Why the Elephant Has Small Eyes and the Worm NoneAuthor(s): M. D. W. JeffreysSource: Folklore, Vol. 64, No. 4 (Dec., 1953), pp. 488-489Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of Folklore Enterprises, Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1257875 .

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488 Collectanea WHY THE ELEPHANT HAS SMALL EYES AND

THE WORM NONE

THE following " Just so Story " is one of a number that I collected while in the Calabar Province during the years 1924-27. It was current among the Efik.

Chief Elephant was a cruel animal. All small and weak animals were very much afraid of him. Many times he would go into their farms and destroy their crops. Or, at reaping time, root up everything forhimself. Yet when the planting season came round though all the other animals indus- triously prepared their farms Chief Elephant was lazy and planted nothing.

Mr. Tortoise divined Chief Elephant's intention, namely that he aimed at eating up other people's farms. Hence Mr. Tortoise prepared his farm at a distant place unknown to anyone except himself. His other friends were not so wise and were at the mercy of the elephant. That year the crops on all the various farms were better than they had ever been, and there was no famine.

Chief Elephant began his old habit again. He went about digging up other people's farms but he could not discover Mr. Tortoise's farm. So he went to Mr. Bat and promised him his daughter in marriage provided Mr. Bat would tell where Mr. Tortoise had his farm. Mr. Bat consented. So he went to Mr. Tortoise suggesting that they should become friends. Mr. Tortoise agreed. All went well for a time and Mr. Tortoise was unaware of Mr. Bat's intentions. One day Mr. Bat plied Mr. Tortoise with so much palm wine that Mr. Tortoise in a drunken state revealed the place where his farm was.

Mr. Bat then lead Chief Elephant to the spot and secured the elephant's daughter as a wife.

The following morning when Mr. Tortoise arrived at his farm he found Chief Elephant there digging up his root crops. He was very angry but said nothing lest he annoy Chief Elephant because he knew what would happen then. Chief Elephant carried away almost half of the crops. Although Mr. Tortoise appeared to show patience and restraint, he cunningly and secretly planned his revenge.

On a market day he went early to the market and bought some ekom nuts (Coula edulis). He returned with these and sat down on the roadside leading to the market, he reckoned that Chief Elephant would soon pass by to sell the yams he had stolen from people's farms. Passers-by saw Mr. Tortoise sitting by the roadside chewing his nuts with gusto. As he chewed he closed one of his eyes to give the impression that there was nothing so pleasant to eat in all the world as that which he was chewing. Every now and then a passer-by would ask Mr. Tortoise what it was that he was chewing. Mr. Tortoise replied that he was chewing one of his eyes, and that it was very, very nice. They knew he was deceiving them, so they continued on their way to the market.

Presently Chief Elephant came along. He also noticed Mr. Tortoise chewing something apparently very delicious so he went up to him and began talking to him.

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Collectanea 489 " What are you chewing Mr. Tortoise? " " One of my eyes." " Why do you screw up your face so? " " Because my eye is so delicious that I cannot help but let all people

know how delicious it is. I have never tasted anything nicer." " Will you please let me have a morsel to chew? " " I am sorry to say that as I have been chewing this one for a very long

time its sweetness has almost gone. You will believe me if you can get an eye to chew. But please understand that nobody's eyes will be at all tasteful to you except your own. Each has to eat his own eyes in order to get this sweetness which I am getting out of mine."

" Well Mr. Tortoise, pull out my left eye and let me taste what it is like."

Mr. Tortoise did so with a sharp pointed knife that he had in his pocket, but instead of putting the eye into the Chief Elephant's mouth, he slipped in an ekom nut. Chief elephant chewed it and said:

" Mr. Tortoise, this is very nice indeed. Your word is really true, I never tasted anything so nice in all my life."

" Did I not tell you so? There is nothing so nice." " I have finished eating this, please pull out the other eye also." " No, leave that for seeing your way to the market." " Pull it out, otherwise I'll kill you." " I cannot unless you call some witnesses." So Chief Elephant went and brought Messrs. Cane-Rat, Squirrel and

Worm, as witnesses. Mr. Tortoise then took out Chief Elephant's other eye and gave him another nut to eat. Chief Elephant was now blind. After this episode Mr. Tortoise, departing from Chief Elephant, stood a short distance off and reminded him of his greed and of how he had robbed other people's farms, and said this blindness was a just reward for his evil deeds. Leaving Chief Elephant standing there Mr. Tortoise then carried away all the things that Chief Elephant had stolen from him and sold them in the market.

Chief Elephant could get no one to lend him a pair of eyes. He wept bitterly at the roadside yet no one pitied him. Mr. Worm, being a kind hearted person, at last had compassion on Chief Elephant and lent him his eyes so that Chief Elephant could go to the market. When Chief Elephant returned from the market he refused to return Mr. Worm's eyes to him. So that is why the elephant has such small eyes and the worm no eyes at all. M. D. W. JEFFREYS

GRAVE CUSTOM IN 1949 at Bettws Y Crwyn near Clun, Shropshire, I noticed two neatly kept graves with a row of whelk shells and white pebbles down the centre of each. The friend that was with me said that he had seen them on graves in other places on the Welsh border, Montgomery, Forden, Oakengates.

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