Ndra drio risi ‘ba azini ni ni ndra
e’yo aluni ku. ‘Ba azi ni ni ndra
ori saza ni ya, kani bongo soza
ni ya, kani ata cumacuma
edeza ni yaani aluni ku.
Te ondoa dria ndra mungu
mungua a’a pi ‘bua iriti alea ri
vu. Mba ndra ondoa ma ta kilili
emvua alea.
Long long ago people didn’t
know anything. They didn’t
know how to plant crops, or
how to weave cloth, or how to
make iron tools.
The god Nyame up in the sky
had all the wisdom of the world.
He kept it safe in a clay pot.
O’du alu mungu mungua ‘da
ega e’yo emvua ondoa be ri
fezu Ibio dri.
O’du dria Ibio ka angu ne
emvua ‘nde ma alea ‘bo eri e’yo
azi o’di ni oni te. E’yo ‘da ndri di
Ibio ni fudri ci.
One day, Nyame decided that
he would give the pot of
wisdom to Anansi.
Every time Anansi looked in the
clay pot, he learned something
new. It was so exciting!
Ibio endra be tu ri e’do e’yo ega
kini, “ma nga emvua ‘di ma ta
mba kilili pati ezu ni ma sia ‘bua
‘dale. Eri nga di ovu pi mani
a’dule.
Ede di wizi izu ra, tra eri emvua
‘da ma rua kurumu, ombe di eri
ima alea.
E’do di tu pati sia. Te pati tuza
emvu be alea ri eca erini ewa
ewa. Emvua ri eri kumuti ogba
ogba.
Greedy Anansi thought, “I’ll
keep the pot safe at the top of a
tall tree. Then I can have it all
to myself!”
He spun a long thread, wound it
round the clay pot, and tied it to
his stomach.
He began to climb the tree. But
it was hard climbing the tree
with the pot bumping him in the
knees all the time.
Ibio ni ri ria dri ci ria ‘dile, eri
ma mvi gaa ri so de pa pati
etia, ri ima ati ni ne. Nga ‘yo
ima ati ni kini, “Cika te mini
emvua ‘di ombezu mi ma
ngukua ka mini tuzu ndo kuya?”
Ibio o’bi di emvua nde oti ima
ngukua ra, nga di pati tuza esu
ewa kokoru.
All the time Anansi’s young son
had been standing at the
bottom of the tree watching. He
said, “Wouldn’t it be easier to
climb if you tied the pot to your
back instead?”
Anansi tried tying the clay pot
full of wisdom to his back, and it
really was a lot easier.
Ca di pati sia ‘bua lilia‘daa
mbele ru.
Te e’do e’yo ega kini, “ Ma ta ce
mbele ni ovu ondoa dria be ma
‘i ya ri, te ma mvi ni ‘di mani
ondoru nde ni ‘doo!”
Awoko nya Ibio ni e’yo ‘disi ra
e’be emvua ‘da pati sia ri si
vaa.
In no time he reached the top of
the tree.
But then he stopped and
thought, “I’m supposed to be
the one with all the wisdom,
and here my son was cleverer
than me!”
Anansi was so angry about this
that he threw the clay pot down
out of the tree.
Emvua nde andi ‘i kpelekpele.
Ondoa nga di ‘i ere‘ba dria yi
vu.
‘Ba dria oni di amvu ‘yazu,
bongo sozu, cumacuma yi
edezu, azi ndundu ‘bayini ngale
doria ra ‘diyi yezu.
It smashed into pieces on the
ground. The wisdom was free
for everyone to share.
And that is how people learned
to farm, to weave cloth, to
make iron tools, and all the
other things that people know
how to do.
