The Tortoise and the Snake

Ijapa the tortoise went on a long walk. He walked very far and
got very tired. Ijapa was very hungry too.

Ijapa came to the village where Ojola, the boa snake, lived. Ijapa
thought, “I am so hungry, I will stop here. Ojola will surely
give me food to eat.”

Ijapa went to Ojola’s house and Ojola welcomed him. They sat
in the cool house and talked. Ijapa smelled food cooking in the
other part of the house. Ojola said, “Come, let us get ready to
eat together.”

Ijapa went outside to prepare for the meal. When he came back,
the food was placed in the center of the house and Ijapa smelled
the aroma. But the tortoise could not reach the food. The snake
was coiled all around it. Ijapa got more and more hungry.

Ojola the snake said, “Come sit with me and eat.”
Ijapa said, “I would be very happy to sit and eat. But Ojola, why
are you surrounding the meal?”

Ojola replied, “This is the way of the snakes. When we eat, we
sit around the food like this.” Ojola ate and ate of the food, but
Ijapa could not get it at all. Ojola finished eating at last. He said
to Ijapa, “How good it is to eat with a friend.”

Ijapa was even hungrier after the meal than when he came to
Ojola’s house. He felt much in his heart about what happened.

Ijapa decided to invite Ojola to his house for a meal on a feast
day. Ijapa’s wife prepared all the foods and Ijapa went out to
weave a long tail for himself out of grass. He stuck it on with
tree gum.

Ojola arrived to share the feast. The tortoise welcomed him and
said, “You have come a long way and you are hungry.” Ojola
went to wash at a spring and when he returned to Ijapa’s
house, he saw Ijapa was already eating. Ijapa had coiled his long
grass tail all around the food. Ojola could not get near enough to
eat. Ijapa heartily ate the food.

Around and around Ojola went. He could not get to the food.
“Ijapa,” the snake said, “how is it that you used to be so short
and now you are so very long?”

“One person learns from another,” Ijapa said.

Source:- Belief Net