A born and die baby makes the doctor a liar.
One who is righteous will never follow the satan.
*
Although I left Ojo’s and Alabi’s village with my poverty, with my talking heavy lump of the iron, which was another burden to me, with the dirty rags on my body and without even half a penny in my hand. But I did not know which was the next village or town to go. However, as I was carrying along on the road to the east the talking lump of the iron, which the god of Iron had given to each of us (Ojo, Alabi and myself) when we visited him on our way returning from the town of the Creator. I met one middle aged man on this road, I greeted him with a tired voice. He stopped and answered to my greeting with a cheerful voice. Then I threw the talking lump of the iron down in front of him. I asked from him whether the road on which I was travelling to the east led to a town or village. As he stared with fear at the talking lump of the iron, he replied that the road led to a town but that town was still far away.
When this middle aged man told me so, I asked from him whether I could reach that town before nightfall. He replied at the same time that it was impossible for a person to trek to the town in one day but two days. After that I asked him again whether I could get a sort of job there to do in order to get money. He replied without hesitation that he could not say whether there was a job which could fetch a man money because he was not a native of the town. He told me further that although the town was very big but the land which was surrounded it was very barren therefore almost all of the inhabitants were very poor.
When I heard like that from him I groaned and I asked him again whether he knew somebody there with whom I could lodge with this my talking lump of the iron. He replied at the same time as he lifted up his head that he knew one middle aged man there who was the only strong Devil-doctor. He told me that I should ask for him as soon as I was just entering the town. But when I told him that I did not like to lodge with the Devil-doctor for I hated the satanic ideas. This middle aged man was so kind that he explained to me that only the Devil-doctor like that one could safe me from the talking heavy lump of the iron. I was very happy when he told me that the Devil-doctor of that town would safe me from the talking lump of the iron. And I thought in mind that it was better to give what was for devil to devil. Having thought so, without asking this middle aged man any more question, I asked him to help me put the talking lump of the iron back on to my head. When he helped me put it on the head, I thanked him greatly and then I continued to travel along on that road and he too went on his own way.
Having travelled till nightfall, I put the talking lump of the iron down, I collected some fruits and I ate them before I laid down and then slept. In the morning, I woke but without eating anything, I tried all my best and put the talking lump of the iron on my head. Then I continued my journey on this road. But I could not travel as fast as I wanted to because this talking lump of the iron was so heavy for me to carry that it was hardly for me to travel one mile before I put it down and rested for some minutes. I was so delayed on the way by this terrible lump of the iron that it was nearly nightfall before I reached this town.
As soon as I entered the town and as that middle aged man had told me. I began to ask for the house of the Devil-doctor, the only person who was brave enough to allow my talking iron and myself to stay in his house. For everybody who saw me with this talking lump of the iron was afraid. However when I asked from the third man that I first met in this town, he was kind enough to take me to his house. But he was greatly shocked when I entered his house and he saw the talking lump of the iron on my head. Because he understood that it belonged to the god of the Iron and that in it (talking lump of the iron) there was a terrible and merciless spirit who was also calamitous.
As it was still on my head and as I stood in front of him, he hastily asked from me: “How did you come about this talking lump of the iron?” I explained to him that the god of the Iron gave it to me to be worshipping it in my village and so he gave one to Ojo and one to Alabi when we went to his town a few years ago although Devil had taken Ojo’s and Alabi’s own the very night that both of them had become his followers. But as I had refused to be one of his followers, he did not take my own from me, but it was giving me much terrible burdens since when he (god of the Iron) had given it to me although Ojo and Alabi had been free from the burdens of their own.
This brave Devil-doctor then asked again: “Why did you not take it to your village then but to my house?” I explained to him with very weak voice as a large quantity of perspiration was rushing on to the floor from my body in respect of the heaviness of the talking lump of the iron which was on my head: “You see, the Devil-doctor, it would be certainly shameful to me to return to my village with this talking lump of the iron instead of money. I left my village years ago for abroad in order to get the money so that I might be free from my inherited poverty which has now become a chronic one.”
Again, he asked from me: “What help do you want from me then?” I replied that I wanted him to help me to get some sort of job to do so that I might get a considerable amount of money to take back to my village. I begged him as well to take this talking lump of the iron from me so that I might be free from its burdens as well as Ojo and Alabi had been free from their own. But he told me that it was a great petulance to Devil when one had refused to be his follower. He told me further that Devil hated such a petulant person so much that he would leave him to his burdens. Having explained to me like that he told me to follow him to the grove in which his shrine was.
