The Weaver and the River Spirit

In a town by the Ogun River, there lived a young weaver named *Ayo*. He was the best at weaving aso-oke in the whole of Yorubaland. But he was lonely.

Every morning he went to the river to wash his threads. And every morning he saw a girl fetching water. She was so beautiful, but she never spoke.

Ayo fell in love. He wove her a special cloth — blue like the river, with gold threads like sunlight.

On the 7th day, he gathered courage and gave it to her.
“Will you be my wife?” he asked.

The girl smiled and said, “I am *Yemoja’s daughter*. I cannot marry a human... unless you follow me to the bottom of the river and stay there for 7 days without speaking.”

Ayo agreed. He held her hand and they walked into the water.

Under the river was a whole city — palaces, markets, drums. For 6 days Ayo was happy. On the 7th day, he saw his mother crying on the river bank. He wanted to shout “Mama, I’m okay!”

But if he spoke, the spell would break.

He closed his mouth, squeezed his mother’s hand through the water, and stayed quiet.

When the 7th day ended, Yemoja herself appeared.
“You chose love over words,” she said. “That is true devotion.”

She blessed their marriage. Ayo and the river girl came back to land. From that day, anytime Ayo wove cloth, it shimmered like water. And the river never flooded their town again.

*Moral:* _True love requires sacrifice, patience, and sometimes... keeping quiet 😅