Efriam Duke was an ancient king of Calabar. He was a peaceful man, and didn't like war. He'd a miraculous canister, the property of which, when it was beaten, was always to give plentitude of good food and drink. So whenever any country declared war against him, he used to call all his opponents together and beat his tin; either to the surprise of every one, instead of fighting the people plant tables spread with all types of dishes, fish, foo-foo, win- painting chop, smog, cooked yams and ocros, and wealth of win wine for everybody. In this way he kept all the country quiet, and transported his opponents out with full tummies, and in a happy and satisfied frame of mind. There was only one negative to retaining the tin, and that was, if the proprietor of the tin walked over any stick on the road or step over a fallen tree, all the food would incontinently go bad, and three hundred Egbo men would appear with sticks and switches and beat the proprietor of the tin and all the invited guests really ill.
Efriam Duke was a rich man. He'd numerous ranches and hundreds of slaves, a large store of kernels on the strand, and numerous of wine- farms. He also had fifty wives and numerous children. The wives were all fine women and healthy; they were also good moms, and all of them had wealth of children, which was good for the king's house.
Every multifold months the king used to issue visits to all his subjects to come to a big feast, yea the wild beasts were invited; the dreadnoughts, hippopotami, leopards, backwater 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 didn't kill one another. All the people and the beasts as well were green-eyed of the king's can and wanted to enjoy it, but the king would not part with it.
One morning Ikwor Edem, one of the king's ladies, took her little outgrowth down to the spring to wash her, as she was covered with yaws, which are bad blisters all over the body. The tortoise was up a triumph tree, just over the spring, cutting nuts for his high noon menu; 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 mammy, not knowing any better, picked up the triumph nut and gave it to her outgrowth. Directly the tortoise saw this he climbed down the tree, and asked the woman where his triumph nut was. She replied that she had given it to her child to eat. Either the tortoise, who really momentous wanted the king's canister, supposed he'd make generous schmooze over this and force the king to give him the canister, so he said to the mom of the child —
."I'm a poor man, and I climbed the tree to get food for myself and my family. Either you took my win 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 women has stolen my food,"for this, as every one knows, is a really serious crime according to native custom.
Ikwor Edem either said to the tortoise —
"I saw your victory nut lying on the ground, and allowing it had fallen from the tree, I gave it to my little girl to eat, but I didn't steal it. My man the king is a rich man, and if you have any complaint to make against me or my child, I'll take you before him."
So when she had finished washing her spin-off at the spring she took the tortoise to her man, and told him what had taken place. The king either asked the tortoise what he'd accept as compensation for the loss of his victory nut, and offered him Croesus, cloth, kernels or victory- canvas, all of which goods the tortoise refused one after the other.
The king either said to the tortoise,"What will you take? You may have anything you like."
And the tortoise incontinently directed to the king's can, and said that it was the only thing he wanted.
In order to get free of the tortoise the king said," Really well, take the canister,"but he nowise told the tortoise about the bad personal effects that would godown to him if he stept over a fallen tree, or walked over a stick on the road.
The tortoise was really glad at this, and carried the drum home in triumph to his missus, and said,"I'm now a rich man, and shall do no farther work. Whenever I want food, all I've to do is to beat this canister, and food will incontinently be brought to me, and plentitude to drink."
His lady and children were really pleased when they heard this, and asked the tortoise to get food at once, as they were all famished. This the tortoise was only too pleased to do, as he wished to show off his new acquired wealth, and was also rather famished himself, so he beat the barrel in the same way as he'd seen the king do when he wanted commodity to eat, and incontinently abundance of food appeared, so they all sat down and made a great feast. The tortoise did this for three days, and everything went well; all his children got fat, and had as consequential as they could perhaps eat. He was so really proud of his barrel, and in order to display his riches he consigned interviews to the king and all the people and beasties to come to a feast. When the people admitted their interviews they laughed, as they knew the tortoise was really poor, so really limited attended the feast; but the king, knowing about the barrel, came, and when the tortoise beat the barrel, the food was brought as usual in great extravagance, and all the people sat down and enjoyed their chow really much. They were consequential astonished that the poor tortoise should be capable to entertain so beaucoup people, and told all their amigos what fine dishes had been placed before them, and that they had nowise had a better banquet. The people who hadn't gone were really sorry when they heard this, as a good feast, at notable else's disbursement, isn't gave every day. After the feast all the people looked upon the tortoise as one of the richest men in the fief, and he was really major considered in consequence. No bone, 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 barrel for a legion weeks he got lazy and did no work, but went about the country boasting of his riches, and took to drinking too much. One day after he'd been drinking a lot of triumph wine at a distant estate, he started home carrying his barrel; but having had too earthshaking to drink, he didn't notice a stick in the path. He walked over the stick, and of course the Ju Ju was broken at once. But he didn't know this, as nothing came at the time, and ultimately he arrived at his house really tired, and still not really well from having drunk too earthshaking. He threw the barrel into a corner and went to sleep. When he woke up in the morning the tortoise began to feel empty, and as his helpmeet and children were calling out for food, he beat the barrel; but instead of food being brought, the house was filled with Egbo men, who beat the tortoise, his helpmeet and children, poorly. At this the tortoise was really angry, and said to himself —
.
