How Ikú Overcame The Flies That Plagued Her

A plague of flies surrounded Ikú. There was nothing she could do to get rid of them.

She stalked the forest in search of prey—an animal here, a bird there—and when the creature succumbed to her fatal touch, the flies descended in a swarm, a buzzing mass that devoured the corpse. They were no fools, the flies; they learned that if they followed Ikú everywhere she walked, soon she would kill another creature and they would feed well again.

Ikú had no peace; Ikú was not happy.

One day she passed the foothills of a mountain where there were thousands of spiders living, spiders who spun webs in the branches of the trees. She saw the dried bodies of bugs and flies caught in their sticky webs, and Ikú, being no fool, had an idea. She waited until nightfall, when the buzzing flies went to sleep in the grasses, and then, quietly, she approached the spiders.

They were afraid when they saw her, but before they could hide she called out, “I bear you no ill will. I want to make a pact with you.”

“And what might that pact be?” asked the bravest of the spiders. Ikú, as mortal beings had learned, was not to be trusted.

“The flies have learned that wherever I walk, soon there will be death. And the corpse of the dead feeds them well. So they follow me. They plague me with their constant buzzing. I am tormented and cannot escape them. Thousands of flies buzz around my head each day waiting for a meal. But if I were to kill most of my prey here, where you live, and if you were to spin your webs over and near their bodies, soon the flies would be dead themselves, and you, my sweet spider, would feed well yourself. All of your family would.”

“But then you would have us following you in your travels as well,” said the spider.

“I would rather be followed by a thousand silent spiders than a single buzzing fly,” said Ikú.

All the spiders listened to Ikú’s words. One by one they came out of hiding, and soon they spoke among themselves about her offer. Finally, the bravest of the spiders spoke up again. “We accept your pact. As you feed in our foothills, we will spin webs over the dead bodies of your prey. We will help you rid yourself of the flies that plague you.”

The next morning the flies awoke, and as always, they began to follow and buzz around Ikú. And Ikú, as was her nature, began to kill the birds and animals of the forest. And the spiders, as agreed, began to spin their webs near the carcasses of the animals. Soon the flies learned that to follow Death was to find death themselves, and they began to leave Ikú alone.

And that is how Ikú rid herself of the flies that plagued her.