Long ago, as soon as babies were born they would start talking. In a certain village there was a mother who left her baby sleeping and went to the garden. While she was away, a neighbour came to borrow some fire. She knocked on the door but there was no one. She entered the house and she saw the baby sleeping. She also saw roasted meat hanging by the fire place. The meat looked so delicious so she decided to take a bite and find out if it tasted as good as it looked. When she tasted the meat, it was so delicious! The neighbour immediately started thinking of how to carry the meat out without anyone seeing her. By this time the baby was watching everything the woman was doing. The neighbour wrapped the whole piece in a bag, but when she was sneaking out, she saw the mother coming. She went and hid behind the house before she was seen. The mother entered and went to cook food in the kitchen. When she looked up where she had put the roasted meat, there was nothing. “Oh! Where is the meat that was hanging here?” she asked the baby.“Mummy, let me tell you what happened,” the baby said, “the other woman who is our neigbour came to collect fire and said that she was going to taste the meat, but she took all the meat in her bag.” Since the neighbour did not want to be caught, she quickly made a plan that would make the baby stop talking until it grew up and had forgotten everything. The mother was so furious, so she went to the neighbour’s house. At that moment, the neighbour entered the house again with a piece of raw yam. She rubbed it on the tongue of the baby immediately the baby stopped talking. Since that day, babies never talk until theyhave grown up. Ends
