How Ijapa got his Shell

You see, Ijapa had NEVER done an honest day’s work in his whole life! 🙈

Instead of working, he played tricks on his friends and begged for food. He was sneaky but also very funny! When his tricks backfired, he’d fall flat on his face and everyone would laugh. (SPLAT! 🤣)

But now the famine was getting worse. Ijapa’s belly was rumbling. (RUMBLE RUMBLE!)

“I NEED FOOD!” he cried. “But I don’t want to work for it. Hmmm… maybe I can go to Idaha and BEG for food instead!”

“I’ll just look around first,” he planned. “Find the best stalls with the yummiest food!”

Idaha Market was extra special every four days. That was MARKET DAY! 🎪 Everyone came to sell and buy.

Ijapa decided to visit the day BEFORE market day, so he could sneak around quietly. On his way, he walked through a forest FULL of palm trees.

“Ooooh, look at all these palm-nuts on the ground!” Ijapa said. “Someone could get RICH selling these!”

He thought about it for a second… then shook his head. “NAH! Too much work! BORING! 😝”

As Ijapa walked, he passed by a BIG, beautiful palace. 👑

“That’s where the Ọba (king) lives!” he whispered. “They have plenty of food there. If only I could stay here forever…”

When he reached the market, Ijapa saw SO many stalls! Fruit stalls, vegetable stalls, meat stalls… his tummy did a happy dance! 💃

“Tomorrow I’ll come back and charm these stall owners,” he grinned. “They’ll GIVE me food, I just know it!”

The next day was MARKET DAY! 🎉 Ijapa went back, passing the same palm forest.

“Palm-nuts, palm-nuts,” he muttered. “So much work… NOT FOR ME!”

At the market, it was BUSY BUSY BUSY! People were shouting, “Buy my yams! Fresh tomatoes here!”

Then… SNIFF SNIFF! 👃 What was that AMAZING smell?

Roasted groundnuts! Ijapa spotted Iya-Ẹlẹpa (the groundnut lady) at a corner stall. Her groundnuts smelled SO good, Ijapa’s mouth started watering. (DROOL! 💧)

“I MUST taste those groundnuts!” Ijapa decided.

“Hooray! Today’s my lucky day!” Ijapa cheered. Roasted groundnuts were his FAVOURITE! ❤️

He watched Iya-Ẹlẹpa work. She roasted groundnuts in a big pot, stirring with a wooden spoon. She sang while she worked:

“Ẹlẹ́pà yíyan ré o! Ẹwa bà mi rà n’bẹ!” (Roasted groundnuts for sale! Come and buy some!)

A long line of customers formed. Ijapa’s eyes grew wide. “So many people want her groundnuts!”

“How can I get some?” he wondered. Then he smacked his forehead. (SMACK!) “I’ll FLATTER her!”

He joined the queue, feeling very clever. 😏

“You’re the BEST groundnut seller in the whole world!” Ijapa said sweetly. “I could smell your groundnuts from MILES away!”

But Iya-Ẹlẹpa wasn’t fooled. She’d heard about this lazy tortoise! 😠

“Flattery won’t work on me, Ijapa! If you want groundnuts, you PAY for them. But you have no money, do you?”

“Everyone knows you’re lazy and tricksy! Now GO AWAY!”

Ijapa was SO embarrassed! Everyone was staring. His face turned red as a tomato. 🍅

“Just you WAIT!” he thought angrily. “I’ll have the last laugh! I’ll eat your groundnuts if it’s the last thing I do!”

Ijapa walked around the market, visiting other stalls. The sellers were surprised to see him.

“Ijapa! What are YOU doing here?” they asked.

“Things must be REALLY bad in Magunwa if YOU’RE here!”

Ijapa made up stories. “I want to sell palm-nuts!” he lied, showing them a few nuts he’d picked up.

But nobody would lend him money. Some kind sellers gave him a piece of fruit or bread, but NO MONEY.

Ijapa sighed. “Still no roasted groundnuts! This is TERRIBLE!” 😭

“One of my favourite foods… and I can’t have any!” Ijapa grumped.

