28. The Princess Who Could Not Speak

There was once an Ọba (ruler) in a town called Akeke, in a faraway land, who had several wives. The Ọba of Akeke was very rich and famous, and he had everything he could wish for, except for one thing. He did not have any children.

“Why can’t I have children even if it’s just one child?” he kept on saying. “I’ll stop at nothing until I do so!”

The Ọba did all he could – spent money and time to rectify the situation; he sought all sorts of help, money not being an object.

Finally, his wish came true; he had a daughter. The Ọba was overjoyed that he got too carried away when telling people about his good luck.

“I’m going to name her Kikẹlọmọ, and she’ll live up to that name. She must be taken very good care of. Her wish will be our command. I order you all, including my ayaba to wait hand and foot on her, to be ready to do anything for her, to be her slaves in short!”

The ayaba (Ọba’s wives), excluding Kikẹlọmọ’s mother, were not happy about this development. They were not only jealous but also resentful of Kikẹlọmọ’s position – three of them in particular.

The Ọba spoilt Kikẹlọmọ rotten. She was not allowed to do anything except eat, drink and play. Everyone was at her beck and call, became her slave. However, all of this did not affect Kikẹlọmọ’s character unduly, because she had her mother to point her in the right direction; her mother was always talking to her about good character among other things.

“I must make sure that Kikẹlọmọ doesn’t grow into a spoilt brat. I must make sure that I instil the right values in her as she grows up …”.

This was not too difficult for the mother who was of good character herself. In fact, her virtues far outweighed her bad points.
She was well-liked at the palace, unlike some of the other ayaba.

Kikẹlọmọ did grow into a good girl, unspoilt. The other ayaba were very jealous of both mother and daughter – more so that those two were everyone’s favourite at the palace where the other ayaba were not popular at all. Nobody was aware of whatever was going on in the minds of these women.

“Let’s wait and see. We can still have children – male children at that. No matter how much the Ọba loves Kikẹlọmọ she still won’t inherit the throne”.

“But if the Ọba dies, and there is no male heir, if Kikẹ marries, her husband will be Ọba. So, she must not marry, because we can’t allow that”.

The Ọba was well aware of the implications of having a daughter as his heir but was not bothered by it. He was grateful that he had a child at all, especially after waiting for so long. When the time came for Kikẹlọmọ to marry he would just have to make sure he chose the right husband for her – someone who would be worthy of taking his place as the Ọba.

Kikẹlọmọ grew up fast and became a beautiful woman. She was tall and slim, very light in complex, like her father and she had lovely, dazzling eyes like her mother. Her teeth were sparkling white, and her eji (gap in the middle) enhanced her beauty.

As Kikẹlọmọ approached the age when she was expected to get married, men flocked the Ọba’s palace for her hand in marriage from far and near without even knowing or wanting to know her first, or to court her, as very often happened in those days. These were men from different walks of life, titled and untitled, including Ọba, princes, titled men such as Chiefs, as well as rich and prosperous, renowned, and well-placed men.

The other ayaba were jealous of all the attention these men were showing Kikẹlọmọ. None of them got that before they married the Ọba. They were jealous and afraid that one day one of these suitors would become the Ọba with Kikẹlọmọ as his bride unless there was a male heir.

It was indeed true that, at that time, parents, especially fathers, chose husbands for their daughters, but there were a few women who rejected this custom, and who chose whomever they wanted. It was also very common for the suitors to approach the fathers to ask for their daughter’s hands in marriage without asking the women themselves.

Kikẹlọmọ turned down all the men. She wanted to marry for love similarly to some other women, and did not fancy any of them.

“How can I marry someone I don’t know or have never even met? Never! I want the man I marry to love me for myself, and not because he thinks I’m beautiful, or because I’m a ‘Princess’ (Ọmọba)!”

The Ọba did not force the issue; after all, had he not always granted Kikẹlọmọ’s wishes ever since she was born? However, he had an idea of whom he would like his daughter to marry and was hoping that she would fall in love with such a person.

“An Ọba from another town or one of my ijoyes (officials) will be the ideal husband for Kikẹlọmọ. Their alliance can only be a good thing; it can bring friendship between us, and I won’t need to worry about who will ascend my throne if I don’t have a male heir. Anyway, it doesn’t matter whom she marries, as long as she’s happy and well…”.

