Foe

(map)

Long, long ago, a man and wife lived in an area which lacked water. Every evening after eating, while the wife sat parched, the man went out. He said he had to defecate, but really he knew where the water was, and he was going to get a drink. He drank and drank until his belly was bloated, but for his wife he brought back only a little water in a bamboo tube.

One day, while her husband went hunting, the wife followed his trail. She came to a yira tree, short and thick. She saw the stopper at the top of the tree and pulled it out. Water gushed forth, and she drank and drank. When her thirst was satisfied, she tried to put the stopper back, but the water was coming out so fast that she could not. She went back to her house.

The husband returned with plenty of game, which they cooked and ate. After the meal, the husband threw out some trash and heard it splash. Looking outside, they saw that their house was surrounded by water. It was too late to flee; they climbed a tree next to their house, but the water made the ground soft, and the tree fell. They hung on to it, and the water took them to a large lake. We now call this Lake Dunu.

Slone, 2001, 659-660.