I was born in the village. I could recall those days that after dinner we will all sit by the stone-made tripod stove called Aaro, and Grand-ma will give us stories and stories till our eyes got dim and we will be taken to bed.
Last week, My boss retold another story that I have heard before, I believe Grand-ma has told me this story before.
There was a man in a long distance village who had four animals as pet, namely a cow, a pig, a goat and a chicken. The man is deemed wealthy for having all these animals to himself. But there came a time that he got an unwanted guest, guess what- a rat. The rat came into his household and his life changed, because the rat would eat everything meant for the other animals, ( this reminds me of nowadays tom & Jerry). He asked his friends how he could get rid of this menace in his home and he was told to just go the market on the market day and procure a rat trap.
On the next market day, the man went and he procured a very strong rat trap and a very juicy, difficult to ignore bait. On getting home, he set the trap with the bait delicately balanced on it under his bed along the route often traversed by the rat, The rat saw the trap and knew something was amiss so he called a meeting with the other animals in the house, he told them, this man has gotten a big trap set under his bed, what are we going to do about it ?. Other animals ignored him knowing fully well that the trap was meant for the rat and not for them.

On a very fateful night, the man was asleep on his bed, when he heard the trap snapped 'pekee', he jumped up with joy, with sleep in his eyes he reached for the trap under the bed without looking because he believed the trap caught the rat, but he was jolted back to reality when he received a sharp bite on his hands. Why a snake strayed into his room and saw the juicy bait and was caught by the trap, so the snake was half-dead and you know a half-dead snake (Ageku-ejo) is more venomous than a life snake.

Well, the man became sick and he was taken to the babalawo ( diviner) for divination and healing, babalawo consulted Ifa and said he could be healed but he would need one akuko gagara ( one big rooster), obuko ti eyin re gba igba, ( a big goat) and some amount of money to buy other materials ( like condiments and soup ingredients ). His relations went home, in the evening the rooster came home and was arrested with the goat. Following day the pig was taken to the slaughter slab ( now called abbatoir) for sale to raise money for the other materials as stipulated by the Babalawo.
In the end, divination didn't work, the man died. He was to be buried so the family resolved that the cow should be killed for the burial ceremony. So the rat survived all of them.
Moral of the story,
Team work rocks, the animals should have joined hands with the rat to find ways of neutralizing the trap, they didn't envisaged the ripple effect of the trap.
Always look at the bigger picture.
When trouble starts, the underling might survive instead of the strong and mighty.
Look before you leap, like that man, many ewe iwoyi ( young dudes of nowadays) dipping their hands in holes they cannot see through, someone says as a rule of the thumb, Never put your fingers where you cannot put your tongue.

Second story, Ori okere koko lawo, bawi fun omo eni a gbo.
Okay this is the story of the mother squirrel, the baby squirrel and the palm fruit.
Ti Iya okere ba ti ji ni owuro, a so fun omo okere pe ti o bari eyo eyin kansoso mama mu, ti tori pe o lee je ise omo ode.
Lowuro ojo kan ojo kan, omo okere gbera nile, odi inu igbe, lo bari eyo eyin kan soso leba ona, sugbon o ti gbagbe imoran iya okere. Omo okere ba ki eyo eyin naa mole loba di pau, o ko si pakute omo ode.
Omo ode mu omo okere de ile, o fi ori e pata, o fi edo re ro efo. Igba to jeun ti o yo bamu. O mu Atari omo okere, o fi na awo ijeun, o ni Ori okeke koko lawo ba ba wi fun omo eni agbo.

Each morning when the mother squirrel wakes up she will tell the baby squirrel that as you go out today, if you pass by the palm tree and you see a lonely palm fruit, do not pick, it could be the handiwork of a hunter, just climb up the tree and pluck a fresh palm fruit when you are hungry.
On a very fateful day the baby squirrel went out on his own and saw one lonely palm fruit by the way side, he forgot the advice of the mother squirrel completely, jumped on the palm fruits and before you say jack, that sound from the hunter's trap. The hunter got home prepare a very delicious meal with the baby squirrel and at the end of the meal, he hit the skull of the baby squirrel on the plate and sang, this is the head of a disobedient child, when a elder advises the younger ones should listen.