Unfortunately, another fate awaited Kikẹlọmọ. She fell ill suddenly.

The Ọba spent practically all his money on her recovery.

“What’s wrong with Kikẹlọmọ?” he kept on asking all the different doctors that he called upon, but none of them could really pinpoint the nature of her illness.

The other ayaba were happy thinking that Kikẹlọmọ might not recover, although they pretended otherwise, and joined in with everyone else in doing what they could to help her recover from her illness.

“Kikẹlọmọ must be kept company. Take it in turns to sit in her room sometimes during the day to talk to her, cheer her up – keep her mind off her illness”, the Ọba said to his ayaba, and of course Kikẹlọmọ’s mother was never far away from her daughter. The other ayaba normally went to Kikẹlọmọ’s room to be with her at a certain time of the day – to sit around for a while.

Just like Kikẹlọmọ became suddenly ill, she started getting better. When she seemed to be recovering three of the ayaba could not believe it and plotted to kill her.

“She can’t keep on living! Something else must happen to her to prevent her from marrying, otherwise we’ll have to kill her. We’ll not allow her to marry!” they said among themselves.

The three ayaba normally went to Kikẹlọmọ’s room at a certain time of the day, pretending that they were there to cheer her up, keep her mind off her illness as the Ọba wanted. One day they got there and did not find her there.

“Where’s Kikẹlọmọ?” one of them asked Kikẹlọmọ’s maid whom they came across.

“I saw her going for a walk. You know that she’s been feeling much better recently. She’s definitely on her way to recovering, thank God!” she replied, but she was wrong; she had mistaken Kikẹlọmọ for someone else. Kikẹlọmọ was actually in her inner chamber doing one or two things.

Unaware of this the ayaba decided to wait for her to come back.

“Let’s just go and sit in her room in the meantime. I’m sure she’ll be back soon”.

This was how it happened that as Kikẹlọmọ was going back to her room from the inner chamber she overheard the ayaba plotting to kill her.

“It looks as if Kikẹlọmọ is finally recovering from her illness. She’s even walking around on her own now…”.

“Yes, but we can’t allow that to happen”.

“It’s true. I thought we were going to see the end of her when she became ill.”

“Well, since that’s not the case, we have to put an end to it ourselves”.

“Unless something else was to happen to her – you know another illness”.

“If not an illness, perhaps something else that may make her less desirable to all these men flocking the palace”.

“It’s true. Let’s wait a while and see before we strike. Maybe something else will happen to her…”.

Kikẹlọmọ was so shocked and frightened by what she had just heard that she did not know what to do. Should she stay where she was or confront the wome – say something to them, so they would know that she had overheard them? Would that be a safe thing to do? In the end she decided on staying where she was. She just sat down on the floor head bowed rocking herself.

“This can’t be true. These women had always treated her as if she were their daughter.

In the meantime, the ayaba stayed in the room a while longer and finally left. After they left Kikẹlọmọ crept out and rushed to her mother’s room.

One look at her and her mother knew that there was something wrong.

“What’s the matter my dear?”

Kikẹ tried and tried to answer her but no words came out.

The mother screamed and everyone around came running. Kikẹlọmọ was taken to the Ọba immediately but she could not report the ayaba to anyone or try to get away; she could not speak anymore; she was dumb. The Ọba was devastated and sent for her doctors immediately.

“There’s no medical explanation for what has happened to Kikẹlọmọ – to why she has become dumb”, they said one by one.

“So, this’s what Kikẹlọmọ’s illness has led to? So, this’s the prize she has to pay for recovering from her illness?” the Ọba lamented, and after some time he asked them again:

“Are we to believe that her illness if responsible for this?”

The doctors had no answers, but they started to ask questions about what could have gone wrong to make Kikẹlọmọ suddenly dumb.

“Did anything or anyone upset her recently?”

“Did she receive a shock of some sort? It sometimes happens. Sometimes a shock can bring on something like this”.

