Once upon a time the Alaafin (king) of the Oyo kingdom was captured and imprisoned by the Oba of a neighbouring kingdom. As part of his punishment, the Alaafin was locked in a dark room and left to starve.
After days of sitting in the dark without any food, the Alaafin spotted a mouse running across the room. The hungry king caught the mouse with his bare hands. As he got ready to eat it, the Alaafin felt sorry for the little mouse. “I can’t eat you little one”. He said to it, “I will still go hungry so why should I take your life too”? So he let the mouse go. “Thank you noble king, I promise to repay your kindness,” the grateful mouse squeaked before he disappeared into a hole in the ground.
The next day, the little mouse returned with 20 of his friends. Each mouse brought a little bit of food to the hungry king. The mice continued to do this day after day so that the Alaafin got stronger and was no longer hungry.
After weeks in prison, the Oba of Ilorin sent guards to check on the Alaafin. “Do you think he’s still alive?” One guard asked. “No way!! We haven’t given him food in weeks. I’m sure he’s dead,” the second guard responded. As they opened the prison door, the guards were surprised to see him alive and healthy. “You should be dead!” they said in a panic as they stumbled away from the door terrified.
The guards hurried back to the Oba to report their finding. “Kabiyesi O! The Alaafin is not human. He’s still alive and doing well.” “What?!” Doubtful, he stomped off to see for himself. Upon seeing the Alaafin, he was alarmed. “Haa! It’s true you are a spirit. Please forgive me. I didn’t know”.
Immediately, the Alaafin was set free and allowed to go back to his kingdom on a royal horse and with bags of treasure as tribute from his captors.