The more he thought about Iya-Ẹlẹpa’s mean words, the ANGRIER he got. His face scrunched up like a lemon. 🍋

“I WILL eat those groundnuts!” he shouted. “If I can’t BUY them, I’ll find ANOTHER way!”

⚡ MISCHIEF BREWING ⚡

Here’s a SECRET about Ijapa: he was an AMAZING drummer and singer! 🥁🎤

His music made people want to DANCE DANCE DANCE! It was magical and hypnotic.

“Why doesn’t he just become a musician?” his friends wondered. But Ijapa was too lazy to work, even doing something he loved!

Suddenly, a NAUGHTY idea popped into his head. 💡

He went to find Okete, the Giant Rat, who was famous for digging tunnels. “Okete! I need your help!”

“Dig me a tunnel!” Ijapa said. “From the forest ALL the way to Iya-Ẹlẹpa’s stall. Do a good job, and I’ll give you a whole SACK of palm-nuts!”

Okete’s eyes lit up. “PALM-NUTS?! Deal!” He LOVED palm-nuts! 🐭🥜

That night, Okete dug and dug. Ijapa gathered palm-nuts from the forest. By morning, he had a full sack!

The tunnel was PERFECT. Both ends were hidden under leaves. Nobody would ever find it! 🤫

“Excellent work!” Ijapa gave Okete his palm-nuts. “Now for PHASE TWO!”

On market day eve, Ijapa took his drum and HID in the tunnel, right under Iya-Ẹlẹpa’s stall. 🥁

Early next morning, he heard the market wake up. People were chatting, hawkers were shouting, and then…

“Ẹlẹ́pà yíyan ré o! Ẹwa bà mi rà n’bẹ!”

Iya-Ẹlẹpa was roasting groundnuts! The AMAZING smell floated down into the tunnel. SNIFF SNIFF! 👃

“She’s roasted a LOT of groundnuts,” Ijapa grinned. “Time for my plan!”

Ijapa started to drum and sing a song about Iya-Ẹlẹpa’s groundnuts:

🎵 Ẹlẹ́pà yi, Ẹlẹ́pà yi (Yonder groundnut seller)
Pẹrẹpẹrẹpeu! (Crackle, crack, crack!)
Dance freely, anywhere you like!
Pẹrẹpẹrẹpeu!
Then I’ll watch over your stall!
Pẹrẹpẹrẹpeu!
Groundnuts crack, crack, CRACK! 🥜

He sang it again and again, louder and softer, faster and slower. The music was SO catchy!

🎶 LA LA LA! 🎶

Up above, Iya-Ẹlẹpa heard the music. Her feet started tapping. TAP TAP! 👣

She swayed side to side while stirring her groundnuts. SWAY SWAY!

“What’s happening to Iya-Ẹlẹpa?” the customers laughed.

Then – DROP! She put down her spoon. DANCE! She started dancing!

Soon EVERYONE was dancing! The whole market was moving and shaking! 💃🕺

The music got louder, and the people danced AWAY from the market! They danced down the road, past the palace, all the way to the edge of town!

💨 DANCE DANCE DANCE! 💨

When the coast was CLEAR, Ijapa popped out of the tunnel. He looked left… looked right… SNEAK SNEAK! 👀

He grabbed ALL of Iya-Ẹlẹpa’s roasted groundnuts! YUM YUM! 😋

“My plan WORKED!” he giggled. He only took from her stall because other sellers had been kind.

But then he thought: “Hmm… maybe next time I’ll take from OTHER stalls too. Groundnuts alone aren’t enough!”

Far away, at the edge of town, the dancers finally stopped. They looked around, confused.

“Where are we?!” they gasped. “What happened?!”

They hurried back to the market… and found Iya-Ẹlẹpa’s stall EMPTY! All her groundnuts were GONE! 😱

“A THIEF!” she cried. “Someone stole everything!”

“You need a friend to watch your stall next time,” the others said.

So next market day, Iya-Ẹlẹpa brought her BEST friend along. “I’ll watch for the thief!” her friend promised.

But Ijapa was ready! He hid in the tunnel again. When the groundnuts were roasted and smelling YUMMY, he started singing:

🎵 Ẹlẹ́pà yi, Ẹlẹ́pà yi… Pẹrẹpẹrẹpeu! 🎵

Both women tapped their feet. They tried to resist, but the music was SO good! First they swayed… then they bopped… then they DANCED away! 💃💃

The friend completely forgot about watching for thieves!

