Wole and the Dangerous Snake

Long time ago, there was a village called Atete. A very big snake had been terrorizing the people of the village for some months, killing children, animals and anything you can think of.

Things got so bad that the king, Olowo-are ordered the town-crier to proclaim that anybody that was able to kill the dangerous snake will be rewarded with a hundred bags of cowries and fifty bags of gold. Nobody was able to come forward with an idea that could end the terror of this snake.

One day, a man named Oluwole remembered as he was lying on his back, how his taught him the art of shooting arrows with bow. This man was so skilled in shooting that he had in the past killed a lion with arrows. All the people around him advised that he should not try such a risky adventure but he was so courageous that he could not give up.

Oluwole went to the king and declare that he was ready to take the risk of attempting to kill the dangerous snake. So the king prayed for him together with all the village people as he started his journey into the forest where the snake lived, with tears rolling down on their cheeks believing that Oluwole will never make it back to the village.

On reaching the abode of the snake, Oluwole shot his first arrow at the snake but missed. The snake started raging, rolling up and down and uprooting trees. Oluwole had to run away, not back to the village but to a distance to prepare a second attack.

Oluwole came back and shot the second arrow, this time he hit the snake but not exactly at the point he targeted so his effort was met with a more serious outrage by the wounded snake. He ran away again to prepare for another attack. This time, Oluwole’s shot was so accurate that the arrow penetrated the snake’s body and came out from the other side. The snake finally died.

Oluwole cut the snake’s head and took it to the village as evidence. The whole village celebrated the courage of Oluwole and the end of the snake’s terror. He was rewarded as promised by the king and as made king after the death of Olowo-are because the people saw in him the leadership qualities. He, thereafter lived happily with his wife and children.

LESSONS
· It takes determination and courage to achieve our goals in life,
· It’s not always possible to succeed in our first attempt, so if we fail, we should try again until we succeed.
· Our parents, grand-parents and the elders around us always have something important to teach us so we should find time to be close to them.