When I followed him to the grove, he told me to throw this talking lump of the iron down at the foot of one mighty tree which was near the entrance of his shrine. When I threw it down he hastily poured a kind of oil on it as he gaped and incantated for a while. But to my surprise and fear was that as he poured a kind of oil and then incantated on this talking lump of the iron, I saw that the figure of a living creature (spirit) came out of it in form of thick smoke and within one second it disappeared in that grove. When he was sure that the bad spirit of this iron had gone out of it. He told me that he had driven the bad spirit which was giving me burdens out. Then I prostrated and thanked him greatly for he had saved me from this terrible talking heavy lump of the iron.
But as soon as I stood up from prostration, he told me that he required one servant and that he would take me as his servant as from that day. He promised me that he would be paying me some amount of money every month and that he would be feeding me regularly. He promised me as well that he would give me one wonderful thing whenever I was ready to go back to my village. But he remarked seriously that if I offended him he would call the bad spirit of the heavy lump of the iron back into it and then he would tell me to carry it away from his house even from that town. When he told me like that I promised him that I would try my best to satisfy him in all respects. I made this promise simply because he had saved me from the talking lump of the iron but I had forgotten that things might change in future and that promise was a debt.
Having agreed to be his servant, he asked me to follow him to his shrine and I did so. He told me to take away all the dirty rags of my body. When I took all away from my body, he took them from me, he hung them in one corner of the shrine. After, he gave me new clothes and I wore them at the same time. After that he took me back to his house. When I rested for a while, he told his wife to give me food. Having eaten to my satisfaction, he told one man to take me to another house. This house belonged to his late father and there I would be sleeping because he was so powerful in the satanic work that there was nobody who could sleep with him in his own house. There were many rooms in his late father’s house. It was very big with a very large compound. About fifty of his families were living in this house. One big room was given to me to be sleeping in it.
Although this Devil-doctor was a strong gentile but he was very genial to neither his people nor strangers. His shrine was full of people in both day and night to help them solve their problems and to make medicines for them or to help them kill their enemies with his satanic power. He had many wives. The youngest was very beautiful, smart and was cheerful always. But this youngest wife hated him because she did not like to marry such an old man as this. But she was forced to marry to him by her parents and she did so for she must not go against her parents’ wish. It was this youngest wife who was giving me food whenever I was hungry.
Now as I had become a servant to this Devil-doctor, he was sending me to wherever he liked. I was following him to the bush or forest to help him to carry herbs with which he made medicines and he was sending me to the market every five days to buy materials for sacrifices. Thus I was serving this Devil-doctor everyday for three months without paying me any money although he had promised that he would be paying me some money every month. One morning, I reminded him that he had not paid any money to me since when I had been serving him. But he explained to me that he would not be able to pay me monthly but yearly. But when he explained to me like that I knew that he was poor and that he was just deceiving me, but I was just doing labour without being paid. This moment, I thought in mind that it was quite sure that I would not be free from my inherited poverty.
After a while, I left his shrine as he was still attending to many people. With sadness, I went back to my room, I cast down and continued to think about my chronic poverty. I was still in sadness of being disappointed to get money in all my efforts when his youngest wife entered my room and she met me as I cast down sadly. She immediately asked from me: “What is wrong with you? Are you hungry?” I replied: “Not at all. I am not hungry. But I am thinking of my poverty and of my being disappointed to get money.” She asked again: “Has the old man (Devil-doctor) not paid you since when you have been serving him?” I replied at the same time that: “He has not paid me even half a penny since when I have been serving him!”
When she heard so from me she grew annoyed. She kept quiet for a while and then she sat by my side very closely. Then she began to tell me: “You see, your master (Devil-doctor) is just deceiving you. He has no money which he can pay for you every month. You can serve him for even ten years but he will not pay you any money because he is poor. But now I shall be frank to you today that I like you to be my husband, and I am ready to follow you to your village anytime from now.” But when she told me like that I thought in my mind at the same time that what I was thinking in my mind was far different from what this woman told me now. But after she had hesitated for a while to hear from me whether I agreed to what she told me but she did not hear anything from me. She asked with a lower voice: “Do you agree to what I have told you?” But I reluctantly said: “Yes, I have agreed to take you to my village and be my wife.” I told her like that just to please her but I hated to take another man’s wife.
