After series of arguments among the animals, the king later intervened.
"It's ok, I will help you out at this point", he said. "Whoever is courageous enough to bring the ancient calabash from the isembaye shrine among you will be crowned as the king of the proposed animal kingdom."
The journey to isembaye shrine was a very far journey, and it would take nothing less than four days to go and come back. Aside that, it's also believed to be a very dangerous trip, and whoever would go there must be a very brave person, because it was a general belief that no ordinary person could go and come back alive, except someone who had a strong spiritual power.
Due to this test placed before them by the king, they started leaving the palace one after the other, until few of them, including Lion and Tortoise were remained.
"Your highness, I will go to the isembaye shrine and get the ancient calabash", Lion said confidently. "I will commence the journey first thing tomorrow morning."
"Go in peace, but remember that the ancient calabash must get to this palace in four days", the king warned.
Later on that same day, Tortoise went to Lion's house and told him that he had a charm which could help him to go to the shrine and return in peace. Lion was very happy to hear this, but Tortoise gave him a condition.
"But when you return on the fourth day, you must first come to my house with the ancient calabash, so that I can do the necessary things to neutralize the charm, because if I don't neutralize it, something terrible will happen to you in the next three days", said Tortoise.
"No problem about that", he joyfully agreed.
Tortoise gave him the said charm, and Lion commenced his journey to the isembaye shrine confidently, relying heavily on Tortoise's charm. But in actual sense, what Tortoise gave to him was completely fake, and Lion couldn't imagine it.
But luckily for Lion, he went to the isembaye shrine and returned safely, believing that it was the charm given to him by Tortoise that did the wonder. While returning very early on the fourth day based on the agreement between him and his friend, he went straight to Tortoise's house and knocked the door. Immediately he heard his voice, Tortoise quickly ran to take the rope trap he had prepared to arrest Lion so that he would be to get the ancient calabash from him.
He later set the trap at the entrance and opened the door for Lion to come in. Immediately he entered, Lion got trapped into the rope and the ancient calabash fell down from him. Tortoise started making jest of him.
"Ahaha, you think you are powerful, not knowing that you are only a fool", Tortoise made fun of him.
While Lion was still struggling, Tortoise carried the ancient calabash and started heading to the palace. As he was going, he was also announcing to all residents, both humans and animals, that he had got the ancient calabash, and that he's taking it to the palace where he would be crowned as the new king of the animal kingdom. News had gotten to the palace and the king had made arrangement for drummers and dancers to grace the occasion.
After a long time of struggling, Lion sighted Mr Dog passing-by in front of Tortoise's house, and he was very quick to shout at the top of his voice, "Dog...dog...dog".
"Ohh...Lion, what are you doing here, why are you trapped, were you here to steal?" he asked rushingly. "See, Tortoise is already taking the ancient calabash to the palace, and I'm going there now!"
Lion lamented, and explained everything that happened to Dog. Mr Dog was very shocked. He quickly helped Lion to loose the rope, and the two of them started running to the palace in very high speeds.
Mr Tortoise, being a very slow animal, was yet to get to the palace. But he was already looking at the palace in about four poles distance. The drummers were already drumming and the dancers too had started performing.
He had only about two poles distance to get to the palace when Lion and Dog caught up with him. They pounced on him and beat him to a comma. Lion's intention was to kill him. When they saw that he had already become unconscious, they thought he had died, and they left him. But in the course of the fight, the ancient calabash had been broken.
Lion picked up the broken calabash, went to the palace and explained everything that happened to the king.
"I am very sorry, I can't make any of you a king and I won't give you approval to go and create the proposed animal kingdom, because a broken calash can never serve any purpose, and your current actions have shown clearly that you animals are not matured enough to rule yourselves", said the king. "I must also let you know today, that no any evil is attached to the isembaye shrine, once the king is aware of your going there".
Lion was very angry! "Despite all my struggles for four days on the road of isembaye shrine?" he challenged the king violently. "Either you agree or not, as from today, I am the king of all animals, and we will definitely create the animal kingdom".
In annoyance, Lion angrily entered into the bush and started living there, and some animals followed him. But some remained in the town and decided to continue living with human beings.
After some times, Mr Tortoise came back to life and gently got back on his feet, but painfully, his back had seriously broken due to the numerous beatings he received from Mr Lion and Dog.
Since that day and till date, Lion and some other animals had been living in the bush while some are living with man in town, examples of which include, Goat, Dog, Dock, e.t.c. And also since then, the back of Tortoise had remained broken till today.
THE END!
Written and published by,
Odunayo Ogunmodede
isaacodunayo35@gmail.com
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