“The only person who can answer all this is Kikẹlọmọ herself, and unfortunately she can’t speak. But we will talk to everyone at the palace and see if they’re aware of anything at all. Things can’t go on like this. Supposing her dumbness isn’t as a result of her illness? I must make sure that my daughter, the only child I’ve, speaks again, even if it’s the last thing I do!”

People at the palace were questioned and questioned, but nobody could come up with anything, except Kikẹlọmọ’s mother.

“Kikẹ rushed to my room yesterday and looked terribly upset. When I asked her what was wrong, she tried and tried to answer, but no words came out”.

“What could have upset or shocked her?” the Ọba asked.

“I don’t know. She would have been resting in her room in the afternoon, but apparently, she wasn’t there when three of the ayaba went to sit with her as they’ve been doing during her recovery. Apparently, someone had seen her walking on the premises. If I couldn’t get her to speak to me then, I doubt if she’ll be able to say anything to anybody now”.

“Let’s hear what the three ayaba have to say. Maybe they can throw light on the matter”, the Ọba said, and immediately went to look for the three women.

“Kikẹlọmọ wasn’t in her room when we got there”, one of them said. “We waited in her room for a while, and when she still hadn’t come back, we left”.

“We didn’t see anyone around or notice anything”.

After hearing this, the Ọba was more determined to find a solution to his daughter’s dumbness – to find someone to make her speak again.

“I must make sure that my daughter speaks again, even if it’s the last thing I do!” he promised himself yet again.

From then on everything was done to find a solution to Kikẹlọmọ’s dumbness, and everyone at the palace was concerned including the three ayaba who were pretending to be, of course. Many Babalawo (medicine men), specialists, and people with the knowledge of ways of treating illnesses handed down to them were consulted and all kind of remedies were used, to no avail. The Ọba was ready to spend any amount of money on Kikẹlọmọ and continued to so without batting an eyelid. Yet Kikẹlọmọ could not speak.

The ayaba were happy by the turn of events and decided not to go ahead with their plans for killing Kikẹlọmọ, because “How many men would want to marry a dumb woman?” they were thinking. “What’s going to happen to her now that she’s dumb?”

Indeed, men stopped flocking the palace to ask for Kikẹlọmọ’s hand in marriage and the ayaba were of course happy about her fate.

“We don’t need to worry about her anymore”.

It was a sore point for everyone at the palace – for the Ọba and Kikẹlọmọ’s mother, especially. The three ayaba pretended as if they too were not happy with Kikẹlọmọ’s fate, to such an extent that even if Kikẹlọmọ had been able to talk, nobody would have believed that the ayaba were capable of wanting to kill her. Indeed, the ayaba’s pretence was what brought on Kikẹlọmọ’s loss of speech; she was so deeply shocked.

The Ọba learnt a good lesson from Kikẹlọmọ’s predicament.

“Kikẹlọmọ was right to have turned down all those men who came to me for her hand in marriage, and to want to marry for love. They were after her only because of her beauty and the fact that she’s a princess. They didn’t even want to know her or court her. They want to marry her for the wrong reasons, and parents should learn from it; they should not force any man on their daughters. Someone who really cares about her and loves her wouldn’t mind that she is dumb. I hope such a person comes along whether she speaks again or not. She deserves that after all she’s been through”, he said to himself.

The Ọba thought and thought about how to get Kikẹlọmọ to speak again and decided to summon the whole town to the palace.

“I want everyone to gather together at the palace in seven days’ time, to see how we can get Kikẹlọmọ to speak again”.

In those days, Ọbas played an important role in the day-to-day lives of their subjects, being called upon to settle disputes – no matter how small or inconsequential. An Ọba was expected to solve mysteries of any kind that baffled his subjects. However, if he himself could not find a solution any problem that baffled him, even after consulting his counsellors he was known to summon everybody in his town – men and women, young and old – to a meeting, to discuss the matter, and resolve it one way or the other. Sometimes a town crier would be sent to the townspeople and nearby towns to announce that anyone who believed they could solve a particular problem to should come forward.

As soon as the Ọba’s request was heard from the town crier people who believed they had all kinds of power flocked to the palace to try their luck – to try their hands at getting Kikẹlọmọ to speak again – many people from different walks of life, including market sellers.

After the seven days and the people had gathered round, the Ọba stated the case.

