An Igala Fable
Once upon a time a woman went into the woods to gather wild nuts. Suddenly she raised her eyes, and there was the house of a wood spirit. She hid among the bushes and stared. Just then she heard a voice.
"Wall away!" The door of the house swung wide open, and out stepped the wood spirit.
"Wall to stay!" The door slammed shut!
When he was far away, the woman approached the door of his house.
"Wall away!" she ordered. The door swung open.
“Wall to stay!” She exclaimed. The wall slammed shut!
The woman entered the wood spirit's house. She looked around and filled her nut basket with everything that she wanted, and then she went home.
Time after time, the woman returned to the wood spirit's house, hid until he went hunting, and then entered and took whatever she wanted. In this way, she became rich.
Finally her husband's second wife said, "I'd like to go with you wherever it is you are going."
So the woman led her to the wood spirit's house. She hid as usual until he went hunting. Then she and the second wife went inside and hauled away as many treasures as they could carry.
The next day, the second wife said, “Let's go again!”
“No,” said the woman. “We should rest today.”
“That's fine for you,” argued the second wife. “You're already fabulously wealthy! You're only saying we should rest because you have enough. I don't have enough yet. I don't want to rest.”
With that, the second wife picked up her basket and went alone to the wood spirit's house, but instead of hiding carefully as the woman did, she stood in the clearing to wait for the wood spirit to leave.
The wood spirit spotted her. When he came out of his house, he announced to no one in particular, “I'm going hunting now, and I'll be hunting far, far away.” Then he left as usual, but circled around and hid behind his house to see what the second wife would do.
That evening, when the husband realized his second wife was missing, he spoke harshly to the woman. “Wherever it was you took her yesterday, that's where she went today, and has not returned. Now you get out there and bring my wife back to me right away!”
The woman knew what to do. She took blacksmithing equipment. She called her dog. She took a large iron wheel. She went to the wood spirit’s house and stood in the clearing, waiting in plain view for him to go hunting.
The wood spirit spotted her. When he came out of his house, he announced to no one in particular, “I'm going hunting now, and I'll be hunting far, far away.” Then he left as usual, but circled around and hid on the ledge of his granary to see what the woman would do.The woman went into the house. She set up the bellows. She put the iron wheel in the fire and began working the bellows.
“Whoosha, whoosha, whoosh,” went the bellows.
“Crackle, crackle, crack,” went the fire.
The iron wheel begin to smoke.
The wood spirit heard the rhythmic sound of the bellows. He couldn't help himself. He came down off his granary and started to dance to the beat. He danced all the way to an open window and thrust his head inside to see where the music was coming from.
The woman's dog saw him and started barking. “Ruff, ruff, wooo! It's gonna be rough for yooou!”
The wood spirit quickly withdrew his head from the narrow window, but couldn't help dancing to the beat of the bellows.
“Whoosha, whoosha, whoosh,” went the bellows.
“Crackle, crackle, crack,” went the fire. The iron wheel began to glow.
The wood spirit just had to see what was making the music. He thrust his head in through the window and then pushed further until his shoulders were inside the house.
Suddenly the woman turned from the bellows, snatched up the wheel with the tongs, and flung the red hot wheel around the wood spirit's neck! He jerked back to get outside, but the wheel jammed against the narrow window opening and trapped him. In an instant the wheel burned right through his neck, and he fell down dead.
The woman went home and brought her husband to the wood spirit's house. Between them they took everything. Both became a very rich and lived happily ever after.
If the second wife had not been in a hurry and gone alone to the wood spirit's house, the woman would have outwitted the wood spirit and cleverly taken the treasures little by little, and she would have eventually destroyed to the wood spirit the way she did. But because the second wife was in a hurry, she insulted the woman and handed herself over to be killed by the wood spirit.
Therefore, if anyone does good to you and takes you as a partner, you should never insult him or argue with him. Then things will turn out well for you. And if anyone coaches you, let him teach you until he is satisfied and says, “Good job!” Then things will turn out well for you.
This story illustrates the Igala proverb: If you pick mushrooms in a hurry, you will break them.
The Bible also teaches us: "People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap..." 1 Timothy 6:9
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