The singing leaf

Once upon a time, there lived a man who had two sons.

The elder son was a drummer, while the younger one was a singer. Because of their talents, they were often invited to perform at parties and ceremonies.

One day, they were invited to perform at a particular party. As the younger brother began to sing, the people were so impressed that they started spraying money on him. They also sprayed money on the elder brother who was playing the drum.

After the party, when they counted the money, the younger brother had ₦50,000, while the elder brother had only ₦30,000.

As they were going home, jealousy entered the heart of the elder brother. On the way, he tricked his younger brother into entering the bush with him. There, he collected all the money from him, killed him, and buried him in the bush.

He returned home feeling satisfied, believing that everything had been settled.

When he got home, their father asked about the whereabouts of his younger brother. The elder brother pretended to know nothing. He said that after the party, he did not see him again and thought he had already gone home.

The father cried. The family searched everywhere for the missing son, but he was nowhere to be found. Days passed, weeks passed, and months passed, yet there was no sign of him.

One day, after many months, a woman was passing through the bush. As she walked, her eyes caught fresh waterleaf growing in one spot. She moved closer and bent down to pluck it. Suddenly, the waterleaf began to sing:

Mummy, don’t pluck it,

Mummy, don’t pluck it.

They gave me ₦50,000,

They gave him ₦30,000.

Wicked brother killed me,

Wicked brother killed me.

The woman was shocked and terrified. She dropped everything and ran as fast as her legs could carry her.

As she was running, she met a man on the way. The man asked her why she was running, and she explained everything she had seen and heard. The man did not believe her, so they both went back to the bush together.

When they got there, the man bent down to pluck the waterleaf. Immediately, it began to sing again, saying the same words. The man was shocked and knew this was no ordinary thing.

They both ran to the king and reported everything that had happened. The king said he had never seen such a thing before, so he followed them to the bush with his chiefs.

When they arrived, the king also bent down to pluck the waterleaf. The leaf started singing again:

King, don’t pluck it,

King, don’t pluck it.

They gave me ₦50,000,

They gave him ₦30,000.

Wicked brother killed me,

Wicked brother killed me.

As soon as the king heard the voice, he recognized it. It was the voice of the young musician who had been missing for months.

The king immediately ordered that the elder brother be brought to the palace. When he arrived, he denied the accusation at first. But when he was questioned further, he confessed to killing his younger brother out of jealousy.

The king then ordered that the elder brother should also be killed.

And so, justice was served.

The end.