Olurombi Childrens
🐢 Olurombi and the Great Iroko Tree 🌳
Long, long ago in a town called Abẹlẹ, there lived a kind woman named Olurombi. She was a cloth seller, and everyone loved her smile and generous heart.
Nearby stood a giant tree called Iroko (a huge sacred wood tree). People believed it had special powers. Traders would promise gifts like goats or sheep to the tree, hoping to sell many goods at the big Makawo Market!
(WHISPER… WHOOSH…) The tree seemed mysterious, and everyone was a little afraid of not keeping promises.
Iroko was halfway between Abẹlẹ and the market. Priests called “Iroko Priests” took care of the tree and all the offerings. Nobody asked what happened to the goats and sheep. They just believed!
(BOOM!) Belief was super strong in those days.
Olurombi lived happily with her husband Jugbo (a famous wood carver) and her beautiful daughter Oluronkẹ. Oluronkẹ had shiny black hair and skin that glowed like palm oil! (✨)
But Olurombi wished for one more child — a baby boy to join the family.
“How wonderful it would be to have a son!” Olurombi would sigh. Her husband Jugbo said, “One day, my dear. Be patient.” But months passed, and no baby arrived.
Then Olurombi got a big idea! (💡 DING!)
“Maybe Iroko can help me have a baby boy!” she told her friends Sarode and Jarafe. Her friends said, “Why not? But what would you pledge? A goat is too small for a whole baby!”
Olurombi wondered and wondered. (HMMM…)
One market morning, Olurombi and her friends stopped by Iroko. Sarode pledged three goats. Jarafe pledged a lamb. Then Olurombi knelt down and cried, (😢)
“Oh Great Iroko, please give me a son! I don’t know what to pledge… I value my daughter Oluronkẹ the most. But I don’t mean to pledge her!”
The wind whispered through the leaves: (SWOOSH…) Her friends looked scared. “Did you just pledge your daughter?!” they gasped.
Olurombi wiped her tears. “I didn’t pledge anything!” But the whispering wind made her nervous. She ran home to tell her husband.
Jugbo hugged her. “Don’t worry, my dear. Iroko is just a tree. What will happen will happen.”
Months later, Olurombi discovered she was going to have a baby! “It’s Iroko’s doing!” she cheered. But Jugbo said, “No, we’re just lucky.”
Soon a beautiful baby boy was born. They named him Gberale. Oluronkẹ was so excited to be a big sister!
Olurombi stayed home to care for baby Gberale. She forgot all about Iroko. But after three months, little Gberale became sick. (😷 OH NO!)
Doctors didn’t know why. Olurombi grew worried. “Maybe Iroko is upset about the pledge…”
Soon the whole town began to sing a strange song about Olurombi. People whispered, “She pledged her own daughter!”
🎵 Here is the song they sang: 🎵
Olurombi was so sad. “I would never give up Oluronkẹ!” But Gberale stayed sick. Some selfish people said, “Give your daughter to Iroko, or the tree will be angry!” (😠)
Jugbo tried to calm her. “Nothing will happen to Oluronkẹ. Let’s think.”
Then clever Jugbo had an idea: “What if we carve a wooden doll that looks exactly like Oluronkẹ and offer that to Iroko instead?”
Olurombi’s eyes sparkled! (💖)
But brave Oluronkẹ had been listening. She didn’t believe the tree had real powers. “I will go to Iroko myself and see what the priests do!”
She hid behind bushes near Iroko’s compound. (🕵️♀️)
There she met a kind young man named Sẹgirere, the son of an Iroko Priest. He also didn’t believe in harming anyone. “I’ve never seen them hurt animals. They just pray,” he told her. (🤝)
Oluronkẹ felt happy to find a friend who thought like her!
Sẹgirere asked his father, the priest: “If someone brings a human as an offering, what happens?” The priest smiled gently. “We would never harm a human. We would send them home.”
Oluronkẹ was relieved! (😌)
Meanwhile, the Iroko Priest gave wonderful advice to Olurombi: “Your husband is a master carver. Let him carve a big doll in the shape of Oluronkẹ. Offer that to the tree as a gift of thanks.”
“Something money can’t buy!” Olurombi clapped. (👏)
Jugbo carved day and night. He made a wooden doll that looked exactly like Oluronkẹ — same smile, same glowing complexion! (🪚✨)
They dressed the doll in beautiful clothes. It looked so real!
Olurombi carried the doll to Iroko. She knelt and cried happy tears: “Great Iroko, I bring this doll instead of my daughter. Please accept my thanks and make Gberale well!”
The wind whispered through the leaves again — but this time it felt kind. (🍃💚)
A few days later, baby Gberale began to laugh and eat again! He was getting better! (🥳 YAY!)
The whole family danced with joy. Olurombi smiled and said, “I will never go near Iroko again — but I am so grateful.”
And what about Oluronkẹ and Sẹgirere? They became best friends who shared big ideas and laughed together. They knew that kindness and cleverness are more powerful than fear.
(💕 CRACK! 💕)
📖 “Offer something made with love — not something you love.”