Once upon a time anyeje, the
tortoise went on a long walk. He walked very far and got very tired. Anyeje was
very hungry too.
Anyeje
came to the village where Ejo, the boa snake, lived. Anyeje thought, "I am
so hungry, I will stop here. Ejo will surely give me food to eat."
Anyeje
went to Ejo's house and Ejo welcomed him. They sat in the cool house and
talked. Anyeje smelled food cooking in the other part of the house. Ejo said,
"Come, let us get ready to eat together."
Anyeje
went outside to prepare for the meal. When he came back, the food was placed in
the center of the house and Anyeje smelled the aroma. But the tortoise could
not reach the food. The snake was coiled all around it. Anyeje got more and
more hungry.
Ejo the
snake said, "Come sit with me and eat."
Anyeje said,
"I would be very happy to sit and eat. But Ejo, why are you surrounding
the meal?"
Ejo
replied, "This is the way of the snakes. When we eat, we sit around the
food like this." Ejo ate and ate of the food, but Anyeje could not get it
at all. Ejo finished eating at last. He said to Anyeje, "How good it is to
eat with a friend."
Anyeje was
even hungrier after the meal than when he came to Ejo's house. He felt much in
his heart about what happened.
Anyeje
decided to invite Ejo to his house for a meal on a feast day. Anyeje's wife
prepared all the foods and Anyeje went out to weave a long tail for himself out
of grass. He stuck it on with tree gum.
Ejo arrived to share the feast. The tortoise welcomed him and
said, "You have come a long way and you are hungry." Ejo went to wash
at a spring and when he returned to Anyeje's
house, he saw Anyeje was already eating. Anyeje had coiled his long grass tail
all around the food. Ejo could not get near enough to eat. Anyeje heartily ate
the food.
Around and
around Ejo went. He could not get to the food. "Anyeje," the snake
said, "how is it that you used to be so short and now you are so very
long?"
"One
person learns from another," Anyeje said.
Alo
mi le gba gba gba, I wa noji Anyeje kpayi ejo.
Ojo
n’ka domo, Anwuje let’ule onajiji. I lule hika hika tak’ola wu kwo kpa. Ebi tomo
a kpo ge.
Anwuje le w’ewo n’ka ugbo k’Ejo de le. Anyje kp’ibe, ‘’ Ebi
akpa mi, na dago emi ta. Ejo ad’ujewu nw’mi je tila’’.
Anyeja kwo lo t’unyi eje
owu ejo mudu kpa wu nyi wun. Ma kwo j’ane ef’unyi eb le a ch’oluka.
Anwuje gb’ukpo ujewu ku ma todo ahi owo ekeji unyi le.
Ejo ka wu kakini, ‘’na wa ka mola ka j’ujewu dama.’’
Anwuje let’eju igboda ki nya mola ujewu le. Adiko ki we’ju
efu le, ujewu gwu’ogegede enyi le own Anwuje la domo na kpu’kpo wu. Ama’a Anwuje
imuda neke tem’ujewu le’n. Ejo che’che leda wu. Ebi domo na kp.enyeje to’kpa.
Ejo ka nw’Anwuje, ‘’na’wa gwa’ne ke j’ujewu dama kpo mi.’’
Anye ka wu kakini, ‘’ima ch’edo ebo mi nana ku’n gwane ku’n
ch’ujewu kide, ama ejo, ewu chi ke che ledaka ujewu i’ita ?’’
Ejo dohi, ‘ona eyi ejo de, ekodu ka jewu, alu ka gwa’ne
ide.’’ Ejo domo na j’ujewu, Anwuje i
muda neke te mo’n. Ejo n’ke tete mu’jewu I du je kpa. Ika nya’nyeje kakini, ‘’abi
nyo ka de yi ko ne ki jju’jewu dama kpa yi onukwu wu.’’
Ebi Anwuje domo na gbo’gba nyo’gba, i kwo nana talu ki de
taki wo j’ejo i le. Ewu ke’jo che le che gbiti nyu ololo.
Anye fibe wun kpe ki de’jo wu nyi wu k iwa j’ujewu ojo
ucholo n’ka. I je nwo’ya f’ujewu hi nana. Anyeja le nya fo’tili ki jiji che nwo’la
wun kwe fu ogigo. I na ma ne fu u ma nyo mune.
Ejo lewa ki’wa ju’jewu ucholo le kpayi Anwuje. Anwuje fu
gwa owu i kaka, ‘’ule onanjiji echo wa i, u che ma kaki ebi domo akpe nyonyo.’’
Ejo leta’ji ki nya gw’ola wu. Ekoki wa i, i li kaki Anwuje tomo aju’jewun me.
Anweje mo tili aogigo wu du che le kaka
ujauwun ki domo aje le. Ejo i neke te mu’jewu le ki aje n. Anweje domo na ju’jewu.
Ejo na ledaka, I muda neke je’n. Ejo kika, ‘’anwuje, iile ku’we ke ma nana kwu’bi
ni kwo nana enwi ita ?’’
Anweja kaki. ‘’Ene’unk akoche kwugbo ekeji wu.’’
Sourc: http://www.beliefnet.com/Love-Family/2000/10/Teaching-Tales-The-Tortoise-And-The-Snake.aspx
Sourc: http://www.beliefnet.com/Love-Family/2000/10/Teaching-Tales-The-Tortoise-And-The-Snake.aspx
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