In a village nestled between rolling hills and dense forests, there lived a palm nut cutter who cherished his family above all earthly treasures. His wife brought him comfort, but his daughter brought him joy that sparkled like morning dew. This little girl, with eyes bright as stars and a spirit bold as thunder, would often accompany her father on short visits within the village, proudly carrying his raffia bag slung across her chest as if she were a grown boy ready for adventure.
The Forbidden Forest
But the palm nut cutter’s work demanded that he venture deep into the forest during daylight hours, searching for trees heavy with ripe, golden fruits. Each time he prepared to leave, his daughter’s heart would break like a clay pot dropped on stone. Tears would stream down her cheeks as she ran after him, her small feet pattering against the earth, begging with all the desperation of a child’s love to accompany him into the wilderness.
“My mother,” her father would say with gentle firmness, using the term of endearment that showed his deep affection, “you cannot come with me to the forest. You’re too young to accompany me into such danger. Besides, there’s terror lurking in those shadows. The eye that sees the lion flees from it.”
His warnings fell on ears deafened by stubborn curiosity. Every sunrise brought the same scene: tears, pleas, and her father’s unwavering refusal. But children’s determination often surpasses adult wisdom, and one fateful day, she secretly followed him into the forbidden green depths.
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The Secret Shadow
The morning air hung thick with mist as the palm nut cutter climbed a towering palm tree, his weathered hands gripping the rough bark with practiced ease. He harvested a heavy cluster of nuts, and as he turned to throw the bunch down, his blood ran cold. There below stood his precious daughter, her small figure dwarfed by the massive tree trunk. Had he not been vigilant, the heavy cluster would have struck her head like a falling stone. With quick reflexes born of fatherly love, he flung the nuts far aside, scrambled down the tree, and carried his trembling daughter home.
The palm nut cutter’s worry deepened like shadows at sunset, for everyone in the village knew of the man-eating lion that prowled the forest outskirts. This beast had grown bold with hunger, sneaking into the village under cover of darkness to snatch children from their beds. When no children could be found on the playgrounds, it would hunt adults with ruthless efficiency. The desperate villagers had pleaded with their chief to send hunters into the forest, but fear had made him weak, and he refused, watching helplessly as the lion’s reign of terror continued.
The Heart of Harvest Season
During the peak of harvest season, when palm nuts hung heavy and golden like precious jewels, the palm nut cutter made the difficult decision to remain home for two weeks, guarding his family with the fierce protectiveness of a father’s love. But as the days passed, restlessness gnawed at him like hunger. The thought of his crop rotting away while his family faced potential starvation drove him back into the forest.
Once again, his daughter’s curiosity proved stronger than her father’s warnings. She followed him secretly, her small feet silent on the forest floor, but in the maze of green shadows and twisted paths, she lost sight of him. Panic seized her heart as she searched desperately, moving from tree to tree, peering under thick bushes, following animal tracks that led nowhere. For half a day she wandered, calling his name into the indifferent wilderness, until fate brought her face to face with her worst nightmare.
Into the Lion’s Den
The man-eating lion emerged from the shadows like death itself, its golden eyes gleaming with predatory satisfaction. Without hesitation, it captured the terrified child and carried her deep into the forest’s heart, to a secret place where few humans had ever ventured. At this hidden spot, the lion removed a carefully arranged cluster of plants, revealing a perfectly camouflaged hole that opened into an underground passage leading to its lair.
The lion pushed the girl down into the darkness and followed, sealing the entrance behind them with the plant covering. What she saw below ground chilled her to the bone: a house constructed entirely of human bones, gleaming white in the dim light. Seven rooms stretched before them, each one a monument to the lion’s countless victims. The beast dragged her to the final room, where he poured palm oil into a massive pot capable of holding three tins of the precious liquid. He placed the pot on a stone hearth, lit a roaring fire beneath it, and settled down to sleep, confident in his underground fortress.
The Escape Plan
The little girl watched the oil begin to bubble and boil, steam rising like ghostly fingers in the bone-white chamber. Terror filled her heart, but she forced herself to remain calm, remembering her father’s words: “The eye that sees a lion flees from it.” She had gotten herself into this terrible situation through her own disobedience; now she must find a way out through her own courage and cleverness.
Fighting against exhaustion and fear, she waited until the lion’s snores rattled the bone walls like thunder in a storm. Moving with the silent grace of a shadow, she tiptoed from the room and began her carefully planned escape. One by one, she opened doors and stepped through, closing each one behind her to avoid creating suspicious drafts. When she reached the fourth room, inspiration struck. She fashioned a stick as tall as herself, sharpening one end to a deadly point and planting the other firmly in the ground. Then she opened the last three doors but left them hanging wide, creating a clear path for her pursuer.
