11/05/2026
In the ancient village of Umude there lived a hunter named Otimpku.
But Otimpku was not famous for bravery.
He was famous for failure.
Whenever hunters marched proudly into the forest at dawn, their wives smiled with confidence because before sunset, meat would surely enter their kitchens.
But when Otimpku returned from hunting, even dogs refused to follow him because they already knew his bag carried only disappointment.
Children mocked him openly.
“There goes the hunter that scares animals away!”
Women whispered whenever he passed.
“If bad luck had a brother, it would be Otimpku.”
Even his fellow hunters avoided him.
Some believed his shadow frightened animals.
Others swore the spirits of the forest had cursed him before birth.
Little by little, mockery became poison in Otimpku’s heart.
Night came and passed.
Days came and passed.
Still, fortune refused to look his direction.
He visited medicine men.
He sacrificed fowls.
He washed in sacred rivers.
He rubbed herbs on his guns.
Yet the forest gave him nothing.
Even his wife, Elekebe, grew tired of hunger and shame.
One evening she shouted bitterly at him.
“A man who cannot provide is like a basket with holes. No matter how much rain falls, it remains empty!”
Those words broke him deeply.
The elders often said.
“A poor man is advised by everybody but helped by nobody “
One cold morning, before the c**k crowed, Otimpku carried his old hunting gun and entered the forest once again.
That day, the forest felt strange.
The trees stood too still.
The birds sang no songs.
Even the wind moved carefully as though hiding secrets.
As Otimpku wandered deeper into forbidden territory, he suddenly saw a magnificent antelope.
Its body glittered strangely beneath sunlight.
Its eyes burned like tiny fires.
Otimpku immediately sensed danger.
Quietly, he hid himself behind a giant anthill and watched carefully.
The antelope slowly approached an ancient iroko tree.
Then something unbelievable happened.
The creature stood upright.
Its skin loosened from its flesh like clothing being removed.
Otimpku’s body turned cold.
The antelope removed its entire skin and placed it beneath the iroko tree.
Then instantly transformed into a breathtakingly beautiful woman.
Fear gripped Otimpku.
But as a brave hunter, he remained hidden.
When the woman walked toward a nearby stream, Otimpku rushed out quickly and grabbed the animal skin.
The woman screamed in shock.
Immediately, she attempted to transform back into the antelope.
But nothing happened.
Without the skin, she was powerless.
“Please!” she cried desperately. “Return my skin!”
Otimpku stepped backward carefully.
“No.”
The woman’s eyes trembled with fear.
“You do not understand what you hold.”
Otimpku tightened his grip.
“For years I have suffered shame,” he cried painfully. “Everyone mocks me. My wife insults me. Even children laugh at me. Help me become fortunate!”
The woman stared deeply into his eyes.
Then she spoke softly.
“I shall not only make you fortunate,I shall give you a gift.”
Otimpku frowned in confusion.
“A magic drum.”
Suddenly, the forest wind blew violently.
Leaves danced wildly.
Then a strange drum appeared beside the iroko tree.
It was small, covered with animal skin, and carved with ancient symbols.
“With this drum,” the woman explained, “you shall understand the language of all animals.”
Otimpku froze in disbelief.
“You shall no longer need to hunt. Whenever you desire animals, beat the drum, and they shall come willingly.”
Otimpku laughed nervously.
“That sounds impossible.”
The woman smiled mysteriously.
“To a blind man, sunrise sounds like a lie.”
Then she instructed him.
“Beat the drum.”
Otimpku obeyed reluctantly.
GBOOM!
Suddenly, the forest exploded with movement.
Bush rats.
Antelopes.
Monkeys.
Rabbits.
Wild goats.
Birds.
Animals rushed toward him from every direction.
Otimpku nearly fainted from shock.
Overwhelmed with excitement, he returned the skin immediately.
The woman transformed back into the shining antelope.
Before disappearing into the forest, she gave one final warning.
“The drum brings fortune… but fortune without wisdom destroys its owner.”
Then she vanished.