Having heard from me that I agreed to take her to my village she was so happy that she stood up and danced for some minutes. After, she walked out, and after a few minutes I was surprised to see that she brought a very nice food for me. It was this day this youngest wife had started to treat me better than before and she was paying me frequent visit. But I was still serving her husband, the Devil-doctor, everyday. And I was still following him to the bush or forest or jungle to help him to carry almost all kinds of herbs with which he was preparing medicines because he was seriously banned to carry any kind of loads either by head or shoulders by the evil spirit which he was worshipping. Although he was poor but he was quite sure that one day his evil spirit would carry his good luck to his shrine for him. But he was strictly banned to carry loads by himself otherwise he would die as soon as the loads had touched his head.
For his poorness, his youngest wife was quarrelling with him always and she was telling him that she would divorce him if he did not find any other kind of the job to do which would fetch him sufficient money always. But of course whenever his wife advised him like that, he was telling her that his evil spirit had promised him that he (evil spirit) would carry good fortunes from the grove of the evil spirits to his shrine for him one day. So he was waiting for the good fortunes. This Devil-doctor was telling his youngest wife like that each time she quarrelled with him about money.
But this youngest wife was giving nice food to me regularly and she was telling me always to escape with her to my village as soon as possible. Although she was pressing me to do so but I could not leave this Devil-doctor as soon as his wife wanted me to do. Because I was afraid to leave him without his wish whenever I remembered that he had told me that if I failed to satisfy him, he would call the evil spirit which was in the lump of the iron back into it, he would tell me to carry it and he would then drive me away from his house even from that town. Now as the fear of this talking lump of the iron did not let me leave him for another town or my village. I continued to serve him without paying me any money. Thus I served him for five years and eleven months.
But in the twelfth month of the sixth year, one morning, at nine o’clock sharp, this Devil-doctor went to the grove of the evil spirits to bring a certain leaf for the special medicine which he wanted to prepare for one of his friends. This grove was about six miles away from the town. It was very big and was the home of all kinds of the evil spirits. He did not allow me to go there with him because I was not brave enough to see the evil spirits without being feared them. And if one feared them they would harm him or turn him to another thing. There was no any one of the other people of this town who was bold enough to enter this grove of the evil spirits except this Devil-doctor. In it, there were uncountable of the mighty trees, hills, rocks, etc., in which these evil spirits lived. There were uncountable of the paths on which they travelled from one place to another.
As soon as the Devil-doctor travelled to this grove that morning and entered it. He was going from one tree to another as quickly as he could and he was looking for the leaf that which he wanted to cut. He was doing so without seeing the right kind of the leaf that which he wanted to cut until he reached the heart of this grove. As he was still going along, he came to one mighty tree. At the foot of this tree he saw one very big pot. Its length was about four feet and the diameter was about three feet. It was full of pure corals which could be sold for more than four thousand pounds. This Devil-doctor did not believe his eyes when he saw this pot of corals. He stood before it and wiped both eyes with palm first for more than five minutes. When he became normal, with great surprise and happiness, he bent down, he examined some of them. Then he put them back in the pot, he stood up and began to think whether to carry this pot to his house.
As he was still wondering whether he was dreaming, he did not know when the happiness forced him to shout greatly: “Hah! I have got my good luck this morning! But how can I carry this pot of corals to my house now?” As soon as he shouted like that, he bent down, he lifted up the pot with all of his power. But as he was about to put it on head, it came to his mind this moment that he was not allowed to put any load on head by his evil spirit otherwise he would die as soon as it had touched his head. When he remembered that he was banned to put loads on head by his evil spirit, he hastily put the pot down on its place. Then he lifted his head up to the sky, he thought in mind that: “I am poor. I have no money and this (he pointed finger to the pot) is the pot of corals. The pot of wealth. If I can carry it to my house and sell them (corals) I shall become a wealthy man today! But I must not put any load on my head. But of course, my evil spirit who has warned me not to put any load on my head, had promised me that he would carry my good fortunes to my shrine by himself. Therefore, there is no need to worry myself to carry it to my house then. I am quite sure, my evil spirit will fulfil his promise today! Hah, I thank thee, my evil spirit!”
As soon as this poor Devil-doctor said like that within himself, he then left the pot there and returned to his house with the leaf which he cut.