Racing down the passage to the hidden entrance, she punched through the plant covering, lifted herself out of the underground tomb, and carefully replaced the camouflage. Then she ran as if her very soul depended on it, not stopping until she reached the safety of her parents’ arms.
The Lion’s Fury and Doom
The lion awakened to find his meal had vanished. “My god! My meat has escaped,” he snarled at the bubbling pot, his voice echoing through the bone chambers. “Well, where can it go? How far can it get? I’ll follow and overtake the thing easily.”
Room by room, he searched with growing fury, his rage building like a storm. When he threw his massive weight against the fourth door and saw what appeared to be the girl’s silhouette, he released a thunderous growl that shook dust from the bone ceiling. With all his predatory might, he pounced on the figure, only to impale himself on the sharpened stick. The great terror of the forest died instantly, breathing his last breath while cursing the clever little human who had outwitted him.
Vindication and Victory
Safe at home, the girl recounted her harrowing adventure to her amazed parents. Her father, summoning every ounce of courage in his trembling heart, loaded his Dane gun and asked his daughter to guide him to the secret lair. Together, they confirmed the lion’s death, and the father rushed to the palace to inform their chief.
“My child, the one who went missing, the one I thought the lion had devoured, has returned,” he announced breathlessly. “She killed the wild beast that has been terrorizing our village. You should send men to retrieve the carcass.”
But the chief, stubborn in his disbelief, refused to accept this miraculous news. “What you’re telling me is a lie,” he scolded harshly. “You know the penalty for deceiving your chief about something this important is death.”
The villagers, who had mourned the child’s disappearance for seven long days, began questioning their leader’s judgment. “This child was missing, and we grieved for her,” they argued. “Now you call her father a liar? Where could she have hidden for a week without being spotted? A chief can only rule because of his people’s support. When a madman walks naked, it is his kinsmen who feel ashamed. This brave little girl saved all of us. We only ask that you send your ntsendia to verify her story.”
The Truth Revealed
Humiliated by his people’s wisdom, the chief finally blew his horn, summoning all the villagers to witness the truth. They followed the girl and her father to the hidden entrance in the forest. Before their astonished eyes, she removed the plant covering, descended into the underground chamber, and led them through the seven bone-walled rooms to the final chamber, where the pot of palm oil still bubbled over the fire.
The villagers carried the massive lion back to their village, where it was ceremonially slaughtered and its meat shared among all the people. Following ancient custom, the head and skin were presented to the palace, marking the end of the terror that had haunted their community for so long.
The Moral Lesson
This powerful Beba folktale teaches us that courage and quick thinking can triumph over seemingly impossible odds. The little girl’s bravery demonstrates that even the smallest and youngest among us can become heroes when faced with dire circumstances. Her story reminds us that disobedience may lead to danger, but resourcefulness, calm thinking under pressure, and the willingness to take responsibility for our actions can transform potential tragedy into victory. The tale also critiques poor leadership and shows how a community’s faith in truth and justice can overcome a leader’s stubborn pride.
Knowledge Check
Q: What was the palm nut cutter’s main concern about his daughter in this Beba folktale? A: The palm nut cutter feared for his daughter’s safety because a man-eating lion terrorized their village, particularly targeting children, and she persistently wanted to follow him into the dangerous forest.
Q: How did the little girl escape from the lion’s underground house? A: She waited for the lion to fall asleep, then carefully moved through the seven bone-built rooms, created a sharpened stick decoy in the fourth room, and escaped through the camouflaged entrance while leaving doors open for the lion to follow.
Q: What cultural elements from Cameroon appear in this African folktale? A: The story includes Beba cultural elements such as palm nut harvesting, raffia bags, Dane guns, the term “Mbeh” for chief, ntsendia (messengers), and traditional customs of presenting lion heads and skins to the palace.
Q: Why did the village chief initially refuse to believe the girl’s story? A: The chief was skeptical because the story seemed impossible that a small child could kill the feared man-eating lion that had terrorized the village and that grown men were afraid to hunt.
Q: What does the saying “The eye that sees the lion flees from it” symbolize in this folktale? A: This proverb represents the natural human instinct for self-preservation and serves as a warning about recognizing and avoiding dangerous situations, which ironically the girl had to overcome to survive.
Q: What lesson does this Cameroon folktale teach about leadership and community? A: The story teaches that good leadership requires listening to people and investigating truth rather than dismissing it, and that a community’s collective wisdom and support for truth can overcome a leader’s stubbornness and poor judgment.
Source: The sacred door and other stories: Cameroon folktales of the Beba (1st ed.). Ohio University Press.
