Now at this very moment who should pass by but Tortoise, on his way home to supper.
Like all inquisitive people, Tortoise went about with his ears and eyes ready for news. He had heard about the mystery of the seven brothers, and when he saw the Very Wise Magician go away chuckling to himself so happily, he said;
“Now I am sure that this magician has solved the mystery, and that he feels sure of winning a quarter of the kingdom. I must learn more about this!”
And so, instead of going home to supper, he followed the magician very quietly to his house and hid in a dark corner.
While the magician’s wife was preparing supper, her husband was very busy in a dark part of the house, mixing herbs and charms in a little jar. Then while he was enjoying the savoury stew which she had prepared, he began to tell her all about the seven brothers, and Tortoise crawled a little nearer and listened very hard.
“Of course,” said the magician, “it would have been very foolish to climb the tree, so I chopped it down instead; and what do you think I found?”
His wife did not know, so he continued proudly:
“Well, curled up round a branch just at the very spot where the seven brothers and the first magician paused and fell to the ground, was a monstrous snake. As each brother reached the branch, the snake bit him and he fell to the ground. But when I chopped down the tree, the snake was crushed by the fall.... I have him in my basket.”
The wife cried out with admiration, and even Tortoise could not help being struck by the sagacity of the Very Wise Magician.
“And now I will tell you a funny thing,” added the magician. “These seven brothers and the first magician are not dead at all! They are merely in a trance caused by the bite of that poisonous snake! I have only to pour into their mouths a little of the charm contained in this small jar, and they will once more be restored to life.”
The wife, of course, was delighted, and she and her husband began to plan what they would do with the reward promised by the King.
Tortoise, however, lay low, and remained very quiet until they were fast asleep, when he crept out and hunted for the jar containing the charm. At last he found it, and poured the liquid into another jar. Then he filled the first jar with water and put it back exactly where he had found it.
Very early in the morning Tortoise went to a hunter in the forest and asked him for a dead snake.
“A dead snake!” cried the hunter in astonishment.
“Yes,” said Tortoise, “but I am in a great hurry. I pray you, if you have a snake, put it in this basket at once.”
“I only killed one snake yesterday,” replied the hunter doubtfully, “and its head is very badly crushed, so perhaps it is of no use to you?”
“It will do very well!” replied Tortoise eagerly. “I will not forget your kindness when I am rich.”
Then, with his basket and the jar containing the charm, he set off for the King’s palace. When he was admitted to the King’s presence he said very humbly:
“Sire, I have had the good fortune to solve the mystery of the seven brothers.”
The whole Court was greatly astonished.
“What! Tortoise!” exclaimed the King. “I never thought you were so clever, but if you can explain the mystery, I will keep to my promise and give you a quarter of the kingdom.”
Just then the magician arrived, smiling happily, and quite confident that no one else could have discovered the solution.
“Sire,” he said, bowing low before the King. “I have solved the mystery of the seven brothers.”
“You are too late,” said the King. “Someone else has made the discovery before you.”
The magician looked round and saw only Tortoise.
“Tortoise!” he exclaimed, laughing. “Why, I have often kicked Tortoise out of my way. He is making fun of you all. He cannot possibly have solved the mystery.”
“But, indeed, I have, and I am only waiting to tell my story.”
The King commanded Tortoise to explain the mystery, and with much enjoyment he began:
“Well, Your Majesty, to begin with, I was far too cautious to climb the tree, and instead I took an axe and chopped the tree down, and in the branches I found . . . a huge snake, which must have bitten each of the brothers, so that they cried out and fell to the ground. And here in my basket is the snake, whose head was crushed when the tree was chopped down!”
A murmur of applause went through the Court, and the King, turning to the Very Wise Magician, asked:
“And what is your explanation?”
“Sire,” replied the bewildered magician, “my story is exactly the same, but I assure you that I, and I alone, discovered the secret, that I chopped down the tree, and that the snake in my basket is the real one, and the only one which bit the seven brothers!”
The King looked at Tortoise and the magician and at the two snakes, and could not decide which was the true claim. Then a happy thought struck the magician.
“One moment, Sire!” he cried. “I have another proof. I have discovered that the seven brothers and the first magician are not really dead at all, but only in a trance, and I have in this little jar a wonderful charm which will restore them to life.”
The King looked enquiringly at Tortoise, who replied:
“It is true that the seven brothers are not dead, and I have in this small jar the only charm in the world which will restore them to life.”
“This can soon be decided,” said the King, and he sent a number of slaves to the house of the old man to bring back the bodies of the seven brothers and the first magician.
The King then commanded the Very Wise Magician to restore them all to life. The magician poured a little of the liquid from his jar into the mouth of each and sat down, smiling calmly, to watch the result.
But nothing happened! After a while the magician began to tremble with fear and disappointment.
Then Tortoise took up his own jar and poured the charm into the mouths of the brothers and the first magician. Instantly they all sat up and began to ask one another questions.
