There once lived a woman who had three sons. These sons were very much
attached to their mother and always tried to please her. She at last
grew very old and feeble. The three sons began to think what they could
do to give her great pleasure. The eldest promised that when she was
dead he would cut a fine sepulchre in stone for her. The second said he
would make a beautiful coffin. The youngest said, “I will go and get
the tail of the princess elephant and put it in the coffin with her.”
This promise was by far the hardest one to keep.
Soon after this their mother died. The youngest son immediately set out
on his search, not knowing in the least where he would be likely to
find the tail. He travelled for three weeks, and at the end of that
time he came to a little village. There he met an old woman, who seemed
very much surprised to see him. She said no human creature had ever
been there before. The boy told the tale of his search for the princess
elephant. The old woman replied that this village was the home of all
the elephants, and the princess slept there every night. But she warned
him that if the animals saw him they would kill him. The young man
begged her to hide him—which she did, in a great pile of wood.
She also told him that when the elephants were all asleep he must get
up and go to the eastern corner. There he would find the princess. He
must walk boldly over, cut off the tail and return in the same manner.
If he were to walk stealthily, the elephants would waken and seize him.
The animals returned as it was growing dark. They said at once that
they smelt a human being. The old woman assured them that they were
mistaken. Their supper was ready, so they ate it and went to bed.
In the middle of the night the young man got up and walked boldly
across to where the princess slept. He cut off the tail and returned as
he had come. He then started for home, carrying the tail very
carefully.
When daylight came the elephants awoke. One said he had dreamed that
the princess’s tail was stolen. The others beat him for thinking such a
thing. A second said he also had had the dream, and he also was beaten.
The wisest of the elephants then suggested that they might do well to
go and see if the dream were true. This they did. They found the
princess fast asleep and quite ignorant of the loss of her tail. They
wakened her and all started off in chase of the young man.
They travelled so quickly that in a few hours they came in sight of
him. He was afraid when he saw them coming and cried out to his
favourite idol (which he always carried in his hair), “O my juju Depor!
What shall I do?” The juju advised him to throw the branch of a tree
over his shoulder. This he did and it immediately grew up into a huge
tree, which blocked the path of the elephants. They stopped and began
to eat up the tree—which took them some little time.
Then they continued their way again. Again the young man cried, “O my
juju Depor! What shall I do?” “Throw that corn-cob behind you,”
answered the juju. The lad did so, and the corn-cob immediately grew
into a large field of maize.
The elephants ate their way through the maize, but when they arrived at
the other side they found that the boy had reached home. So they had to
give up the chase and return to their village. The princess, however,
refused to do so, saying, “I will return when I have punished this
impudent fellow.”
She thereupon changed herself into a very beautiful maiden, and taking
a calabash cymbal in her hand approached the village. All the people
came out to admire this lovely girl.
She had it proclaimed through the village that whoever succeeded in
shooting an arrow at the cymbal should have her for a bride. The young
men all tried and failed. An old man standing by said, “If only
Kwesi—the cutter of the princess elephant’s tail—were here, he could
hit the cymbal.” “Then Kwesi is the man I will marry,” replied the
maiden, “whether he hit the cymbal or not.”
Kwesi was quickly fetched from the field where he was ploughing, and
told of his good luck. He, however, was not at all delighted to hear of
it, as he suspected the maiden of some trick.
However, he came and shot an arrow which struck the centre of the
cymbal. The damsel and he were accordingly married. She was all the
time preparing to punish him.
The night following their marriage she turned into an elephant, while
Kwesi was asleep. She then prepared to kill him, but Kwesi awoke in
time. He called, “O my juju Depor! Save me!” The juju turned him into a
grass mat lying on the bed and the princess could not find him. She was
most annoyed and next morning asked him where he had been all night.
“While you were an elephant I was the mat you lay on,” replied Kwesi.
The damsel took all the mats from the bed and burned them.
Next night the princess again became an elephant and prepared to kill
her husband. This time the juju changed him into a needle and his wife
could not find him. She again asked him in the morning where he had
been. Hearing that the juju had helped him again she determined to get
hold of the idol and destroy it.
Next day Kwesi was going again to his farm to plough a field. He told
his wife to bring him some food to the resting-place. This time she had
fairly made up her mind that he should not escape. When he had had his
food she said, “Now lay your head in my lap and sleep.” Kwesi quite
forgot that his juju was hidden in his hair and did as she bid. As soon
as he was asleep she took the juju out of his hair and threw it into a
great fire which she had prepared. Kwesi awoke to find her an elephant
once more. In great fear he cried out, “O my juju Depor! What am I to
do?” All the answer he got, however, came from the flames. “I am
burning, I am burning, I am burning.” Kwesi called again for help and
the juju replied, “Lift up your arms as if you were flying.” He did so
and turned into a hawk.
That is the reason why hawks are so often seen flying in the smoke of
fires. They are looking for their lost juju.