Ijapa crept out and stole groundnuts AND food from other stalls too. “After all, I need a VARIETY!” he shrugged.

When everyone returned, MORE stalls had been robbed! “This is TERRIBLE!” they cried.

They decided to tell the Ọba (king) about the mysterious thief. 👑

The Ọba listened carefully. “How strange! People dancing away from their stalls? This must be investigated!”

The Ọba sent HUNTERS to guard the market. They were big and strong with sharp weapons. “Nobody messes with OUR market!” they boomed.

A huge crowd gathered to watch. This time, the thief would surely be caught!

But Ijapa was clever. He waited and waited. The groundnuts smelled SO good, but he stayed hidden. Finally… he couldn’t resist!

Ijapa started singing, and guess what? Even the BIG STRONG HUNTERS started dancing! They dropped their weapons and boogied away! 🕺🕺🕺

🎵 DANCE PARTY! 🎵

Ijapa stole food from EVERY stall this time. He was getting GREEDY!

When the hunters came back, they were SO embarrassed. The Ọba was FURIOUS! “You let the thief escape AGAIN?!”

“This MUST be magic!” said one of the Ọba’s advisors. “We need an Ọsanyin (a magical spirit) to help!”

A one-legged Ọsanyin named Elẹsẹkan volunteered. “I’ll catch this thief!”

The Ọba wasn’t sure. “You only have ONE leg! How can YOU catch him?”

“Just watch me!” smiled the Ọsanyin. 😊

The Ọba also sent servants to search near Iya-Ẹlẹpa’s stall. And guess what they found? The SECRET TUNNEL! 🕳️

“AHA! So THAT’S how the thief appears and disappears!”

Next market day, the servants hid near the tunnel with heavy clubs. The Ọsanyin hid too, with a RED-HOT iron spike! 🔥

Ijapa was in the tunnel, waiting. When the groundnuts were ready, he started singing again…

Everyone danced away… except the Ọsanyin (he only had one leg, so he couldn’t dance far!). When Ijapa crept out, ZAP! The hot spike stabbed his nose! 🔥👃

🐢 OUCH! YELP! SCREAM!

The servants ran out and CLUBBED Ijapa’s soft back! He had no shell to protect him! “OWWW! STOP!”

“CAUGHT YOU!” they shouted. They dragged him to the palace. Children threw stones and yelled, “THIEF! THIEF!”

At the palace, Ijapa was in BIG trouble. His back hurt SO much. 😢

“Please, Kabiyesi (Your Majesty)! Have mercy! I promise I’ll only use my music for GOOD from now on!”

The Ọba thought hard. “You’ve suffered enough. I’ll let you go. BUT – you must leave Idaha and never come back!”

Then the Ọba had an idea. “Your music is so powerful… could it make MY court dance away?”

“EASILY!” said Ijapa. “Just give me my drum!”

Ijapa stayed at the palace to heal. He got yummy food and a comfy bed. “Wow! I’m living like a KING!” 😲

A few days later, Ijapa started drumming and singing. The Ọba and his courtiers couldn’t resist! They danced and danced, right out of the palace, down the street, and the Ọba’s crown fell off! 👑💨

When they returned, the Ọba was amazed. “HOW does your music do that?!”

Ijapa explained, “I learned from a magical musician. I sing about the person and change the volume – loud, soft, loud, soft. It makes people wonder where the music comes from, and they dance away searching for it!”

The Ọba kept his promise and gave Ijapa money and gifts. “But remember – you’re BANNED from Idaha forever!”

Back home, Ijapa remembered his sore back. “I need PROTECTION!”

He used his reward money to buy a BIG, HARD shell. He strapped it on his back… and it STUCK! Forever! 🐢

“Now nobody can hurt me! I’m SAFE!” he cheered. “And from now on, I’ll WORK honestly. Maybe even start a farm!”

Whenever Ijapa feels scared, he pulls his head, legs, and tail inside his shell. Safe and sound!

🌟 THE END · Ijapa the Tortoise 🌟

Remember: It’s better to work hard than to play tricks! 😊