Adamu and his beautiful wife.

In a certain town there lived a poor man named Adamu. Although he was very poor,
Adamu was a very good man. He was liked and respected by everyone, and even the
birds and animals seemed to trust him, for it was very noticeable that they showed
no fear whenever he came near them.
In the same town there lived a beautiful girl who was few years younger than Adamu.
Her name was Farida. Farida was good-natured as she was beautiful, and many men
wanted to marry her.
Farida's father was a wealthy trader, and he was naturally anxious that his
daughter should make a good marriage, preferably to one of the other rich merchants
who lived in the town. However, the ruler of the town made it clear that he wanted
to marry Farida, and her parents felt that there were little alternative, for they
had no wish to offend the ruler of the town. But when they approach their daughter
on the matter, they were shocked by her response.
"How can i become the junior wife of a man old enough to be my father? Please,
the only man i want to marry is Adamu"
"What! Adamu, the poor man? He hasn't got two coins to rub together! You must be
joking," said her father.
But Farida was determined. Her parents were equally determined, for they had no
wish to offend the ruler. They insisted that she should marry the ruler, but
Farida said "I would rather die"
Farida refused to eat or drink, and when her parents saw how obstinate she was,
they explained the situation to the ruler.
"If she doesn't marry Adamu she will die" said her father. "I beg you, let the
marriage take place" But it won't last long - Adamu is too poor.
"Hmmm!" said the ruler, thoughtfully i agree, let her marry that man. But i shall
make sure that marriage doesn't last long. I shall arrange a fatal accident for
Adamu. She will soon forget him - and then she will marry me!"
When Farida heard that she could now marry Adamu, she was delighted. She began to
eat normally again, and soon regained her strenght and beauty.
The wedding took place shortly afterwards, and Adamu and Farida were blissfully
happy togethe. But Adamu did not realise that he was in great danger until one day,
when a bird settled on a tree nearby and began to sing.
"Accidents are accidental
Accidental, accidental,
Accidents are accidental
Except when they are not."
The bird the told Adamu of the great danger he was in. Adamu immediately called
Farida and said: "We've got to leave this place at once. If we stay, my life will
not be worth a handful of gunea-corn."
Before dawn the next day, Adamu and his Farida quietly left the town, and were
never seen again.