— A story of patience
The bird had just flown 150 km carrying a sacred message to the king of Gbaju. Adaba had only made one stop by the riverside at night to quench his thirst. As a trusted messenger of the bird kingdom, Adaba had helped save kings from attacking one another.
King Gbaju was about to attack another king because of the deaths of his two sons, who were rumoured to have been killed by marauders disguised as beggars.
Since it was the custom of the two princes to help the poor in the village every fourth night, they were deceived to rush to the help of a crying father, who turned out to be one of the attackers.
“Who has done this to Prince Ademide and Prince Adekunle?” mourners cried.
Arriving at the palace, Adaba requested the audience of the King and his most trusted chief.
“Oh, king, what a misfortune has befallen this great land.”
“From the sky above, the mountains yearn, the seas wail for a destruction that has caused the blood of the innocent to flow.”
“But you must be strong, wise, and patient to allow justice to prevail in this land.”
“Two wrongs can never make a right. Violence is never the answer to a wrong committed.”
“Hear the words of this bird, and you shall soon find why patience is able to overcome any challenge.”
With great sorrow and a sound of defeat, the king succumbed to Adaba’s message and halted every plan to attack those who had caused him pain.
Two years passed, and there was no word from Adaba nor the bird kingdom. The king of Gbaju was now getting weaker by the day and had not been able to bear another child.
In the third year of battling sickness, Adaba visited him with a rare flower that buds once a century. The seeds of the flower had been grounded and brought to him for medicinal purposes.
“You have been patient, and you are about to see how powerful patience is. Keep the faith, dear king.”
A year later, the king welcomed twins who had the same look as the late princes. Not only that, he also regained his health, and the marauders who had killed his sons were discovered to have acted alone. They had killed the princes because their usury business had declined; people no longer came to their house to borrow money.