When he entered his shrine, he sat on his usual chair with happiness. As soon he sat, he put the leaf down on the floor closely to his right hand. Then he told me to go and call his youngest wife for him. As soon as I left, he started to drink. When I came back with his wife he told her with smiling face to sit down before him. But before he started to tell her the story of the pot of the corals, he first told me to go to my room and I went out at the same time.
Then with smile, he told her the story of the pot of the corals: “You see, I have seen my wealth today when I went to the grove of the evil spirits to cut this leaf!” (he held the leaf up and showed it to her).
“Wealth? But I do not understand what you mean about that?” she was confused.
“I say when I went to the grove of the evil spirits this morning, I found one pot of corals! You know, the corals worth more than four thousand pounds!” he explained with smiling face.
“But where is the pot of corals now?” his wife shouted greatly.
“It is still at the foot of the tree where I have found it! It is there now!” he explained to her as he threw some drink into the mouth.
“Hah, you have left the pot of the corals where you have found it! I am sure, you will die in poverty! But of course, I have told you several times that I am going to divorce you soon! Yay! you have found the pot of the corals and you have not carried it to your house to be sold but you have brought one leaf instead! I shall repeat it, you will certainly die in poverty!” she sprang up, she slapped him on the back with both her palms as she was shouting loudly.
“Heh, just hold on and let me explain to you now! You see, my evil spirit had warned me not to carry any load with my head and he had promised me that he is the one who is going to carry my good luck to my house by himself. He had told me that I would certainly die if I let any load touch my head! And I am sure he will carry this pot of corals to my house soon!” the Devil doctor explained to his wife but all of his explanations were in vain. She did not believe him at all. Instead, she stood up and began to abuse him loudly as she was leaving the shrine.
As she had left the shrine, she did not branch to other place but she came into my room direct. She sat on the same stool with me. Then I asked from her:
“What has happened to you?”
“You see, your master (the Devil-doctor) has found one pot of the corals at the foot of a tree in the grove of the evil spirits and he did not bring it to the house to be sold but he brought a single ordinary leaf instead!” She told me what her husband had found in the grove.
“He has found a pot containing corals and he did not bring it to the house!” I asked again as I held my head with a great zeal.
“Don’t mind the hopeless Devil-doctor. He did not bring it to the house. But he told me that his evil spirit would carry it to the house for him!” she shouted as she was nearly crazy.
“Why has he left such a great wealth (corals) for the evil spirit to bring it to the house for him but not by himself? Why? Perhaps he was just telling you lie, because I cannot believe him any more!” I told her with a doubtful mind.
“Not at all. He did not tell me a lie. He is not a liar!” she confirmed all what he had told her about the corals.
“But he had promised me that he would be paying me some money every month the day I came to him but he has not paid me any money since that time! But of course ‘a born and die baby makes the doctor a liar’. He is a liar in that respect or for failing to fulfil his promise!” I reminded her about the promise which the Devil-doctor had made but had failed to fulfil.
“Although he has failed to keep his promise, but I do not doubt the truth of the pot of the corals which he said that he has found at the foot of a mighty tree in the grove of the evil spirits. Because many wonderful things had been found in it by many brave people of this town, although it is dangerous to enter it. However, my advice now is that at nine o’clock tomorrow morning you will go to that grove of the evil spirits. Without fearing the evil spirits which are living there, you will be going from one mighty tree to another. I believe, after a few minutes you will see the pot of the corals. But do not waste time to carry it out of that grove. When you have carried it out, then you will hide it (pot of the corals) by side of the road on which to travel to your village. Having done so, then you will come back to the house and both of us will then escape with the pot of the corals to your village in the following morning. I believe, if we can carry the pot to your village and sell all of the corals, we shall become rich, so you will be free from your inherited poverty which has already become a chronic one!” This youngest wife of the Devil-doctor wanted both of us to carry the pot of the corals away to my village for she wanted her to be my wife at all costs.
As soon as she had advised me like that and I promised that I would follow her advice, she stood up and walked out of my room so that the families of the Devil-doctor or himself might not suspect our secret plans. After she had left, I dropped my head, I began to think about these plans again. Although I agreed to go to the grove of the evil spirits and carry the pot of the corals out of it and to escape with it from there to my village. But I did not like to escape with this youngest wife at all. After a while it came to my mind to carry the pot from that grove direct to my village instead to come back to the town to tell her. It was like that I planned to disappoint her.
