Once upon a time in the Bush, there was a giant Bat that lived on the mountain and spread fear and terror among the People. At night, as soon as the Sun sunk in the west, the huge creature left its unknown dwelling, swept down upon the happy homes, and, swift as an arrow, pounced upon and carried off anyone found outdoors. Unlucky victims were carried off in the Bat’s powerful claws up to its nest and devoured with no mercy.
The sounds of wailing and grieving and lamentation filled the air. And throughout the settlements and in the huts, the People were afraid. Not a night passed when loved ones would not turn up missing: often two, sometimes three, and at times more. The People numbered less and less, and all hope seemed lost.
The giant Bat seemed to the People not of flesh and blood, and so the medicine man called on all his magic to be rid of the giant Bat that must surely be Spirit. But the giant Bat returned again and again. And so the People knew that to survive they had to discover the dwelling place of the murderous creature because maybe then they could destroy it in the flesh. The warriors went out and searched and searched, but they could not find the giant Bat’s dwelling place. God seemed not to be with the People.
But even as all seemed lost, and to prevent total destruction of the People, an old woman arose and declared that she would sacrifice herself for the good of all. When night fell, she stationed herself, with a covered fire stick, in the middle of the village while the remainder of the People crouched in terror within their houses. She would show the way to the dwelling of the cursed creature even as she herself would face certain doom.
Even the brave heroine shook with resigned fear at the fearsome fluttering of giant wings was heard as the Bat approached. The creature seized her in its frightful claws and carried her off. As she is transported, the heroine now uncovers the fire stick, which showed the way like the Fire Cloud that throws its rays behind. The direction to the creature’s place of death and destruction was shown to the People, and the People fell upon the fearsome creature and destroyed it. Because of the heroic sacrifice of the old woman, the People were saved.
And the story is still told and passed on, and the sacrifice of the woman not forgotten. And all are still shocked and cringe in horror to hear of the immense heaps of bleached bones of missing brethren picked clean of flesh that were found in the creature’s dwelling.
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