After some months, the kola-nut tree grew to the height of about one metre. But now the domestic animals of the village began to eat the leaves of the tree and this hindered its growth.
One morning, Seju met Bola abruptly as she knelt down before the kola-nut tree and jar and prayed. After she had prayed and then stood up, Seju asked in surprise, ‘Dola, what were you telling your kola-nut tree?’
‘Oh, this kola-nut tree is my god, and I ask it every morning to help me get a baby soon,’ Bola explained calmly, pointing a finger at the tree and jar.
When Seju noticed that the animals of the village had eaten nearly all the leaves of the tree, she went back to her room. She took the top part of her large water pot, the bottom of which had broken away. She gave it to Bola, and she told her to shield her kola-nut tree with it so that the animals wouldn’t be able to eat its leaves again.
Bola took the large pot from her and thanked her fervently. Then she shielded her tree with it, and as from that morning the animals were unable to eat the leaves of the tree. And so it was growing steadily in the centre of the large pot.
A few years later, the tree yielded the first kola-nuts. The first kola-nuts that the tree yielded were of the best quality in the village, and because the nuts were the best quality, the kola-nut buyers hastily bought all the nuts, paying a considerable amount of money. Similarly, when the tree yielded the second and third kola-nuts, the buyers bought them with large amounts of money as before.
In selling the kola-nuts, Bola became a wealthy woman within a short period. Having seen this, Seju became jealous of Bola’s wealth.
Jealously, Seju demanded back the water pot: ‘Bola, will you please return my large water pot to me this morning?’ Bola was greatly shocked. She asked, ‘What? The broken water pot without a bottom?’
‘Yes, my broken water pot. I want to take it back this morning,’ Seju replied with a jealous voice.
‘Well, the water pot cannot be returned to you at this time unless I break it into pieces before it can come from around my kola-nut tree,’ Bola replied with a dead voice.
‘You must not break it or split the head of my water pot before you return it to me!’ Seju shouted angrily.
‘I say it cannot be taken away from the tree without breaking it or cutting the tree down,’ Bola explained angrily.
Seju boomed on Bola: ‘Yes, you may cut your tree down if you wish to do so. But all I want from you is my water pot!’
Bola reminded Seju with a calm voice, ‘Please, Seju, I remind you now that both of us started our friendship when we were children. Because of that, don’t try to take your water pot back at his time.’
‘Yes, of course, I don’t forget at any time that we are friends. But at all costs, I want the water pot now,’ Seju insisted with a great noise.
That revealed to Bola at last that Seju simply wanted to destroy her kola-nut tree so that she might not get the nuts from it to sell any more. She went to the chief of the village. She begged him to help her persuade Babi not to take the head of her water pot back.
However, when the chief of the village failed to persuade Seju not to take the water pot back from Bola, he judged the case in favour of Seju and said that Bola must return the water pot to her.
Then to her sorrow, Bola’s kola-nut tree was cut own, and the water pot was taken away from the tree without breaking, and Bola returned it to Seju. Now, Seju was very happy and she burst out laughing not because of the water pot but because Bola’s kola-nut tree had been cut down, as she believed that Bola would not get kola-nuts to sell again.
As soon as the water pot was returned to Seju, she and Bola entered the house and they continued their friendship, for Bola did not show in her behaviour towards Seju that her tree which had been cut down was a great sorrow for her.
‘My brass ring which is on your daughter’s neck now.’Bola pointed a finger at Seju’s daughter’s neck, explaining as if she were simply joking.
‘This very brass ring which is on my daughter’s neck now?’ Seju, after clearing her throat, shouted to show disapproval of Bola’s demand: ‘Bola! You are joking!’
Bola scowled and replied softly, ‘I am not joking in any way, and I want you to return my brass ring now.’
Seju grunted like a pig, ‘Hmm!’ and begged with extreme misery and with tears rolling down her cheeks, ‘Please, my good, friend, don’t try to take your brass ring back now. As you know, before the ring can be taken away from my daughter’s neck, her head will be cut off first because it is already bigger than the ring!’
‘I don’t tell you to cut off the head of your daughter, but all I want is my brass ring, and I want it without cutting it.’ At last, when Bola still insisted on taking her brass ring back, Seju went to the same chief of the village. She told him that Bola was attempting to kill her daughter.
Fortunately, the chief judged the case in favour of Bola when she explained to him how her kola-nut tree was cut down when Seju insisted on taking her water pot back ten years ago.
And in the judgement the chief added that the head of Seju’s daughter would be cut off on the assembly ground which was in front of his palace, and, also in the presence of all the people of the village, so that everyone might learn that jealousy was bad. Then a special day was fixed for beheading the daughter.
When the day was reached, and after all the people of the village had gathered on the assembly ground, and the chief and his prominent people had been seated, then the chief called Seju loudly. He told her to put her ten-year-old daughter in the middle of the circle, and she obeyed. She and her daughter stood wobbling with fear while the swordsman, who was ready to behead the daughter, stood fiercely behind the daughter with a long dazzling sword in his hand.
The crowd of people, prominent people, and the chief were so overwhelmed by mercy that all were quiet suddenly while looking at the poor innocent daughter and her mot her Seju, who looked thin and gaunt.
It was some minutes before the chief could reluctantly announce to Seju loudly, ‘Now, Seju, today is Bola’s day. just as Bola’s kola-nut tree was cut down ten years ago when you insisted and took back the head of your water pot from her, it is so that the head of your daughter will be cut off now, when Bola’s brass ring will be taken away from the neck of your daughter and then it will be given back to Bola!’ The gathering mumbled with grief, and then all became quiet at once.
Then as the chief closed his eyes with grief, he gave the order to the swordsman to behead Seju’s daughter. But, just as the swordsman raised his sword up to cut the head off, Bola hastily stopped him by pulling his arm down, and then she announced loudly, ‘It will be a great pity if this daughter of mine is killed, because she has not offended me. No! It was her jealous mother.
‘And I believe, if we continue to pay “evil” for “evil”, evil will never finish on earth. Therefore, I forgive Babi all that she has done to my kola-nut tree of which she was jealous!’
