The Son Who Hid His Father

A chief orders that the elders in his country be killed, leaving only young men and women. One young man hides his father in an anthill in the bush and secretly brings him food, water and other necessities. Later a large snake coils around the chief’s neck and head. The people are too frightened to come close, so the young man runs to his father and explains what has happened. His father tells him to tie up a small rat with bark rope and place it near the chief. The son does so. As the snake tries to catch the rat, it loosens its coils bit by bit; when it has unwound itself, the people kill it.

The chief asks the young man where he learned that wisdom. At first he says he thought of it himself, but when the chief presses him, he admits that his hidden father gave the advice. The chief orders the father brought to him, gives the young man the country, and says he will no longer insult the elders. The performance closes with a saying that associates elders' wisdom with a more orderly community.