Once upon a time, all animals envied human beings; they all wanted to be like man. They were fascinated by the social, economic and political activities that man could do. But however they tried, they failed woefully. This made them to gather for a meeting at the palace of their leader –lion, the king of all animals. They wanted him to find a lasting solution to their problem.
Lion greeted them and asked everybody to go and return the next seven days when they would take a final decision on the issue. On the seventh day, they agreed to send an emissary to God stating their problem and requesting for solution. The Eagle who was swift and powerful as a flying creature went on their behalf. God told them to gather and meet him on a high mountain after seven days. He (God) had prepared a special oil in a calabash which when they rubbed on their bodies, would change them to human beings.
On the fifth day, they filed out in a row on a journey to the said mountain dancing, jumping and singing with ecstasy:
We will become human beings today
Yes, become human beings today
Much was their joy that they danced and jumped for two days on the road. They told every human being they met on their way that by the following day, they would be at par with human beings. Before they could remember the instruction given by God, it was late in the night of the seventh day. They ran with full capacity to the mountain. However, sun had dried up the oil inside the calabash and they were seriously dejected. They fought, tore and broke the calabash into pieces. It was only the apes who could catch the pieces and they managed to scratch their faces, palms, feet and some other parts of their bodies with the pieces. This resulted in a minor changes in these body parts like that of man. As they were returning from the mountain, some hunters who had set ambush with their guns and cutlasses were able to catch some birds, goats, sheep and other animals that are domesticated today.
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