“As you may all have heard, Kikẹlọmọ has become dumb, and nobody knows why. I believe that this position can be reversed, and people have already tried to do so. If there’s anyone who can bring back Kikẹlọmọ’s voice I’m prepared to divide my worldly possessions into two and give one half to him or her”.

The Ọba and his advisers noticed that there were market sellers among the people.

“Maybe this’s what Kikẹlọmọ needs, Kabiyesi! A different kind of life – away from the palace – from the glamour, luxury…” one of the Ọba’s advisers said to the Ọba. “The novelty of it may help her. She’ll experience different things among these market people. You know, market life is interesting. Market sellers are generally known to be a cheerful lot – to be supportive of each other, although some of them are none of these things because their bahaviour is appaling. For example, there are those who are jealous because others have more buyers. There is quarrelling, rivalry….’omo-alata’ (fishwives) behaviour. Who knows Kikẹlọmọ may want to interact with some of these people!”

The Ọba was ready to try anything new and decided to listen to what these market sellers had to say first and foremost. They were asking the

Ọba to let Kikẹlọmọ stay with them for a while and he agreed.

The first market seller that the Ọba allowed Kikẹlọmọ to stay with was a cloth-seller. Unfortunately, nothing happened, and Kikẹlọmọ returned to the palace. The Ọba still did not give up, and allowed Kikẹlọmọ to stay with three more market sellers, one after the other, each trying their best and failing: a beeds-seller, a meat-seller.

“Let me try, Kabiyesi”, another market seller – seller of vegetables including peppers (alata) offered.

Unfortunately, that was in vain as well.

The Ọba refused to give up and was willing to listen to anyone else who believed that they could make Kikẹlọmọ speak again. It was after this that a man nicknamed Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan (no one person possesses wisdom) went to the Ọba saying that he wanted to try.

“Kabiyesi! I believe I can make Kikẹlọmọ speak again”.

“Is that so?” Kabiyesi replied. “Don’t you know how many people have tried? What’s different about you?”

“I won’t say anything now, but I’m not nicknamed Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan for nothing”.

“Come back and see me, and we’ll talk”, the Ọba said and decided to find out more about him.

“Who’s this man? Has anyone heard of him before? I can understand others who have tried because they believe that they’ve the powers to make Kikẹlọmọ speak again, such as doctors, specialists, babalwo. We’ve also let Kikẹlọmọ live with people of humble means because we believed that a change of lifestyle might help her and nothing happened. What’s this man putting his trust in? Go and find out about him!”

“He’s a poor man that most people have never heard of in this town, Kabiyesi. He’s not from the families of Ọba, ijoye and titled men. He doesn’t come from babalawo or from people who believed they have special powers. He’s nicknamed Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan because he believes that no one person possesses wisdom.

When Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan came back to the palace again the Ọba was sceptical because of what he had heard about him.

“He’s just going to waste my time”.

“Kabiyesi! I’ve come back as you’ve asked me to. Are you going to let me try to make Kikẹlọmọ speak again?”

“I don’t know. Tell me what you’ve in mind, that no one else has”.

“You’ll see, Kabiyesi! I can assure you that I’ll succeed”.

The Ọba had nothing more to say, so Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan left the palace. However, he kept on coming back, putting pressure on the Ọba to let him try his luck.

“Let him try, Kabiyesi! There’s no harm in his trying. Maybe he’s not called Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan for nothing!” the ijoye advised the Ọba.
The Ọba finally agreed and invited Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan to come and discuss the matter with him.

Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan might be poor, and not come from a renowed family but he was a very intelligent man, well-liked and respected where he came from. He had a sharp and inquisitive mind. People sought his advice on things because he was a shrewd, knowledgeable and broad-minded man, and they always valued his advice. He was a responsible, good-natured man. He was also charming and good-looking, and women were attracted to him. However, Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan was always on his guard when it came to the opposite sex. He knew exactly what he wanted and was prepared to wait until he got it.

Unknown to anyone Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan had been a secret admirer of Kikẹlọmọ. He had heard about her, had seen her from afar, heard her talking to some people at a gathering but had not known how to approach her – how to compete with all the other men. He was not rich but knew that even though that did not stop some other men in his situation from trying their luck, that in the long run the Ọba would prefer his daughter to marry another Ọba or ijoye.

