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In the beginning of the world in those days, all living things were equal. So, one day, Lion went to marry a Lioness, and Lioness became pregnant.

Now Lioness had a friend, a bird called Agbigbi, who was also a friend of Crow. Agbigbi went to see Crow and said that his friend Lioness was about to give birth. When Lioness gave birth, she called Agbigbi and Crow and said to them, "Now I have nothing to eat."

Agbigbi sent word to Hunter to come and take out a speck of dirt from his eye. When Hunter came, he asked him to kill an animal for him, so he could give it to his friend, Lioness. Hunter went to kill a demoje1. Now, when Hunter brought the demoje, Agbigbi carried it quickly to Lioness.

Delighted, Lioness ate for three days. Then she said to Agbigbi, "I've finished this meat. Can you kill another animal for me?" Agbigbi went to ask Hunter to kill another animal. This time, Hunter killed an elephant and again, Agbigbi carried it directly to Lioness.

Lioness ate the elephant for nine days. When there was no more meat, Lioness asked for more. But now Agbigbi said, "Now your children are grown, you can go out to hunt for yourself."

Now, at the place where Lioness gave birth to her children, there was a fruit tree where Agbigbi came every day to eat fruit. During the absence of their mother, the Lion cubs walked about near the tree, and they too ate its fruit. One day, they caught Agbigbi. They ate him until there was only a little left.

When their mother returned, they gave her some of the meat. Curious, the mother then said, "What meat is this?" One of the children answered, "It is Agbigbi's meat." The mother said, "I did everything I could to trap Agbigbi and I never could, and you, my children, did it. Agbigbi was my friend, but all the same I am going to eat this meat."

After several days, Hunter came to see Lioness. Now, the place where Agbigbi was killed was also the place where Hunter came to spy on the antelope. So, when he saw Lioness. He said, "Is it here you stay?" Lioness said, "Yes, this is my home." When the children came to eat, Hunter shot at them and he killed two of them. Good.

When Lioness returned, she looked for the children. She looked for them until she came to the tree, and there she saw the blood and skins of the baby lions. She went and hid behind the tree. Now, Hunter did not know that Lioness was there. So when he climbed down from the tree, in revenge, Lioness seized him and killed him.

That is why today, when a lion sees a hunter he eats him.

1. An unidentified feline.

Return to: Ancient Lore