Otimpku ran home with the drum hidden carefully beneath his wrapper.
That evening, he beat the drum secretly behind his hut.
Within moments, animals flooded his compound.
The next day, meat filled the entire village.
People became shocked.
“How did Otimpku suddenly become the greatest hunter?”
Soon, his fame spread everywhere.
Whenever villagers needed meat for festivals, funerals, or marriages, Otimpku simply entered the village square and beat the drum.
GBOOM!
Animals would appear from every direction.
The villagers worshipped him like a god.
No one hunted in the forest anymore.
Otimpku became richer than chiefs.
His compound expanded.
Goats filled his backyard.
Palm wine flowed endlessly.
Even the same wife who once insulted him now praised him daily.
“The gods have remembered my husband!” Elekebe would boast proudly.
But the elders often warned
“When a lizard grows too comfortable in a king’s palace, it forgets that the hawk still flies above”
One afternoon, Elekebe went to their farm to harvest cassava.
Elekebe had a defect in one eye, so her sight was weak on one side.
After returning home, she sat outside peeling cassava while Otimpku rested nearby.
Suddenly, three goats entered the compound and began eating the cassava peels.
Elekebe chased them angrily.
“Useless animals!”
The goats ran away briefly.
But moments later, they returned.
Then one goat whispered to the others.
“Let us follow the side of her bad eye. She will not see us there.”
The other goats agreed immediately.
Otimpku heard every word clearly because of the drum’s power.
He burst into uncontrollable laughter.
Elekebe stopped peeling suddenly.
Her face tightened.
“Why are you laughing?”
Otimpku waved his hand carelessly.
“It is nothing.”
But Elekebe refused to let it go.
“No. Tell me.”
“It is not important.”
Her anger grew.
Days passed.
Still, she demanded answers.
At night she disturbed his sleep.
During meals she remained silent bitterly.
She refused him food.
She accused him of mocking her disability.
The matter became unbearable.
Finally, one rainy evening, Otimpku surrendered.
“All right!” he shouted. “The goats insulted your blind eye, and I heard them.”
Silence swallowed the room.
Elekebe stared at him in disbelief.
“You heard goats speaking?”
Immediately she realized there was a secret behind Otimpku’s fortune.
Fear entered her heart.
That night, while Otimpku slept heavily after drinking palm wine, Elekebe searched the house secretly.
At last, she found the magic drum hidden inside a clay pot.
Curiosity burned inside her.
“What power truly lives inside this thing?” she whispered.
Without thinking, she struck the drum.
GBOOM!
The earth shook violently.
Suddenly, animals flooded the compound wildly.
Snakes crawled everywhere.
Bats filled the sky.
Wild boars smashed fences.
Hyenas attacked goats.
Villagers woke up screaming in terror.
Elekebe panicked and beat the drum repeatedly.
Each beat worsened the chaos.
The village became a nightmare.
Then suddenly, a terrifying wind entered the compound.
The mysterious antelope woman appeared again beneath darkness.
Her eyes burned with anger.
“You were warned.”
Otimpku fell to his knees trembling.
“Forgive me!”
But the woman shook her head sadly.
“A secret shared carelessly becomes a knife.”
She stretched forth her hand.
Immediately, the drum flew from Elekebe’s hands into hers.
At once, every animal disappeared.
The compound became silent.
Otimpku cried bitterly.
“Please! Without the drum I am nothing again!”
The woman looked at him with pity.
“No,” she replied softly. “You were nothing because you believed fortune alone could make a man great.”
Then she vanished forever into the night.
By morning, Otimpku’s riches began disappearing mysteriously.
Animals no longer came.
Villagers returned to the forest themselves.
Slowly, people stopped worshipping him.
Mockery returned again.
His wife became ashamed.
And little by little, Otimpku returned to the same lonely hunter he once was.
But this time, the pain was worse because he had tasted greatness before losing it.
Till today, elders still tell his story beside evening fires.
And whenever pride enters the heart of a fortunate man, they warn him with these words:
The drum that calls blessings can also summon distraction .