“How do I expect the Ọba to approve of my hand in marriage to Kikẹlọmọ or that Kikẹlọmọ would want me for her husband? Besides I’d prefer to be introduced to Kikẹlọmọ in person, get to know her, and if we happen to fall in love, all the better!”

Kikẹlọmọ was beautiful but Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan was not the type of man who would want to marry someone just for her looks. He had to love the woman he married.

Since Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan had been asking the Ọba to let him try his luck with Kikẹlọmọ, he had been thinking and thinking about how to bring about the change in her. He knew that her dumbness could not be explained medically and believed that something must have brought it about.

“Supposing she heard something that shocked her to silence, and I can reverse the situation by saying something to her that would shock her and force her to reply, but what?”

After the discussion between the Ọba and Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan it was decided that Kikẹlọmọ should move in with Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan for some time.

“Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan noticed that Kikẹlọmọ was not at ease. It was as if something was troubling her, so he decided to lighten the mood straight away when they got to his house and continued to do so. He was very friendly to her; he would say funny, sometimes outrageous things to make her laugh or at least smile – for example: “I’m not a doctor, but I’d like to examine you – check your eyes, your mouth etc.” He would talk to her, with his arms around her, asking questions, trying to find out what had happened. He got to know her and teased her a lot.
Kikẹlọmọ found herself liking him immediately. Even though she could not speak she started opening up to him, enjoying herself in his company. He talked to her about all kinds of things he had experienced with people, including women – sometimes funny things that made Kikẹlọmọ laugh. He got to know her – studied her moods. He sometimes pretended that he was her husband.

He also prayed for her fervently.

However, all he achieved was to get to know Kikẹlọmọ like he had always wanted and to gradually fall in love with her and she with him but he still did not get her to speak. Then he decided to focus on his theory that Kikẹ must have received a shock, and that another shock might reverse the situation.

“I’ve to think of something that may shock her – something shocking – something that will make her want to protest badly”.

Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan was full of thoughts of how to bring this about and suddenly an idea came to him. He went and bought some honey, took it to his house, and said to Kikẹlọmọ:

“Kikẹlọmọ, I need to go away for a couple of days. A friend of mine is coming to collect this bottle of honey. It’s a very special honey with considerale health benefits, and it’s not easily available. I’ve been very lucky to get hold of a whole bottle. Put it in the spare room where I usually keep important things, lock the door, and keep the key with you so that nobody goes in there”.

Unknown to Kikẹlọmọ the spare room had another door leading to the outside of the house which was no longer in use and was indeed covered by a decorative mat. Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan did not travel anywhere; he just went to stay with a friend who was nearby. That was how he came back to his house in the middle of the night entered the spare room with the key of the back door which was still in his possession, to eat some of the honey. Everywhere was quiet – no sign of anybody around – and Kikẹlọmọ was fast asleep and did not wake up. Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan repeated the same thing the following night and there was less than half of the honey left.

The following morning Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan came back looking like someone who had been travelling.

“I’m back! I’ve missed you.” He rushed to embrace Kikẹlọmọ and she returned the embrace warmly. They were obviously happy to see each other again. They exchanged a few more words, and then Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan said:

“Bring the honey I gave you to keep for me, please. I’m expecting my friend any minute now”.

Kikẹlọmọ went quickly to her bedroom where she kept the key to the spare room, unlocked the spare room door, took the bottle of honey and was surprised to find less than half of it left. She reeled from the thought of it.

“Am I sleeping? Am I dreaming?” she asked, pinching herself. “This can’t be the same bottle I put here two days ago, or is it? The bottle was full, why is there less than half left? I’m the only one who has a key to this room – who knows where the key is. The door doesn’t have two doors, and nobody else lives here with us, so how come?”

“Bring the bottle, Kikẹlọmọ. Can’t you find it?”

Kikẹlọmọ still did not come out quickly. She was thinking:

“What’s Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan going to say when he finds out that less than half of the honey’s gone. Help! I’m in trouble. This’s a set up, but who’d do this to me? Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan knows me well by now. Surely, he’s not going to think that I stole the honey? Surely, he too will be baffled by the whole thing?”

