeted them loudly and with a cheerful voice: “Good morning to you, the three spirits! I thank you for the warm hospitality you had had on me and I thank you also for the evil plan which you had planned against me! I thank the three of you and also your late weary mother wholeheartedly! Thank you! But I am leaving you for my country this morning! Good-bye!” she then without hesitation leapt to the outside and she was going away as quickly as she could.
These three spirits hardly believed their ears when they heard the voice of the witch mother when she greeted them. Without hesitation, they jumped down from their beds and ran to their mother’s room. Bola who had mistakenly clubbed their mother to death hastily pulled her up. But she was already dead. And with sorrow the rest two shouted: “Oh, Bola had clubbed our mother to death instead of the witch mother.” As soon as all of them had discovered that it was their own mother that Bola had clubbed to death. They left the dead mother but they leapt to the outside. They began to chase the witch mother who was then running far away.
WITCH MOTHER: “It is impossible for you to catch me!” she told them loudly when she looked at back and saw them that they were chasing her to catch.
FOLA: “Oh, I command you my magic, let a big river stretch across her way now so that we may meet and catch her!” he hardly commanded his magic when a big river stretched across the witch mother’s way and then she stopped.
MOTHER: “Oh, I command you my magic to provide me one canoe and one paddle now!” she hardly commanded like that when her magic provided one canoe and one paddle. Without hesitation, as the three spirits were nearly to grip her at back. She jumped into this canoe, she held the paddle and then she began to paddle the canoe across this river as hastily as she could. But before they ran to that river she had crossed it to the other side. Then she jumped down from the canoe, she continued to run along.
When they failed to catch her at this river, they hastily commanded their magic to remove it (river). Their magic hardly removed the river when they continued to chase her along. But when they saw that she was so far away from them that she was about to lose to their view. Ajala, the first spirit, hastily commanded his own magic: “Oh, I command you my magic, let a great fire be in her way and to stop her now!” And he hardly commanded like that when a big roaring, angry fire was in her way and it stopped her. But as soon as she was disturbed by this fire she commanded her magic to cause the heavy rain to fall within that moment. Without hesitation a heavy rain came and it quenched this great fire at once. Then she continued to run away for her life as she was shouting and waving hands to them: “Here I am now! You have failed to kill me! Good-bye to you, the three jungle spirits!”
These three spirits became angrier when she made a mockery of them. So they continued to chase her along. They determined to kill her if they could catch her. And they were still chasing her along. But when she was nearly caught by Ajala, the first spirit, she reached her country. As these three spirits were still chasing her here and there in the country and when they were about to grip her. She escaped to one blacksmith’s workshop.
MOTHER: “Please, blacksmith, hide me! Please hide me! Please hide me as quickly as possible!” she was begging the blacksmith as she held him for protection.
BLACKSMITH: “Sorry, there is no a place to hide you here!” he hastily left the big iron which he was forging and looked around but there was nowhere to hide her.
MOTHER: “If there is nowhere to hide me! Please, hide me in your eyes! In your eyes! Please make haste!” she said loudly as she was shaking with fear of not being found out and caught by the three spirits.
BLACKSMITH: “What? To hide in my eyes? How can a person hide in a man’s eyes? I wonder if that can be possible!” he shouted with wonder as he was shaking his head.
MOTHER: “It is possible! Please, blacksmith, let me hide in your eyes! Make haste!” she begged him with a trembling voice.
BLACKSMITH: “All right, you can hide in my eyes if you can do it!” he pointed finger to both his eyes as he distorted his face.
So without hesitation, this witch mother, with the help of her supernatural powers, she disappeared into the eyes of this blacksmith. She hardly disappeared in his eyes when she appeared as a little round black spot in each of his eyes.
A few minutes after, the three spirits ran to the blacksmith. Then Ajala, the first spirit, asked as all of them were breathing in and out audibly: “Please, blacksmith,
have you seen one old woman to pass through here?”
BLACKSMITH: “Not at all!” he then continued to strike the hot-red iron on the anvil.
BOLA: “Well, she has already escaped to an unknown place! Better we return to our jungle now!” he turned face to the rest two and he suggested.