The delighted parents rushed to greet their children, newly restored to life, and they were so excited that they embraced Tortoise too, and thanked him with tears in their eyes. The first magician also was joyfully welcomed by his friends.
“Tortoise,” said the King, “you have done a very good and a very clever deed. A quarter of my kingdom is yours.”
The rascal Tortoise accepted the reward and then turned to the unfortunate magician, who lay on the ground in a state of collapse.
“Unfortunate man!” he said. “You have often made fun of Tortoise and kicked him cruelly out of your path. This is your reward, for his wit is keener than yours, in spite of all your magic arts. May this be a lesson to you! And to show you how generous I am, I will give you a large house to live in, and a prosperous farm to work on, so that you may be kept out of mischief and have nothing more to do with false charms.”
But the poor magician was so greatly astounded by the words of Tortoise and by all that had happened, that he could make no reply, and he spent the rest of his life in silence, wondering how Tortoise had managed to outwit him.
IX. The Bat
The Bat has wings like a bird, but a body like his cousin the Rat. He is very sly and timid, and all the other creatures detest him, but in particular for the following reason.
Once the rats were at war with the birds. The battle was very fierce. Now and then a bird would swoop down and pounce on a rat, and then the rats did their best to seize their enemy by the wings or tail-feathers and tear him to pieces.
The rats were very hard pressed, and at last they sent an urgent message to their cousin, Bat, asking him to come and help them in the fight. Bat agreed to join them, and he fought on their side for some time, until he found that the birds were likely to be victorious.
As soon as he saw this, he deserted his friends and flew up into the air to join the birds. In the end the birds won the battle and
the rats had to run back to their holes and hide.
Bat was very much excited and expected the birds to reward him handsomely for his assistance, but instead they drove him away in disgust, crying:
“We have no use for a traitor!”
Bat fluttered down to the ground, feeling very sore from the pecking he had just received. But the rats would not make friends with him after his desertion, and they too drove him angrily away.
Poor Bat was now sorry for the way in which he had acted, but it was too late, and ever since then he has been shunned by all creatures, and forced to hide all day in some dark place and to come out only at night, when his enemies cannot see him and call after him:
“We have no use for a traitor!”
X. The Two Jars
Once upon a time there lived a mighty hunter named Ogunfunminire. In addition to this long name he had several sons, all hunters like himself, so that eventually his family came to be known throughout the land for their skill and courage in tracking the wild beasts of the forest.
Ogunfunminire lived to be a very, very old man, so that he saw his children’s children’s children around him, or, in other words, he was a great-grandfather.
But having reached such a vast age, Ogunfunminire, alas! began to grow too feeble to be successful in the hunt, and to his great sorrow, his sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons would slip off very early in the morning into the forest so that they need not take the old man with them.
“Alas! alas!” cried Ogunfunminire to himself. “I am no longer the mighty hunter whose exploits were related throughout the land. I am nothing but a feeble old man, and my children have no patience with me. Yet hunt I must, for I shall die of grief if I must stay at home like other old men.”
He therefore made a long journey through the forest until he reached the hut of a magician who lived all alone in the middle of a marsh, with snakes and lizards and crocodiles for his only neighbours.
“O great magician of the marsh!” said Ogunfunminire, trembling as he drew near the hut. “Tell me, I pray you, how I may continue to hunt in the forest, as I did long ago in the days of my youth.”
For some time the magician said nothing at all, but at last he spoke:
“Why do you not stay at home with the other old men, Ogunfunminire?”
“Because,” replied Ogunfunminire boldly, “I wish to be a hunter to the end of my days, and if you will help me, I will give you this golden chain, which is of great value.”
For a long time again the magician said nothing, but in the end he took the chain, and disappeared inside his hut. When he returned, he carried two jars, which he gave to Ogunfunminire, saying:
“When you desire to hunt, dip your head into the first jar, with these words: ‘Jar! Jar! If there is any virtue in you, change me!’ And when you are weary of hunting, you must dip your head into the second jar, and all will be well.”
Ogunfunminire was greatly puzzled by the words of the magician, but he thanked him, and carried the two jars home and hid them secretly in a private room of his house.
Early the next morning he went into the room and dipped his head into the first jar, saying in a trembling voice: “Jar! Jar! If there is any virtue in you, change me!”
To his astonishment, he was at once changed into a serpent, and in this form he glided out into the forest and hunted to his heart’s content all the day long. When evening came, he returned to his house, and dipped his head into the second jar, when he at once regained his proper form.
Now Ogunfunminire’s hunting days began all over again, and nobody could think why he seemed so happy, and where he spent all his time, for during the day he was nowhere to be found.
But one day his eldest son came into the room where the two jars were hidden, just at the moment when the old man was uttering the magic words.
When he saw how his father was changed into a serpent, the son, who was himself an old man, was filled with horror, and hastened to tell the whole family about the jars and the secret of Ogunfunminire’s happiness.
