How Mbe Won a Chieftaincy Title

Mbe the Tortoise was poor and desired a chieftaincy title. The king declared that the prestigious title of "Eze Ji" (The Yam King) would be given to the man who could present the largest single yam at the New Yam Festival. All the farmers brought their biggest yams, but a wealthy farmer had a yam so large it had to be carried by six men. Mbe knew he could not win fairly. On the night before the festival, he burrowed under the wealthy farmer's barn and hollowed out the giant yam, eating the insides and leaving only a thin shell. He then crawled inside the yam himself. The next day, the farmer proudly presented the giant yam to the king. When the king's servants tried to cut it, they found it was hollow, and out crawled Mbe. "A yam so great it has a spirit of its own!" the people shouted in amazement. Mbe then announced, "I am the spirit of this yam! This title belongs to me!" The king and the elders were so awed by this apparent miracle that they had no choice but to grant the title to the cunning tortoise.