On the following morning, before nine o’clock, she brought a nice food to me in my room. She went back as soon as she had put it down. Then I ate it to my satisfaction. But I hardly finished with the nice food when she walked into the room with one of her big cover-clothes. Having coiled it round, she gave it to me to put it on the head for carrying the pot. Having done so she went away. And when it was about nine o’clock, I took my matchet and bag, I hid both with the coiled cover-cloth under my dress so that the Devil-doctor, his families and his friends might not suspect that I was leaving the town for some place. I took these two my belongings (matchet and bag) along with me with the hope to start to go from the grove to my village and not to come back to the town to tell this youngest wife to follow me to my village. It was like that I planned to disappoint her. My plan to disappoint her was not in respect of the corals but because I did not like to escape with another man’s wife.
As soon as I came to where this grove of the evil spirits was, I entered it and I began to go from one mighty tree to another with suspicion of not being killed or harmed by the evil spirits. As I was going deeply in it as quickly as I could and I was looking at the foot of everyone of the mighty trees. It was so these evil spirits were shouting greatly on me with their various kinds of fearful voices. And it was not so long when their fearful shouts made me feared so much that I began to tremble from foot to head with fear. However, I still kept going along zigzag with fear until I came to the heart of the grove. After a while, I saw this pot of the corals at the foot of one mighty tree. It was very huge indeed. Without hesitation, I went closely to it as the terrible shouts of the evil spirits were hearing all over the grove like thunder. With great wonder and fear, I bent down, I examined some of those which were on top. But when I saw that they were pure corals which cost more than four thousand pounds. I did not know when happiness forced me to shout greatly: “Hah! This is a great wealth! No doubt, I am free from my inherited poverty today!”
Having shouted like that I began to dance round this pot of the corals. When I danced round it for a few minutes with great laughter, I hurriedly put the coiled cover-cloth on my head. Then I bent down and with all my power I lifted up the pot and I put it on my head. It was so heavy that three strong men could not even lift it up from the ground but the happiness which was in me this moment gave me the strength of about ten men with which I lifted it on to my head. But to my fear as I was about to leave that spot with the hope to be carrying it from there to my village. I heard a horrible voice which came out from this pot suddenly. The voice began to warn me so loudly that the whole of the grove was shaking. And it was this moment the voices of the terrible birds, animals, and all kinds of the evil spirits were hearing everywhere in the grove.
But as soon as I began to hear that the thing which was warning me was inside the pot. I wanted to throw the pot down and then run away for my life. But to my fear, I could not throw it down and I could not lift it up from my head this time. Instead I was hearing the warning continuously:
“Oh, yes, you have put me on your head better you carry me to the shrine of the Devil-doctor now! Make haste! Walk on your leg, my poor friend!” But I stopped to throw it down and run away when I heard that I should carry him to the shrine of the Devil-doctor. But it became so heavy this time that my neck began to sink down. I tried all my possible best to throw it (pot) down and run away but all my efforts failed. And I began to tremble from foot to head for the sudden heaviness of this pot immediately the warnings had started to come out of it.
After a while, I pretended to be falling down, but another terrible warning came from the pot suddenly: “If you fall down, you fall on your death! If you throw me down, you throw your life down! But be carrying me along to the Devil-doctor’s shrine now! Make haste! You are keeping me too long on your head!” As I heard like that suddenly from this pot, I obeyed and I kept going along zigzag in this grove of the evil spirits. But to my surprise, I hardly kept going when this pot became as light as a feather.
As I was still carrying it along, to my utmost fear, there I saw that thousands of the evil spirits with whips in their hands were hurriedly coming out from the mighty trees, from the ground, from the tops and precipices of the mountains and cliffs, etc. All rushed to me and surrounded me. Without hesitation, they began to sing, dance and clap and they were flogging me continuously. I was in a great predicament this moment so that I lost all my senses at the same time but I was just staggering about in the circle. After they had whipped me for a few minutes as they were singing loudly thus: “The thieve of the corals, dance the dance of the punishment and let us see!” And as they were dancing and clapping round me, I did not know when I began to cry bitterly as I was staggering here and there in the circle. As soon as I began to cry and beg them for pardon, they stopped to flog me but they stood still in form of a circle and then they began to laugh at me.
