"An Honest Suitor" is a West African tale.

Long ago, in a village in West Africa, lived a chief who had a beautiful daughter. He named her Ife, which means love. To the chief, she was the very essence of love. She was sweet, playful and kind, and as she grew older, all the young men of the village began to court her. They all wanted to marry such a girl. Besides finding her beautiful, some of the men believed if she would marry them, they would one day become chief.

Ife was pleased by the attention, but she wanted to make a wise choice, so one day she sought her father's wisdom. "Father," she asked, "how will I know the right man to marry?"

The chief was pleased by his daughter's question, for he wanted her to be happy. "Ife, you must marry a man who is generous and gentle, honest and kind," he said.

"Of course," Ife said, "but how will I know who has these qualities?"

"Pay close attention," the chief told his daughter. And so, as each man came to court her, Ife watched and listened closely.

Each suitor bowed before her and offered her gifts. They gave her baskets of fruit, ornaments, carvings, gold bracelets, pottery and colorful cloths.

Ife loved these gifts, but once again she sought advice from the chief. "Father, every man in our village is generous," she said. "How will I know who is gentle, honest and kind?"

"Ask many questions," said the chief, "and pay close attention not only to their words but to their deeds."

Ife asked many questions and paid close attention to her suitors' words and deeds. She enjoyed long walks through the forest with one, and she laughed in the company of a second. She relaxed in the company of a third as they sat in the shade outside her father's home and talked. She asked each man many questions, and each one seemed to answer them with ease.

After months she approached her father and said, "I like three men. They are kind, honest, gentle and generous. Now father, how will I choose my husband?"

The chief thought for a while, and then he took his daughter's hands in his. "We must give them a test," he said, and he leaned close and whispered the plan in her ear.

Ife nodded. "If you think this best, I will play my part." And she lay on her bed and closed her eyes.

Now the chief sent one of his advisers to give a message to the first suitor, a curly haired young man named Dada. "The chief sends you his regrets," the adviser told Dada, "but Ife has died. Because you loved her, he wishes you to help pay the expenses of her burial."

Dada laughed. "She was not my wife," he said. "Tell the chief I have no responsibilities to pay for anything for her."

Next the messenger went to see the second suitor, Jumoki, a young man known for his wit. "The chief sends his regrets," the messenger told Jumoki, "but Ife has died, and the chief wishes you to come right away to help him to arrange her burial."

"I'm busy," Jumoki said, "and she was not my wife. Tell the king I cannot help."

Now the messenger walked to the little hut of the third suitor, a serious, sweet man named Dunsimi.

"The chief wishes me to give you the sad news," the messenger said. "Ife died tonight. The chief wishes you to come ..."

But before the messenger could finish his sentence, Dunsimi was on his feet. "No!" he cried, as tears filled his eyes. "I must go to see the chief to help him bury the girl I love so dearly."

The messenger returned to the chief with Dunsimi at his side, and he told the chief what each man had said.

The chief and Ife understood that Dunsimi was a kind, honest man who truly loved Ife. The chief told him his daughter lived, and Dunsimi wept with joy.

"And will she marry me?" Dunsimi asked. The king nodded. "She will be very glad to marry you," he said.

The next day, Ife and Dunsimi married and lived together happily for the rest of their lives.