The Village Witch Doctor and Other Stories Read Free Page A

money, it was more than four thousand naira . So Ajaiyi and his wife were free from their poverty and other burdens, as soon as Ajaiyi refunded the money to the three pawnbrokers.

A Short Biography of Tortoise
    A long, long time ago, when the eyes of people were dark, there lived in a big town a young man called Ajapa, or Tortoise, and his nickname was Alabahun.
    In his early days, Tortoise was a hefty, handsome, and very promising young man. Ajapa the Tortoise was cheerful and playful at all times. Tortoise had wealthy parents. Because of this, he was badly indulged with everything from childhood.
    Almost all the people of the town loved and trusted him because of all those enticing qualities which he possessed. The king especially was not happy any day that Tortoise failed to come and amuse him in the palace.
    But Ajapa the Tortoise had hardly attained the age of thirty when he became suddenly cunning, cruel, selfish, audacious and treacherous. Worse still, as time went on, he also became the greatest liar, villain, thief and traitor who was ever born in the land.
    Now, as Tortoise had changed suddenly from good young man to bad young man, the people began to hate him for his bad behaviour. And as he became more and more corrupt, the king expelled him from the town. So he went and settled in a town called Olomu. Being a thief, he joined a gang of robbers there.
    Very soon Ajapa the Tortoise conspired with his gang so that they came to his former town, Mosan, and robbed many people of their personal property. And within a few months, they had, in the midnights, robbed almost all theproperty and also the domestic animals of the people.
    Now the people of the town were confused as to who were the culprits. They did not know who were the thieves among them. For this reason they had no rest of mind each night. They did not know it was Tortoise, who had been expelled, and his gang, who were the robbers who robbed them of their property.
    After a while, Tortoise and his gang stopped robbing them, as the people had been relieved of their property.
    One midnight, Ajapa the Tortoise entered inside a specially made huge water pot. He told his gang to carry the strange water pot to the front of the palace of the king of Mosan town. As soon as his gang had put it down there, he whispered to them, ‘All of you go and hide yourselves somewhere, but near me.’ They all went to a corner and hid themselves there in the darkness.
    Then Tortoise, with a fearful and strange voice, shouted, ‘Ho-o-o! Ro-Ro-o, Ro-o-o! Let you king of Mosan and your counsellors and bearers, come out now and worship me! I am your ancestor who came from heaven this midnight! Come out now; otherwise, you the king will join me in heaven this midnight!’
    Without hesitation, the king, his counsellors and bearers rushed to the outside and went to the strange water pot with great fear. At the same time, the king and his people knelt down in front of the water pot. With fear and with trembling body, they began to rub their palms as they were saying, ‘Ah, our ancestor, here we are in front of you. We thank you so much that you are so kind, and love us so that you pay us a visit this midnight. Ah, we thank you heartily and with great happiness!’
    ‘Ho-o-o! Ro-Ro-o, Ro-o-o! I am your ancestor who left the crown and royal staff, the coral beads and the money, all of which you, the king, have inherited after me! Ho-o-o! Ro-Ro-Ro-o, Ro-o-o! Let the king and his bearers go and bring all here now! I am going to renew all for you! Theyare too old! Ho-o-o! Ro-Ro-o, Ro-o-ol!’ Tortoise frightened the king and his people with a horrible voice.
    The eyes of the people of those days were dark, and they had no strong second thoughts. The king, his counsellors and his hefty bearers believed at once that it was the king’s ancestor who was inside the strange huge water pot and was talking to them from it. So they ran impatiently into the palace. As they were so impatient with