Having laughed and made a mockery of me for a few minutes then the whole of them collected into one place and without hesitation some of them began to push me along in the grove towards the road of the Devil-doctor’s town as the rest were shouting greatly—“The thieve of the corals,” and were following me. Thus they were pushing me along until I came to the road. But as soon as they had pushed me to the road, the whole of them went back to their grove and were disappeared at the same time. Now I was alone on the road and I was carrying this pot of the corals along on it. Although I was confused whether the corals had turned to the evil spirit as soon as I had put the pot on my head. But after I had travelled far away from the grove, I turned my back to the Devil-doctor’s town. To my fear again, I hardly started to go ahead with the hope to carry it to my village direct when the pot became so heavy suddenly and my neck then sank down into my chest for its heaviness. And within one second that it had become heavy like that, I heard the usual warnings which came out of it that: “Better you turn your face to the Devil-doctor’s town now and carry me to his shrine!”
However, as I could not lift up my feet to go forward, willing or not, I turned my face to the Devil-doctor’s town and I continued to carry this pot to his shrine. But to my surprise was that as soon as I continued to carry it along to his town, the pot then became as light as a feather. Now I was sure that there was no alternative unless I carried the pot to the shrine of the Devil-doctor. And as I was carrying it along on the road, it was so I was blaming myself that: “I was so stupid to believe the youngest wife of the Devil-doctor who had told me to go and carry pot of the corals from the grove of the evil spirits. Although when I saw the pot it was full of pure corals but these corals have now turned to an evil spirit. This means the youngest wife had deceived me so that I might be killed by the evil spirits. I am sorry, she has now put me in another punishment!” Not knowing that this youngest wife did not deceive me at all but it was myself who had wanted to take another man’s (Devil-doctor) luck to my village.
However, I carried it to the shrine. But as soon as I entered the shrine, I heard another warning suddenly which came out of the pot: “Yes, you have carried me to the shrine! But put me down and then run out of this shrine at once otherwise you will lose your life! Put me down and run away!” So I hardly heard like that when I hastily put the pot down gently with fear and then I ran into my room which was in the other house, far away from there. But the Devil-doctor was not in the shrine when I carried it there, he was in his house together with his youngest wife.
When I entered my room, I sat down and dropped my head and then I began to think of the punishments which I received in respect of this pot of the corals.
After a while, the Devil-doctor went to his shrine but he was greatly wondered to meet this pot of the corals in his shrine. “Oh yes, this is the pot of the corals which I had seen at the foot of the mighty tree in the grove of the evil spirits when I went there yesterday! My evil spirit has brought the pot into my shrine as he had promised me that one day he would bring my good luck to my shrine by himself! I thank thee!” This Devil-doctor was so happy that he called his youngest wife loudly to come and see the wealth which his evil spirit had brought to him, for he did not know that I was the one who had brought it there although I was forced by the evil spirit which was in the pot to bring it there.
When the youngest wife came, he showed it to her, he threw the whole corals on the floor and as he began to examine them, he was telling her: “You see now! I had told you several times that my evil spirit would one day bring my good luck to me by himself! I told you yesterday that I saw one pot of the corals in the grove of the evil spirits but you grew annoyed that I did not bring it to the house! You see it here now! And I have become a wealthy man as from today!” When he showed this pot of the corals to his youngest wife with happiness. He began to look at her eyes whether she would be equally happy too. But instead, she scowled at him and then she left the shrine at once.
When she left the shrine she came to my room with the altercation. As I heard her altercation, I lifted my head up, I stood and with great anger, but she did not allow me to say anything when she shouted greatly with anger that: “You hopeless man who will really die in poverty! Our arrangement was to hide the pot of the corals on the side of the road and then to come back to me so that both of us might escape to your village with the pot of the corals! But why did you bring the pot to the shrine for the Devil-doctor? Oh, you have broken our covenant now. Hah, it is certain now that you will die in your inherited poverty! You hopeless man!” But she hardly said like that when I jumped up with anger as well and shouted on her: “But you are the one who is entirely hopeless! You are a cruel and merciless woman! If you are not so, you should have not told me to go and carry the pot from the grove of the evil spirits! Knowingly that evil spirit lives in it (pot) and that it will punish me! But you have just deceived me that the pot contained the corals! But you are the one who have broken our covenant! Go away, you are a deceiver!”
Having scolded her like that, she jumped up and slapped me on the face suddenly and I too slapped her on the face at the same time. Thus we continued to slap ourselves as she was blaming me loudly and I was blaming her loudly as well about this pot of the corals. Because both of us were confused. She thought that I wilfully carried the pot to the shrine instead to hide it somewhere on the road as she had told me to do. And I too thought that she had just deceived me to tell me that it were pure corals were in the pot. We were still slapping ourselves with great shout and exchange of words when the families of the Devil-doctor heard our angry shouts. They then rushed into my room but when they met us slapping each other, they parted us and asked us what had caused the fight.