“Hurry up Kikẹlọmọ! The honey’s owner is going to come any minute now”.

Kikẹlọmọ came out of her room slowly, head down, her eyes full of tears, and red, the bottle of honey in her hand. She looked like someone who was being forced to do something they did not want to.

When Kikẹlọmọ gave Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan the bottle and he saw that half of it was gone, he shouted:

“What Kikẹlọmọ! So, you’re a thief?”

Without waiting for an answer, he rushed out of the house, screaming:

“Kikẹlọmọ is a thief everyone. She’s stolen my honey, an Ọmọba – a whole princess!”

Kikẹlọmọ rushed after him shaking her head in protest, but Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan paid no heed to her.

“Why don’t you admit it? Didn’t you steal my honey? You’re just pretending, shaking your head, looking on the ground. You must be a master thief, otherwise why is there less than half of the bottle of honey left? You must have eaten it! I gave you the key to the room; nobody else lives here. I haven’t been at home for the past two days since I gave the honey to you. You’d better start thinking of what you did with it whilst I go and look for a heavy stick to beat you with. I’ll teach you a lesson today, and I’m sure you’ll never do it again!”

By now a lot of people had gathered around the two of them, and Kikẹlọmọ felt deeply ashamed and humiliated. She was completely overthrown by Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan’s reaction, by all the things that he was saying. He had accused her of stealing the honey. Kikẹ was so distressed and shocked that this could be happening – that the man she had grown to love was doing this to her, that she started praying that she could speak and deny it, so she would be free of being called a liar. It hurt her deeply to be taken for a thief.

“How could all this be happening to me? How could Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan treat me like this – this man who has been kind to me, who seems to love me and understand me? How could he react in this way? This’s not the man I’ve got to know over the weeks. To make matters worse he’s threatened to strike me if I don’t admit that I stole the honey and he’s gone to look around for a heavy stick”.

The people around were afraid for Kikẹlọmọ, and started to say one after the other:

“Why don’t you admit it, Kikẹlọmọ?”

“Isn’t it better to tell the truth and be alive than to lie so that Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan doesn’t hurt you?”

“How could you spoil your good name and the Ọba’s good name?”

Kikẹlọmọ shook her head vigorously again and again.

“What actually happened?” another person asked.

“Yes, I’ll prove to you all that I’m accused of something I haven’t done. I will do it! I will do it! I’ll not allow anyone to treat me like this”, Kikẹlọmọ kept on thinking and thinking”. She was so determined to do so, and by the time Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan came back with a big stick, and was about to strike her, her determination striggered something off in her.

“How can this man that I’ve grown to know, like and love, and who seemed to return those feelings turn wild like this and want to strike me, especially in full view of everyone?” She just could not believe it.

This was like adding insult to injury and something broke in her; she just snapped and found that she could move her tongue and form some words. That was how she started to sing, to the amazement of everyone around:

Kikẹ o j’oyin la Kikẹ hasn’t stolen any honey
Kinkin.
Kikẹ o j’oyin la
Kinkin.
Mo ti b’alaṣọ gbele, I’ve lived with a cloth seller
Kinkin.
Alaṣọ o pe mo gb’aṣọ , The cloth-seller has not accused me of stealing her cloths
Kinkin
Mo ti b’ẹlẹran gbele, I’ve lived with a meat-s seller
Ẹlẹran o pe mo gb’ẹran , The meat-seller has not accused me of stealing his meat
Kinkin.
Mo ti bonilẹkẹ gbele, I’ve lived with a beads-seller
Kinkin.
Onilẹkẹ o p mo gbe ilẹkẹ, The beads-seller has not accused me of stealing her beads
Kinkin.
Kikẹ o joyin la,
Kinkin.
Kikẹ o joyin la,
Kinkin.

“Kikẹlọmọ is speaking again! Ọba’s daughter is speaking again! Kikẹlọmọ has found her voice again! Congratulations Kikẹlọmọ!” the people hailed, forgetting about Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan’s accusation. Their hearts were full of joy.

No matter how full of joy Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan was for what had happened, he was not happy to leave it like that. He did not want Kikẹlọmọ to stop talking, so he continued to call her a thief.

