1. "Songs of a goat"
Zifa and his wife (Ebiere) have a son (Dode) but can't have another child. Zifa is the impotent one but he covers up by sending his wife to a masseur for treatment. The masseur advises the couple to allow Zifa's younger brother (Tonye) to impregnate the wife but both shudder at the idea. Zifa has a half-possessed aunt named Orukorere. One day ,she runs out of the house, claiming to hear the cry of a goat attacked by a leopard. Nobody else hears the cry. Her nephews lock her up while the neighbours gossip on the curse afflicting the family : the aunt is mad and her nephew, Zifa, has become impotent. One day, Zifa is away fishing and the others are at home. Ebiere spanks Dode on the head while bathing him and Tonye rebukes her. Tonye and Ebiere end up in physical combat. As Dode puts it, "they dragged each other over the doorstep, and now the door is slammed behind them". Orukorere can't separate them. Later on, Zifa suspects an affair between Tonye and Ebiere as Ebiere now sees Tonye as a man and not a boy. She obeys him without consulting Zifa. Ebiere gets pregnant for Tonye and suggests they run away. Before they could, Zifa chases Tonye with a cutlass. Tonye escapes into his room and then hangs himself. Ebiere faints and miscarries while Zifa drowns himself. Neighbours pour in to console the survivors, Dode and Orukorere.
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2. "The Masquerade".
Titi, a girl from a Niger Delta creek, is getting married to Tufa (a stranger). According to neighbours, Tufa is shopping when he sees Titi. Enthralled by her beauty, he tosses the fabrics he bought at her feet and himself last on the heap. His wealth has won her heart. However, none of the neighbours knows who the stranger is or where he comes from. The neighbours connect the wedding with an old tale about a girl who married a stranger, who later turned into a python. The girl's childhood lover killed the python. They relate the story before Diribi (Titi's father) but he snubs them. Later on, Diribi and Umuko have second thoughts about Tufa because they hear that his father had him with his brother's wife (i.e. Tufa's aunt). Tufa's father has hanged himself then while the brother has walked into the sea. Tufa's Mum has died at childbirth. However, Titi disapproves of this withdrawal of consent after the wedding ceremony, when she is due to follow Tufa home the next day. The next day, Titi is nowhere to be found. Diribi later goes out to search for her and shoots her in anger. Tufa escapes but he later meets Diribi and they fight. Diribi shoots Tufa, who staggers to his death.
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3. "The Raft"
Olotu, Kengide, Ogro and Ibobo are lumbermen taking a raft down the River Niger. Their boat goes adrift and the raft they are on gets into a whirlpool. Later the raft breaks into two and separates Olotu from the rest. Olotu is swept out to sea while Ogro, who jumps into water and swims to a coming ship for rescue, is chopped to pieces by the ship's stern-wheeler. Ibobo and Kengide sight land before a fog descends on them. They now shout, "We're adrift".
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