Reading Notes: The King and the 'Nsiat Bird

-King of Idu was very rich and Adit, the daughter of a 'nsiat bird (weaver bird), was very beautiful

-the king wanted to marry Adit so he talked to her father

-the father said that he would be honored but he knew that his daughter would give birth to twins

-the problem with this was that it was their custom to kill twins and exiled the mother

-despite this, the king still wished to marry Adit so he paid a handsome dowry and held a feast

-at he feast he showed how rich and powerful he was

-in due time, Adit gave birth to twins as her father said

-the king was fond of his kids but could not resist the custom

-the father reminded the king that he had warned him of this and told the king that he and his family would leave and take to the skies with Adit and the twins

-the king, not wanting to kill the twins, agreed to this

-but because the family had lived in the town, they made their homes within the trees in town

this is why you always see weaver birds making their nests around human being's towns

An African weaver bird making its nest. 

Source: Wikimedia Commons

"The King and the 'Nsiat Bird" from Folk Stories From Southern Nigeria by Elphinstone Dayrell (1910).