The King humiliated the three Babalawos who warned him of the plot; Elegbá stirred up the revolt, the King fled with his trousers torn and traded the diamond of his crown for a yam with Elegbá himself, who gave him away in the town: on returning to the palace, everything was as before, and he remembered the Babalawos.
They tell that in other times the Babalawos went through the streets in groups of three and four, knocking door to door in case anyone wanted a reading. One day three of them passed in front of the King, who called them over to look at him. They warned him that he should treat his subjects better, because his manner was very rude, and that if he went on like that a conspiracy would be set up against him and he would lose his post. The King, convinced that everyone loved him, and proud as he was, humiliated them in front of the people: he said that he was the one who did the rogation for them, and that if they were short four or five pesos, he would give it to them.
Ashamed, the Babalawos left without taking a cent and sat down on a bridge. They had eaten nothing. Elegbá happened to pass by and asked them if they had fish and jutía; they told him no and reported the King's slight. Elegbá said: "So that is what happened! All right." With that he went into the palace and began building a conspiracy against the King, until in a short time both his subjects and his cabinet left him alone. Seeing himself like that, with no one on his side, the King feared they would kill him: that night he put what he could into a bag and escaped to the outskirts of the town.
The Awoses had told him: he would find himself down and out, hungry and with torn pants. He never thought it possible. He slept in the scrub and, as the next day was ending, hunger forced him to open the suitcase: in his hurry he had not put in money, though he did carry the crown in the bundle. Just then a yam seller came down the road, and he was none other than Elegbá, who knew everything. The King stepped out in front of him and offered him, in exchange for a yam, a precious stone he pulled off the crown: a big diamond.
Elegbá pretended not to recognize him and answered with scorn: how could he think of trading a stone for a yam, when it cost him so much sweat to plow and plant. With no other way out, the King had to beg him and lower himself before that farmer, swearing to him that the stone was worth a great deal. Elegbá, to humiliate him even more, told him that the yam was too big for such a small stone, and that he should bring a bigger one. And when the King turned back to his hiding place, Elegbá caught sight of his pants torn in the back.
Back in town, Elegbá showed the stone to everyone he came across and told out loud how it had ended up in his hands. The people recognized the biggest diamond of the royal crown; they realized that the King was not in the palace and went to the place Elegbá pointed out. There they found him, still proud, hungry and in very bad shape. They asked him to come back, because the town was calling for him, but he could not show up with torn pants and waited until dark to return to the palace. His surprise was great: everything was just as he had left it, in its normal state. That was when he remembered the warning of the Babalawos. The King did not believe in Saint Francis.
Work: yam is put on Elegbá, so that food is never lacking and no one goes hungry. Ebbó: a rooster for Elegbá, plus a crown, a pair of torn pants and yam for Elegbá, with the rest of the ingredients.
Note: his own head deceives him.