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| Cat and Rat Together |
Reading A
The Pretty Stranger who Killed the King
A story whose lesson is “Never marry a stranger, no matter how pretty she may be.” Indeed, the witch from the city of Itu disguised herself as a beautiful lady and with a knife hidden travelled to the town of Calabar to kill the king. The king, who had an eye for pretty girls, immediately fell for the girl. She made him a meal with poison to make him tired. Once he fell asleep she cut off his head, escaped the town, and presented the head to the king in Itu. Knowing the city of Calabar would not be expecting to be attacked, the Itu warriors travelled to Calabar and took over the city.
Why the Bat Flies by Night
The jealous bat tricks his friend, the Bush Rat, into believing that the reason the soup he makes is so good is because he soaks in it while it is boiling. The Bush Rat goes home and tells his wife that he is going to make her some delicious soup and jumps into the boiling water and is soon dead. The wife tells the king, who orders the bat to be taken prisoner. Expecting to be hunted, the bat changes his habits and becomes nocturnal.
The King who Married the Cock’s Daughter
An odd little story that ends with the death of the king from a broken heart and the people of the kingdom passing a law that no one should marry any bird or animal. Jealousy happens from the king’s 250 wives when he chooses the Cock’s daughter to be his next wife. The Cock warned him that her natural instinct for corn may kick in at any time. However, the king was so smitten with her that he didn’t care. The jealous wives had corn thrown out at a celebration and the king was mortified that the Cock’s daughter ate it. The king sent the Cock’s daughter back to her parents house and upon hearing that it was his head wife who had planned the stunt, sent her back to her parent’s house. However, the parent’s did not take her back and she eventually died on the streets. The king died the next year of a broken heart, having dismissed his favorite wife.
The Fish and the Leopard’s Wife or Why the Fish lives in the Water
According to the story, long ago when the fish lived on land, a leopard and a fish were friends. The leopard had a beautiful wife whom the fish had fallen in love with. The fish visited the leopard and his wife often. However, the friendship had escalated and the two had had an affair. An old woman told the leopard, who could hardly believe the story, but sadly one day walked in on the two. He told King Eyo. King Eyo announced that this was a very bad thing. That the fish and leopard had been friends and that the fish had taken advantage of the leopard’s absence. The king ordered that all future fish should have to live in the water and if they came on land they would die. Also, he added that animals and men should eat fish when they caught them. All of this was punishment for the fishes betrayal.
Why the Worms live Underneath the Ground
A great origin story about the fight between the driver ants and worms. A head driver ant had announced at Eyo’s feast that no one, not even elephants were stronger. He did add that worms, who he didn’t like were poor wriggling animals.The king said the two would meet on the road. The ants came out in millions, a “dark-brown band moving over the country.” The fight didn’t last long as the ants quickly beat the worms. The worms squirmed and buried themselves underground to escape the ants. From that day forward, the scared ants remain living underground.
The Elephant and the Tortoise or Why the Worms are Blind and Why the Elephant has Small Eyes
Another origin story explaining not only why worms are blind, but also why the elephant has small eyes. After watching the elephant eat more than his fair share of food. A tortoise decided to put an end to it. He packed a bag with dry kernels and shrimp and visited the elephant. The large eyed elephant watched in interest as the tortoise, with one eye shut, ate his snacks. The elephant wanted some and the tortoise told the elephant that he was eating his own eye. The hungry elephant was unphased and allowed the tortoise to remove one of his eyes. The tortoise gave him the snack of shrimps and kernels and the elephant thinking it was his eye, loved it. The elephant wanted more and the tortoise cut out his other eye. Being blind, the elephant suddenly figured out what had happened. He finally talked the worm into letting him borrow his eyes for the market, saying that he would later return them. The worm honored that the elephant was talking to him agreed. The elephant took the small eyes and never returned them. So now the elephant has small eyes AND the worm is blind.
Why a Hawk Kills Chickens
I love origin stories!!! This one is about a hawk who spots a hen. He swoops down and asked the hen to marry him. He pays the dowry and the hen goes to live with the hawk. The cock, who had loved the hen for a long time decided to pursue his love. He went to the hawk’s nest and called the hen. She loved the cock and followed him back to her parent’s house. The hawk, who was soaring in the sky saw what happened and went to tell the king. The king told the parents that they must pay the hawk back the dowry. They did not have the dowry because they were so poor, so the king told them that the hawk could kill and eat any of the cock’s children as repayment for the dowry. To this day whenever a hawk sees a chicken he carries it off as pay off for his dowry.
Why the Cat Kills Rats
My least favorite of the origin stories in this unit. A cat, housekeeper to the kind and a rat who was his house-boy served the king. The rat fell in love with one of the king’s servant girls and because he was so poor made a hole in the storeroom roof and stole pears and corn from it. The cat discovered at the end of the month that pears and corn were missing. Someone told the cat that the rat was stealing and the cat told the king. The king had the girl flogged and gave the rat to the cat and both were fired. The cat killed the rat and to this day whenever a cat sees a cat it kills and eats it.
Bibliography: Nigerian Folk Stories (Dayrell), http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/myth-folklore-unit-nigerian-folk-stories.html
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