107. The Eagle, the Sparrow, and the Palm-Wine

"I demand half your kingdom," Sparrow shouted.

King Eagle laughed. "If you can drink this pot of palm-wine, half the kingdom is yours."

"I'll do it," Sparrow said, "if I can drink water too."

Eagle agreed.

Sparrow hid his relatives by the river. 

Then, he drank some wine and flew to the river for water. A relative returned in his place; to Eagle, they all looked alike.

Then another relative, and another, until all the palm-wine was gone.

King Eagle gave half the kingdom to Sparrow.

When you hear sparrows chattering nowadays, they're talking about how they outsmarted King Eagle!

[a story from Liberia]

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Inspired by: "Eagle and Sparrow" in Folktales from Liberia (in Journal of American Folklore) by Richard C. Bundy, 1919. 
Notes: You can read the original story online. In the original story, Eagle refuses to concede so the birds depose him.

sparrow