Now the old hunter knew no peace, for his children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren spent the whole time in trying to persuade him to remain at home instead of wandering in the forest in such a terrible form. But he would not listen to them, and every day dipped his head into the first jar and glided out of the house in the shape of a serpent.
At last one day the family was celebrating the birth of Ogunfunminire’s first great-great-grandchild, but the old man could not be found to join in the festivities. He was away in the forest, and in a sudden passion one of his sons kicked at the two jars, so that they were both overturned, and the charm was spilt on the ground.
At night Ogunfunminire returned and glided into the room to dip his head in the second jar. But alas! the jar was empty. In a frenzy the hunter in his serpent’s form tried to find a few drops of the precious charm, but it had all soaked deep into the earth and was lost for ever.
Now, indeed, the unfortunate old man wished that he had taken his children’s advice, and remained quietly at home.
Poor Ogunfunminire! How he envied the other old men who sat at the door of their houses in the cool of the evening relating old adventures instead of trying to find new ones in the forest.
For three days the serpent glided sadly round and round the house, while his family shut all the doors and were afraid to venture out.
At the end of the third day the serpent returned to the depths of the forest and was never seen again, but from that time—and even now in Nigeria—the descendants of Ogunfunminire bear the title “Orile,” which means “Son-of-a-mighty-serpent.”
XI. Akiti
Once there was a famous hunter and wrestler named Akiti, who was victorious in every wrestling-match in which he took part.
But his success was due not entirely to his own strength and quickness, but to a wonderful charm which he wore, in the form of a ring. Every time Akiti called to his ring, his wish was fulfilled, and as he had always wished for success in wrestling, no one had yet been found who could overthrow him.
At last Akiti came to be considered the strongest man in the land, and he declared himself king of the forest as well.
“Ho! ho!” laughed the wolf, when he heard this. “I will soon show him who is king of the forest!”
But when they met to fight, Akiti spoke to his ring and quickly overthrew the wolf, and after this he was prouder than ever.
“What is this?” cried the leopard. “Akiti says he is king of the forest! I will show him how mistaken he is.”
But the leopard, too, was overthrown, and Akiti sang:
“I am king of the forest! I am king of the forest!”
“Ho! ho!” growled the lion. “A weak human says he is king of the forest! That shall never be!”
And he came to fight with Akiti, but the hunter sprang on him and broke his back with one twist of his mighty arms. Now Akiti felt quite sure that he was king of the forest, and did not expect anyone else to oppose his claim.
One day he was out hunting when he met the elephant.
“I am king of the forest!” cried Akiti.
“No! I am king of the forest!” trumpeted the elephant defiantly, and they began to fight. Both were very strong, and the elephant was more cunning than most animals and knew many charms.
Akiti Fights the Elephant. Page 44.
Finding that he could not win by strength, Akiti suddenly changed himself into a snake, and, creeping on the ground, tried to bite the elephant. But the elephant’s hide was tough, and with his huge feet he tried to stamp on the snake, so Akiti quickly changed himself into a poisoned arrow, and tried to pierce the elephant’s head.
But the elephant seized the arrow in his trunk and was just about to break it in two, when Akiti changed himself into a mosquito and flew into his enemy’s big, flapping ear.
He found his way down right inside the elephant’s body, and hunted about until he came to his enemy’s heart.
The
n he changed himself back into his own shape and began to cut at the heart, while the elephant rushed about, stamping and trumpeting. At last Akiti had cut the heart right in two, and the elephant fell dead. Akiti cut his way out with his hunter’s knife and stood on the elephant’s body, shouting:
“I am Akiti, the mighty hunter, king of the forest!”
And this time there was no one to contradict him!
XII. The Elegant Crab
Mother and Father Crab were very proud of their daughter. To begin with, her back was so smooth and her claws were so delicate!
They sent her away to another country to be educated in the most elegant manner and to learn all the accomplishments possible to a young lady crab.
After a long absence the daughter returned home, and her parents gave a party in her honour, inviting their friends and relations—even the most distant ones—their cousin the lobster, their neighbours the jellyfish and limpets, and the charming family of prawns and shrimps.
When all the guests were assembled, the young lady Crab was called in by her mother to show off the accomplishments she had learnt while abroad.
She advanced coyly towards the company, moving sideways, as crabs always do.
“Good gracious!” cried the guests, looking greatly astonished. “To think that after being so long in another country your daughter still walks sideways! How disgraceful! Has she not learnt to swim gracefully like a fish, or to glide like a snake?”
“Indeed, no!” retorted the Mother Crab. “Whatever accomplishments my daughter learns, I desire her first of all to be a good crab, not an indifferent fish or snake. Of what use to the world, may I ask, is a crab which is ashamed to walk like a crab and prefers to swim or glide like somebody quite different?”
“You are a wise mother,” said the old lobster. “It is better to make the most of what we really are, than to adopt the ways of others which do not suit us.”
Ajapa the Tortoise Page 4