Free Simbi and the Satyr of the Dark Jungle by Amos Tutuola

the two things! Answer me now!”
    When the Satyr had roared on them like that and before he could come nearer to beat them to death, Simbi started to flatter him, just to set herself and Rali free from this difficulty. Because as he was roaring on them he was gobbling the spit of his mouth as if he had already started to eat them. And they were greatly feared when heard all his sayings that they did not know what to say or do except to be flattering him and ask for pardon.
    “Please, the Satyr, pardon us for all our mistakes to come here, and I believe all your sayings even before you explained yourself to us and I believe that there is no any person who will see you will not believe that you are a noxious Satyr,” Simbi flattered him.
    “You, ladies, believe me that the words ‘beg’ ‘pardon’ ‘mercy’ ‘forgiveness’ ‘pity’ etc. have been deleted from our language from a long time and I am the very one who had forced the king to do that and I forced the king as well to substitute the words ‘sorrow’ ‘sufferance’ etc. instead. And all these things had done by the king in respect of me for he knows that I cannot remain in any place that the words ‘pity’ ‘beg’ ‘pardon’ ‘mercy’ ‘forgiveness’ are ineffective!”
    Having heard all of these again, Simbi and Rali were shrivelled with fear at the same time. Within that moment, Simbi had thought in mind “If a person is really going to die, he or she must struggle to the extreme endand I will do that, because I cannot remain quietly in one place till this Satyr will beat me to death.”
    Then she looked at him as if he was an ant and then she began to roar on him “Though I believe that you are the Satyr of this Dark Jungle and I do believe that you have killed and eaten several wayfarers or refugees like us!
    “But to make it clear to you is that, refugees are quite different from refugees! Therefore I tell you now that if you insult us as well as you have done to others! Believe me! you will be one of the inhabitants of heaven today! And doubtless, you will dine with them today!” (All these sayings meant the Satyr would lose his life) “Let me explain in short to you now the Satyr, the noxious guard of the Dark Jungle. I am the daughter of the most wealthy woman in my village! I am the most beautiful girl in my village as well! I was a wonderful singer during the time that I was in my village. I have woken several deads with my song and I have killed many persons with my song as well! My song is a harmful charm which can kill a harmful and powerful Satyr like you within a few seconds.
    “I proudly tell you now, that I left all my mother’s wealths, I started to find about the poverties, punishments, sufferings, all kinds of sorrows, death, etc. Therefore, I am very glad to meet here what I am looking for and it is you. I am not afraid of your harmful deeds at all!
    “I confess to you now that I have beheaded the king and some of the chiefs of the Sinners’ town and I haveonce been put in the coffin alive and the coffin was thrown in the river but my wonderful song saved me!
    “Although, I believe that a powerful man but senseless is the father of sluggard, and a sluggard but sensible is a powerful man.
    “I believe that you are a powerful Satyr but you are senseless, therefore all your powers are useless!
    “I can change my song into any powerful creature now who can beat you to death at once. And I can change myself into ‘Iro …’” (Iromi—a water insect.)
    “Hah, don’t leak out all what you can do to this Satyr, or don’t you know that a lady never leaks out all her powers to her enemy as this Satyr,” Rali cautioned Simbi not to leak out all she could do to the Satyr. And Simbi stopped at “Iro …” instead to mention the whole word “Iromi” which was the full word, immediately she heard the caution from Rali. And the Satyr was entirely confused about this word. He did not understand that it was