Once upon a time, in a small village nestled by the rivers of the Yoruba land, there lived a woman named Olamide and her son, Temidayo. Temidayo was no ordinary boy—he had magical powers. He could find water when all the rivers had dried up, and he could perform feats that seemed impossible. He was also a very skilled hunter, known far and wide for his sharp aim and quick reflexes.
But in the dense forest surrounding their village, there was a troublesome beast—a fearsome creature with the same magical abilities as Temidayo. This beast had the power to shape-shift, and it often took the form of a buffalo to deceive people.
One day, Temidayo ventured into the forest to hunt. As he walked deeper into the wilderness, he spotted a large buffalo grazing quietly. With swift precision, Temidayo aimed his bow and shot the buffalo. But to his surprise, the buffalo didn’t fall dead. Instead, it transformed into a man. Temidayo, realizing the danger, quickly shot the man with another arrow, and this time, the man fell to the ground, lifeless.
The man was, in fact, the troublesome beast that haunted the forest. Temidayo cut open the man’s body and took out his heart. He buried the rest of the body and carried the heart back to his mother.
He handed the heart to Olamide and told her to take great care of it. "Keep it in the sun each day, and make sure it stays dry. Not a drop of water should touch it, or something terrible will happen," he warned her.
Olamide did as she was told, keeping the heart safe for many days. But one day, when she went to the market, she left the heart out in the sun. That afternoon, a heavy rainstorm poured down, and the heart got soaked.
When Temidayo returned home, he found that the heart had transformed into a beautiful woman. Olamide was stunned and could not explain how this had happened. The woman, with her grace and charm, wandered into the village, and everyone, including the chief, marveled at her beauty. Soon, the woman had many suitors, all of whom wanted to marry her. But she was undecided and told the men that she would test their skills.
She gathered seven baskets full of sand and lined them up, making a challenge. "If anyone can shoot an arrow through all seven baskets, he will be the one I marry," she declared.
The men came, including the chief, who was eager to win her favor. He took his bow and fired arrow after arrow, but none of them pierced all seven baskets. No one could do it.
Word of the challenge reached Temidayo, and he decided to try his ase. When he arrived, he stood before the seven baskets, took his bow, and before shooting, he cast a spell. He plucked a strand of hair from the woman's head and tied it around the arrow.
He whispered, “It should go through one. It should go through two. It should go through three. It should go through four. It should go through five. It should go through six. It should go through seven.”
With a sharp twang, the arrow flew through all seven baskets. But the people, doubtful of his abilities, asked Temidayo to do it again.
Temidayo repeated the process, taking another strand of hair from the woman’s head and tying it around the arrow. He murmured the same chant: “It should go through one. It should go through two. It should go through three. It should go through four. It should go through five. It should go through six. It should go through seven.”
The arrow went through all seven baskets once again.
Now, the people believed him, and Temidayo won the woman’s heart. She realized that Temidayo had the strength, skill, and magic to defeat the enchanted beast that had once been disguised as a man and then a buffalo. She decided to marry him, but her plans for revenge were already in motion.
Temidayo married the woman, but they did not sleep in the same room, despite being married. Temidayo knew her true nature and the danger she posed. He was always on alert.
One night, as Temidayo rested in his bed, he saw his wife transform into a hyena and slink toward him. But Temidayo, quick-witted, turned himself into a wall, and the hyena, thinking he was not there, left.
On another night, she turned herself into a deadly python and slithered toward his bed, but Temidayo turned into a tiny fly on the wall. The python couldn’t see him, and it slithered past.
This continued night after night—no matter how many times the woman transformed into different creatures, Temidayo always evaded her grasp.
One day, Temidayo went to his farm and asked his wife to bring him food. When she arrived, she found him alone, and in a fit of rage, she turned into an bald eagle and swooped down to attack him. But Temidayo quickly transformed into fire. The bald eagle could not approach the fire, and she had to retreat.
From that day on, whenever the bush was ablaze, people would see the bald eagle circling above, searching for Temidayo. But Temidayo was always one step ahead, and the bald eagle could never find him.
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