FOLA: “I am very sorry, we have beaten our dear old mother to death instead! But we have failed to revenge on this mother (the witch mother)!” he said with a weak voice and sadness.
AJALA: “All right, let us go back to our jungle!” Then the three of them returned to their jungle with sadness.
As soon as they had left for their jungle, the blacksmith called out loudly: “Mother, will you please come out from my eyes now, the three spirits have gone away!”
MOTHER: “Better you allow me to stay in your eyes permanently because they (eyes) are suitable for me more than any other place even more than my own house!” the witch mother replied at the same time with a sharp voice. The blacksmith then was struggling to pull her out from his eyes. He rubbed the eyes with both hands as he was shouting loudly: “Will you please come out from my eyes at once!”
MOTHER: “Here I shall remain for ever!” she told the blacksmith and that was the last words she spoke.
Then the blacksmith went out of his workshop with sorrow. That was how Adeola, the most wicked witch, had turned into the pupils of the eyes. But of course there were no pupils in the eyes before. The eyes were once quite clear.
Although this witch mother had been turned into the pupils of the eyes. As she was now unable to come back to her house it was so she was unable to kill the three of us for her witch members, but we were still in her custody. Because the three terrible heavy lumps of the iron did not allow us to leave her house. We tried all our best to escape but they would not allow us to do so. Ishola was also happy as his witch mother had turned into the pupils of the eyes, for he was safe, his mother was unable to kill him for her witch members any more. Even all the members had ceased to come to his mother’s house since the day she had turned into the pupils of the eyes.
Now, the three of us, the three terrible heavy lumps of the iron and Ishola were occupied the whole of the house. Ishola was very cheerful to us at first. We were playing together as we liked in both house and his mother’s garden. His friends were coming to play with us as well. But as there was no more fear for the three of us of being killed by the witch mother yet there was fear for us of not being allowed us to go back to our village by these heavy lumps of the iron. At last, after we had eaten the whole of the mother’s goats, sheep, fowls, etc. and there was nothing more in the house for the three of us and Ishola to eat. One day, when the whole of us were nearly starved to death, Ishola became so annoyed that he told us to leave his mother’s house as soon as possible. He insisted as well that we should leave his mother’s house together with the heavy lumps of the iron which had driven us to his mother.
When Ishola insisted that we should leave his mother’s house together with the heavy lumps of the iron. The three of us made a meeting and we agreed to leave in the midnight of the day that he told us to leave. But Ojo asked from him that how we could leave the house toget
her with the three terrible heavy lumps of the iron. He replied at the same time that he would help each of us to put it on his head to carry it away. When he said so, the three of us sighed at a time. We then began to blame ourselves that we had made a great mistake as we branched to the town of the god of Iron when we were returning from the town of the Creator. Although the Creator did not give us money but he referred us to Devil that he was the possessor of the money. I added to our blame as well that although we were returning to our village now with our usual poverty but with another trouble which were these three terrible heavy talking lumps of the iron which the god of the Iron gave us instead of money which we were seeking about. But of course he (god of Iron) referred us to Devil as the possessor of the money as well.
But I hardly despaired like that with great sorrow when Alabi interrupted that it was even shameful to us more than to steal if we carried the talking lumps of the iron back to the village instead of money. We failed to get money which we were seeking about since about four years that we had left the village but we were easily successful to bring the trouble back to the village, Alabi emphasized like that when he thought over all the punishments which we had encountered before we could reach the town of the Creator, the town of the god of Iron and especially when we were in the custody of the witch mother who later turned into the pupils of the eyes.
WE RETURNED TO THE VILLAGE WITH OUR POVERTY AND THE TALKING LUMPS OF THE IRON
However, when it was midnight, Ishola woke the three of us, he told us to stand up. When we did so, he told us that we should be preparing to leave his mother’s house immediately. Without hesitation, we took our matchets, then he helped each of us to put each of the three terrible heavy lumps of the iron on head. Having done that he pushed us to the outside of his mother’s house. As soon as the three of us staggered to the outside, he bade us good-bye and then he slammed the door heavily with great anger. It was like that we carried these three terrible heavy lumps of the iron along with us without our wish. So without hesitation we started to carry them along in the darkness as quickly as we could so that we might be able to leave this country of the witches and wizards far away before the dawn.