“You’re a thief! You’re a thief! I’m taking you back to the palace”, he shouted, dragging her along, and Kikẹlọmọ started to protest, talking and singing the same song:

Kikẹ o j’oyin la Kikẹ hasn’t stolen any honey
Kinkin.
Kikẹ o j’oyin la
Kinkin.
Mo ti b’alaṣọ gbele, I’ve lived with a cloth seller
Kinkin.
Alaṣọ o pe mo gb’aṣọ , The cloth-seller has not accused me of stealing her cloths
Kinkin
Mo ti b’ẹlẹran gbele, I’ve lived with a meat-s seller
Ẹlẹran o pe mo gb’ẹran , The meat-seller has not accused me of stealing his meat
Kinkin.
Mo ti bonilẹkẹ gbele, I’ve lived with a beads-seller
Kinkin.
Onilẹkẹ o p mo gbe ilẹkẹ, The beads-seller has not accused me of stealing her beads
Kinkin.
Kikẹ o joyin la,
Kinkin.
Kikẹ o joyin la,
Kinkin.

“I didn’t steal any honey. I’m not a thief. Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan is lying. I don’t know what happened to the honey. I’ve stayed with other people before and none of them have accused me of stealing their things – clothes, beeds, meat, ata. Imagine that!”

In the meantime, word had reached the Ọba that Kikilomo had regained her speech. The Ọba could not believe his ears. He thought he was dreaming.

“My daughter can speak again? Are you sure? My Kikẹlọmọ can speak again? I don’t believe it until I see her and hear her with my own ears”.
As the Ọba was saying this, he suddenly heard a loud noise. Kikẹlọmọ was being dragged before him amidst a huge crowd which included drummers and trumpeters. Kikẹlọmọ was indeed speaking; she was speaking with all her might, protesting that she had not stolen anything, whilst Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan kept on accusing her, not wanting her to stop speaking. When she looked up and saw her father, she burst into tears, and started singing:

Kikẹ o j’oyin la Kikẹ hasn’t stolen any honey
Kinkin.
Kikẹ o j’oyin la
Kinkin.
Mo ti b’alaṣọ gbele, I’ve lived with a cloth seller
Kinkin.
Alaṣọ o pe mo gb’aṣọ , The cloth-seller has not accused me of stealing her cloths
Kinkin
Mo ti b’ẹlẹran gbele, I’ve lived with a meat-s seller
Ẹlẹran o pe mo gb’ẹran , The meat-seller has not accused me of stealing his meat
Kinkin.
Mo ti bonilẹkẹ gbele, I’ve lived with a beads-seller
Kinkin.
Onilẹkẹ o p mo gbe ilẹkẹ, The beads-seller has not accused me of stealing her beads
Kinkin.
Kikẹ o joyin la,
Kinkin.
Kikẹ o joyin la,
Kinkin.

The Ọba gathered her in his arms:

“Everything’s all right, Kikẹlọmọ. You haven’t done anything wrong. You haven’t stolen anything. You can speak again! You can speak again! Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan had to do what he did to make you speak again! Don’t hold it against him!”

By now Kikẹlọmọ had worked out what had happened. She suddenly found all the pent-up emotions of anger and bewilderment that Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan’s behaviour had evoked in her dissipating when he took her in his arms.

“Forgive me. I didn’t mean to hurt you – to put you through what you went through. I love you, and will never let anything like this happen to you again”.

“I love you too. I didn’t believe that you could do this to me, but I’m all right now”.

The two of them could not hide their feelings for each other.

“I can also tell everyone what happened to me in the first place”.

Everyone was shocked to hear what had happened to Kikẹlọmọ. The Ọba commanded that the three ayaba be brought before him. They denied the accusation of course and tried to run away from the people around who wanted to attack them. However, the Ọba put a stop to it.

“Just lock the three of them up for now until they are put on trial. It’s enough for me that Kikẹlọmọ can speak again.
“Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan, I’m going to divide my worldly possessions into two and give one part to you. I’m also going to give Kikẹlọmọ to you for your wife because I can see that you’re attracted to each other and would want to get married”.

Kikẹlọmọ and Ọgbọnoṣetẹnikan were very happy because they had grown to love each other and wanted nothing more than to marry.