Meme Dodola was very afraid and squeaked, “Please, don't eat me right now. I'm on my way to my daughter's place. There I'll eat a lot of good rich food, drink plenty of wine and come back fat and fit for you. Wouldn't it be better for you to eat me then?” The tiger pondered a while then agreed to let him go.

The next animal Mémé Dodola bumped into was a bear, who acted in the same way as the tiger and to whom Mémé made the same proposition.

The third animal he confronted was a wild boar, fourth a lion, then a leopard and so on. He managed to escape them all by giving the same justification that he'd be back in better shape after visiting his daughter.

At last he reached his daughter's place in one piece. He was very happy and enjoyed staying with his daughter for a month till it was time for him to return to his village, then he looked most unhappy and worried.

Seeing her father this way, his daughter sought the reason. He told her all about the wild animals he'd promised to give himself up to on his return. Which meant now that he must die.

His daughter, who was smart, gave her father an idea. She said she'd put him in a barrel and send him rolling home.

He was happy with the scheme and set off home in this fashion. He started meeting the animals one by one. The first animal he met was the lion, who asked, “Have you seen Mémé Dodola?”

The barrel replied, “Yes, I met Mémé Dodola. He's still with his daughter and will be coming soon.”

Thus he managed to escape the lion. Next, he met the wild boar and, in like manner, he contrived to get away. Finally he came up to the last animal (the first one he met when coming), who was the tiger. The tiger asked the same question and the rolling barrel answered in a like fashion. But just as he turned a corner, he hit a rock and the barrel cracked leaving Mémé Dodola exposed.

The tiger grabbed hold of Mémé Dodola and roared, “This is Mémé Dodola and not a barrel.”

Hearing the tiger, the other wild animals gathered around. They wanted to make a feast out of him. In the throes of anticipation, they divided up the work. Some went to fetch water, others firewood, still others brought pots to boil Mémé Dodola, who was tied to a tree.

Somehow while everybody was occupied, Mémé managed to untie his hands. He could not run away for he'd soon be caught but he had a brainwave. He dug a hole near where he'd been tied and lay covered below.

When the animals returned, Dodala was nowhere to be seen. They called the monkey to help them. They wanted to discover Mémé Dodola through the medium of the mo. The monkey was sitting right above where Mémé was hiding. Mémé Dodola moved a bit. The monkey got rattled and nervously checked the mo. Then, Mémé began to shake hard and the monkey screamed, “Run! Run for your lives. Earthquake! It's an earthquake! They all the ran in every direction. And that was how Mémé Dodola escaped from wild animals and got home safely.