SEBWUGUGU

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Picture of Sebwugugu with his wife

Once upon a time, there was a man called Sebwugugu. He got married and stayed together with his wife for long. After some time, drought ravaged their country, people migrated, and situation became very harsh. One day, wife of Sebwugugu went around in the hunt for foodstuff and she came across a rock producing peas within its cavities.

Rock producing peas with a basket

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She puts her basket in front of the cavity of rock, then

she left it there, when she returned to the rock the basket was full. She took it and cooked peas, whilst Sebwugugu hopelessly came at home, his wife served him.

Sebwugugu eating

Sebwugugu got very surprised, and asked his wife:

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“Where have you got these peas, the gorgeous wife?” The wife said: “I went around bushes and found out a rock with a cavity, producing peas one by one. I left basket there and went back, the basket was full, then I came home to cook, so my handsome husband please eat till you feel satisfied. God remembered us, and we can no longer die.” Sebwugugu ate and got satisfied, in the morning the wife went back to the rock and she did the same. After a week wife doing likewise, Sebwugu said: “Let’s go together”, the wife replied back: “Come with me.”

Sebwugugu and his wife on the rockWhen they got to the rock, Sebwugugu found out that peas were coming from the crack but they were coming

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so slightly one by one, then he said to his wife: “These peas are coming very slowly so lets bake the point of my lance so that I can make this narrow cavity wider. Then peas could come sizably, as we don’t need to hang around for entire day.” Worriedly the wife said to him: “eh, Sebwugugu, finally you will chase by yourself, do you know who dug this hole in this rock.” Sebwugugu snarled so violently to her: “Shut up, that is women’s nature!” then he set fire, when the fire was geared up, he placed the point of his lance on the fire, baked it till it became red.

A geared up fireHe penetrated his lance in the cavity that was producing

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peas to make it wider, afterward, he set off. In morning, the wife of Sebwugugu went back to the rock and she found out that peas became black due to the heat. The wife went back home with empty hands. As she went back, she breathed to herself: “What a husband I have; he made me having my back to the wall. I had become free from hunger but his so called knack spoiled eve-rything. No matter he will face consequences as well. ” When the wife reached home, she kept silent, took all her belongings, then she absconded without any spe-cific destination.

A wife with luggage on a long journey

On her way she got to a place which was lying in tatter, there was a gourd, when she tried to collect squash veg-etables, she found squash fruits.

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Cucurbitaceae

She collected squash fruits, cooked, ate and become so happy, then she said: “The husband was about to ruin my life but God intervened.” When Sebwugugu passed three days without seeing his wife, he journeyed into unknown places trying to find his wife. He travelled for three days, by afternoon he found her, when the wife saw him, she was very delighted, and she served him because he was in critical condition due to extreme starvation. Sebwugugu remained there with his wife just eating squash fruits. One day Sebwugugu realized that the bush was about to spill over the gourd then he said to his wife: “I spend the whole day lying around, so let me get rid of this bush surrounding the gourd.”

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Sebwugugu cutting and discarding the bushAfter turning ear deaf to his wife’s advice, Sebwugugu set off toward the bush, he cut and discarded it and went back home. And said to his wife: “Do you see; now the gourd is nice because the bush was cut and you can easily collect squash.” Then after two days, the gourd started blemishing. When Sebwugugu was cutting the bush, he cut its roots as well. In a week, the squash was completely dried. For the second time, she left her husband and run away, on her way she got to an abandoned king palace. Inhabitants of that place had fled due to a ferocious wild animal who used to hunt people. The wife found many corpses of people who were killed by the animal. When she saw those corpses she immediately became aware of the situation, but because she was very hungry, she entered the house and found it full of foodstuffs, she cooked, ate, and by night she climbed to the roof and stayed there. By midnight a wild animal came carrying a dead person that it had killed. It entered the house and by scent it said: “uh… there is a human scent in here. Is there anyone in here to help me drop this stuff?

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The wife with the animal

When the wife heard what it was saying, she absolute-ly kept silent. The animal ate the dead person that it brought, then slept. By dawn, the animal went back to hunt. When the wife of Sebwugugu realized its rou-tine, she said: “I will be successful to survive from here; it merely requires me to be cautious.” For the second day, it went likewise. Meanwhile, Sebwugugu was jour-neying into unknown, and after a month he found out her wife. When the wife saw him, she said to him: “You are extremely impatient and here it is different.

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Here is a ferocious wild animal that has killed many people and others fled because of him. It comes every night with a dead person; we have to be very cautious. I spend the night sleeping on the roof, every morning when it leaves I get down, prepare food, eat and then go back to the roof. After three days Sebwugugu went so impatient and said: “I am going to sharpen my axe, I will show it how strong I am.” The wife forbade him but he finally turned deaf ear to his wife’s advice. Seb-wugugu sharpened his axe, and climbed with it on the roof, took cover and waited for the arrival of the ani-mal. When it arrived, it said: “There is a human scent in here, could someone come and help drop this stuff?” Sebwugugu said: “I am coming to help you.” While he was descending, the animal immediately captured him and killed him. After eating him, it said: “This man cannot be alone.”

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The animal capturing Sebwugugu

It said: “I must eat his wife as well.” By its upper limb, it climbed toward the roof searching for the wife. When the wife realized that it was almost her last minute, she at once felt stronger than usual and took the axe left by his husband and struck the animal on the head, the animal dropped down as a stone. Then the wife went down and took out a drum, trumpeted by announcing that she killed the animal which chased all inhabitants. When they came back along with the king, they got surprised by the heroism of that woman. The king offered her a cattle and land, at last, the king crowned her and married her as his previous wives were killed by the animal.