In Benin City there was a family that was quite poor. They used anything they got their hands on.

One day a bowl fell out of the sky and the family used it as a kitchen bowl but it wasn't very useful so they put an ornament and shells on it and sold it to a family. The family gave it to their baby and the baby played it as an upside down drum.

The music filled the air and everyone started to dance.

The king of Benin heard about this splendid drum and was willing to pay a million pounds for it. But the England king was on tour in Benin and when he heard about it he was willing to give up a million pounds for it.

In the Benin castle both kings were arguing - they were pulling it hard and they let go - they fell back and it dropped out of the window. It dropped into the stream and went to England.

When it reached the end of the stream in London, a fisherman picked it up when getting some shrimps with his net.

When the king came back to England the fisherman went to the king and said "For one thousand pounds the magic drum can be yours."

So the king paid the money and thought: "If I keep it around the king of Benin City will come and take it, so I shall hand it to the most trusted Museum - the Horniman Museum."

And that is the story.