When the chief's doctors could not cure him, his advisors consulted Mantis, who sent them to a cave. "A doctor lives there," said Mantis.
The advisors went to the cave. "We seek the doctor!" they shouted. The doctor was a huge snake, and when they saw him, they fled in terror.
"I'm not afraid," said a little boy. He went and brought the doctor, carrying the snake on his shoulders.
"Fear not!" said the boy. "This is the doctor!"
The snake cured the chief, and then the chief rewarded the boy with cattle, and the advisors became the boy's servants.
Inspired by: "he Doctor Snake and the Little Boys" in Barotseland: eight years among the Barotse by D. W. Stirke, 1922.
Notes: You can read the original story online. The chief's advisors in the original are called "indunas," and the snake-doctor is named Mutombo. In the original story, there is a group of small boys who go to the cave, but it was easier to tell the story with just one boy.
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