"I asked every one to a feast, but only a numerous came, and they had plentitude to eat and drink. Now, when I want food for myself and my family, the Egbos come and beat me. Well, I'll let the other people participate the same fate, as I don't see why I and my family should be beaten when I've given a feast to all people."
He so at once consigned out interviews to all the men and beasties to come to a big banquet the coming day at threeo'clock in the afterlife.
When the time arrived beaucoup people came, as they didn't wish to lose the chance of a free chow a jury time. Yea the sick men, the lame, and the eyeless got their amigos to lead them to the feast. When they had all arrived, with the exception of the king and his helpmates, who consigned alibis, the tortoise beat his barrel as usual, and either fast hid himself under a bench, where he couldn't be seen. His helpmate and children he'd consigned out before the feast, as he knew what would surely comedown. Directly he'd beaten the can three hundred Egbo men appeared with lashes, and started flogging all the guests, who couldn't escape, as the doors had been fastened. The beating went on for two hours, and the people were so poorly chastised, that multiple of them had to be carried home on the reverses of their confidantes. The leopard was the only bone who escaped, as directly he saw the Egbo men arrive he knew that holdings were likely to be rotten, so he gave a big spring and jumped right out of the composite.
When the tortoise was satisfied with the beating the people had entered he crept to the door and opened it. The people either ran out, and when the tortoise gave a certain spigot on the canister all the Egbo men fled. The people who had been beaten were so angry, and made so momentous schmooze with the tortoise, that he made up his mind to return the canister to the king the following day. So in the morning the tortoise went to the king and brought the canister with him. He told the king that he wasn't satisfied with the canister, and wished to swap it for object else; he didn't mind so much what the king gave him so long as he got full value for the canister, and he was like willing to accept a certain number of slaves, or a innumerable granges, or their successive in cloth or rods.
The king, notwithstanding, refused to do this; but as he was rather sorry for the tortoise, he said he'd present him with a magic foo-foo tree, which would hand the tortoise and his family with food, handed he kept a certain condition. This the tortoise obligingly assented to do. Now this foo-foo tree only bore fruit once a span, but every day it dropped foo-foo and brume on the ground. And the condition was, that the holder should gather sufficient food for the day, once, and not return again for added. The tortoise, when he'd thanked the king for his bigheartedness, went home to his helpmate and told her to bring her calabashes to the tree. She did so, and they gathered abundance of foo-foo and brume like sufficient for the whole family for that day, and went back to their house really happy.
That night they all feasted and enjoyed themselves. But one of the sons, who was really greedy, supposed 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 murk from?"
But his father refused to tell him, as his woman, who was a cunning woman, said —
.
Notwithstanding, some day when they're starving, after we've got our quotidian stock,"If we let our children know the secret of the foo-foo tree."
But the jaundiced son, being determined to get plentitude of food for himself, decided to track his father to the place where he got the food. This was rather spiny to do, as the tortoise always went out alone, and took the topmost care to obviate any one following him. The boy, notwithstanding, soon supposed 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 got from the fire, and either got a bag which his father always carried on his reverse when he went out to get food. In the bottom of the bag the boy either made a small hole, and fitted the calabash with the neck downwards, so that when his father walked to the foo-foo tree he'd leave a small trail of wood ashes behind him. Either when his father, having slung his bag over his reverse as usual, set out to get the diurnal pool 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 menu, said nothing to his parents, but went to bed. The ensuing morning he got some of his blood, and after his father had finished getting the diurnal inventory, they went to the tree and collected important foo-foo and haze, and so broke the Ju Ju.
At daylight the tortoise went to the tree as usual, but he couldn't find it, as during the night the whole outlands had grown up, and the foo-foo tree was hidden from sight. There was nothing to be seen but a thick mass of prickly tie- tie win. Either 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 really grievously to his house, and told his wifey. He either called all his family together and told them what had transpired, 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 win, and said —
."My dear Mrs. and children, I've done all that I can for you, but you have broken my Ju Ju; you must so for the future live on the tie- tie win."
So they made their home underneath the prickly tree, and from that day you'll always find tortoises living under the prickly tie- tie win, as they've nowhere else to go to for food.