She first explained to them that I had broken the covenant. They asked her to tell them the kind of the covenant which was between her and I. But of course when she did not tell them, I explained to them with earnestness that she told me to go and carry the pot of the corals from the grove of the evil spirits, but later on I found that it is the evil spirit that lives in the pot. But I hardly confessed to them when she explained to them as well that I was pressing her everyday that I wanted her to escape with me to my village and she denied that she had told me to go and carry the pot of the corals from the grove of the evil spirits.
But once the families of this Devil-doctor had heard from her when she shouted that “I had broken our covenant” they had understood that there was a secret plan between her and I and that she had agreed to escape with me to my village. So without hesitation, the whole of them pushed both of us roughly to the shrine. They hastily surrounded us as both of us stood before the Devil-doctor. When the families told the Devil-doctor that his wife and I had planned to escape to my village. He jumped up with great anger, he roared greatly like the thunder. After that, he asked from me: “You and my youngest wife have planned to escape to your village?” I hastily explained to him with fear that: “It is your wife who had told me to go and carry the pot of the corals from the grove of the evil spirits. But as soon as I had put the pot on my head the corals turned to an evil spirit!” When I explained to him briefly like that, he turned eyes to his wife and asked: “Is it true that you have told him to go and carry the pot from the grove?” But she denied. She explained that I had planned to escape to my village with the pot of the corals and herself.
Then as soon as she had explained to him like that, he bent down, he threw the corals on the floor and then told me that I did not carry any evil spirit to his shrine but the pure corals which he was going to sell for more than four thousand pounds. But to my surprise, when he threw these corals on the floor from the pot, I saw that in fact they were pure corals and not evil spirit as I had thought they were. Then he said loudly that if his wife had not agreed with me to escape to my village she should not have told me the secret of the corals. Then he with the help of his families pulled off the dresses of my body and then they wore my old dirty rags for me. After that they pushed me to the tree under which my lump of the iron was.
Then he bent down and began to incantate. Within a few minutes, the evil spirit of this lump of the iron came out from unknown place in form of a thick smoke and it entered the lump of the iron. To my fear, as soon as it had entered it back, this lump of the iron became alive. It started to make its usual terrible noises. Then without hesitation, he and his families put it on my head. And then they pushed me out of the shrine together with his wife. He told me that I should carry my burden which he had taken from me away from his town.
As I was carrying this talking terrible lump of the iron away from this town it was so I was cursing this youngest wife and it was so she too was cursing me loudly as she was going to her father’s town. Thus both of us were driven away from this Devil-doctor’s town with great shame. And it was like that I left this town with my poverty, with my usual burdens of the talking lump of the iron, with my usual dirty rags, with my old matchet and bag but without half a penny in hand.
Having travelled far away from the Devil-doctor’s town, I put my talking lump of the iron down, I sat before it and then I began to think where to go again. But when I did not know where to go again. Furthermore, I had now fed up to go to another town or village for money. Therefore, I put in mind to go back to my village which I had left several years ago in respect of my inherited poverty.
Having put my talking lump of the iron back on my head, I continued to travel along on the road. But with much difficulties, I came back to Ojo’s and Alabi’s village. When I came there, I asked for them with the hope to spend some days with them as the three of us were friends before. But I was greatly shocked when the people of their village told me that both of them had died a few weeks ago. They told me further that both died in the same midnight. When they told me so I remembered that six years ago, the Devil had shortened their lives from sixty-six to six years before he gave them uncountable bags of money in the midnight that they became his followers, but I refused to be his follower that midnight.
But I was not allowed to stay and rest for some days in this village when the people saw this talking lump of the iron on my head. However, I left there the same day. Thus I was carrying this lump of the iron to my village but with much difficulties. And within a few days that I had left Ojo’s and Alabi’s village, I reached my own village at about nine o’clock in the morning. As I was carrying it along in the village, and when the people saw me. They thought that I had become mad because of the dirty rags which I wore and also the talking lump of the iron which I carried instead to carry good thing. However, with great shame, I carried it to the house and I put it in one of the rooms.
After that I swept the whole house and compound as well. Having done so, I sat in my father’s sitting room. After a while, many people came in to greet me for my safety return because many of them thought that I had been killed or died.