“You need to calm down!” Said Tom; Lisa’s husband, when Lisa the Parrot got the news that her only daughter who lives in the next city was very sick and had a short time to live because the disease was incurable. No one knew what this disease was all about. Poor Lisa wept and prayed then decided to visit her daughter. She was a very poor middle-aged woman and had nothing to carry to her dying daughter but an egg. She said to her husband Tom, “At least let me take this egg to her, let her eat before she has her final rest.” She dressed up, kissed her husband, and decided to take the route through the farms to reach early.

Lisa the Parrot and her husband Tom were a loving bird couple with only a lone daughter, who flew away from them a couple of years ago to live with her husband. This bird couple had visited them two times before. They were so horrible when they heard the sad news about their daughter’s incurable disease.

The egg Lisa took was a fat spherical red-looking nice egg. She believed her daughter would surely eat food from her before dying.

At a river, she met a fisherman who would carry her across but unfortunately and mistakenly the fisherman broke her egg. Lisa was so sad and cried, then pleaded with the fisherman to pay back her egg for it was the only thing she had to take to her sick daughter to eat before dying. She said, “Please,

pay back my egg,

The only egg my daughter will eat and die.”

The fisherman sympathizes with her and explains that there are no eggs in the river. He pleaded with her to take a large fish to her daughter. Lisa the Parrot accepted it happily and wholeheartedly, that anyhow she has got something her daughter will eat before dying.

As she trekked on she met a hungry hunter who seized her fish and ate due to the severe hunger he had been through for days in the forest. She was so disappointed and cried, “Oh you Hunter!” I’m going to my dying daughter and have only that fish to give her to eat before dying, ” Please,

Pay back my fish,

The fish the fisherman gave me,

The fisherman who broke my egg,

The only egg my daughter will eat and die.”

The hunter, hearing her story. Sympathized with her and begs for forgiveness and then told her, he has only branches of trees that he uses to hunt and that he will give her a strong one to use as a walking stick to get to her daughter earlier before she dies. Of course, Lisa had no choice; she had to go fast to meet her daughter before she gave up the ghost. Thus, she accepted the walking stick that helped her to move on faster.

Another misfortune came her way when Lisa met a yam digger. The yam digger pleaded that Lisa should help him with her walking stick so she could finish digging his yam because his knife has just got broken. Lisa, a good-hearted parrot said, “Oh God, another temptation, how can I refuse to help?” Reluctantly she gave her walking stick to the yam digger. The yam digger, using the walking stick, mistakenly broke it. Lisa was so terrible, she felt very, very sad and cried singing and telling the yam digger, “Please,

pay back my walking stick,

The walking stick that was given to me by the Hunter,

The Hunter who ate my fish,

The fish that was given to me by the fisherman

The fisherman who broke my egg,

The only egg my daughter will eat and die.”

The yam digger in great sympathy pleaded with her, he will give her a large yam to take to her daughter to eat before dying. Lisa the Parrot was pleased that at least, she still had something to carry with her to give her daughter. She collected the yam and continued.

Again on her way, she caught up with a herbalist. The herbalist was in the forest looking for herbs. He heals people especially those with dangerous diseases and also unknown diseases. The herbalist had been in the forest for a long time looking for a particular herb and was very hungry, so he pleaded with Lisa, “Please can you help me with your yam so I can roast and eat? I am very hungry. I’ve been in this forest since dawn looking for a particular herb I cure people with. Lisa hesitates in pain, but before she could decide the herbalist let out his hand and took the yam from her, and started roasting it to eat less he died of hunger. Lisa the Parrot again expressed herself in tears, and then sang,

“Please, pay back my yam,

The yam gave to me by the yam digger,

The yam digger who broke my walking stick,

The walking stick that was given to me by the Hunter,

The hunter who ate my fish, The fisherman who broke my egg,

the only egg that my daughter will eat and die.”

The herbalist was interested in her story and decided to help her. He said “What a pity, woman! I’d love to follow you to your daughter’s house and see her condition if I could help.” Lisa remembered how her husband, Tom had advised her to calm down, so she took a deep breath. After eating the yams, the herbalist carried his bag of herbs and followed Lisa to her daughter’s house.

Thank God, the herbalist discovered that Lisa’s daughter is sick with the type of illness he usually cures with the herb he spent a long time in the forest looking for before meeting Lisa. He hurriedly took out that particular herb, and using a bowl, he squeezed it in water and gave Lisa’s daughter to drink. He then instructed Lisa to give her three times a day for three days. Lisa thanked him immensely and he left.

Lisa’s daughter followed the medication for three days and her health was totally back. Lisa the Parrot exclaimed surprisingly, “How God works! Indeed Good answers prayers in different ways” She then lived happily with her daughter for five days before going back to bring the good news to Tom her husband. They never stopped thanking God for saving their daughter.

Kila and her grandma had attended many of the village occasions and have witnessed most of the “jujus” performing. For some, women were chased away for only men were allowed to see because they were too dreadful. Some were very scary to kids of Kila’s age so much so that they would gum on their parents before watching. At one point, when they could not bear it any longer, they would close their eyes firmly because they were afraid of these creatures. Kila often wondered what these scary creatures could be. All the kids of her age wondered too. Some people say they are real monsters, some say they are ghosts and can kill. That makes many kids scared of them.

One day during the “King’s Dance”; an occasion where jujus perform In front of the king for entertainment, all the jujus wanted to present their best style, more so because prizes were to be awarded. Kila stood in an elevated position and watched keenly. It was so entertaining as some of the jujus would display, leaping, tumbling, twisting their bodies, and swinging lift and right. People would clap and scream as they show their awesome styles. Most of them looked like wild animals and others were very frightful like monsters.

Then came this moment when some showers of rain fell and got the ceremonial ground slippery. The jujus that were performing at the time started going back to their hiding places when one of them slipped and fell seriously and unfortunately his mask came out of his head and rolled meters away. To the greatest surprise of Kila who was watching keenly, she saw with her own naked eyes that it was their neighbor under the mask. She exclaimed, “Grandma, it’s Papa Nduru! ” Her grandma held her mouth but it was too late. Kila had already discovered the juju secret. She held her head with eyes wide open to see more. “Wow!” She goes, “So Jujus are people and not monsters!”

Kila’s Grandma immediately took her home. The next day Kila could not keep this new discovery to herself despite the fact that her grandma kept cautioning her. The surprise was so great that she couldn’t wait to share it with her friends in the afternoon during their fun time. She would whisper to all her friends about her new discovery.

From the first friend Kila met that afternoon at the playground to the last one, Kila made sure she shared the good news. She told her friends all that happened in front of her at the King’s Dance and how above all the person under the mask was their neighbor. All her friends were as excited as she was when they got the news. They spent a better part of their playtime savoring the new discovery. From that time kids in that village understood the juju secret. They knew jujus can not kill them though they are that frightful. Kids being what they’re, began referring to any juju they saw from that day as “Pa Nduru”. Adults couldn’t deceive them that jujus were monsters any longer.

Ken and Smith in a debt deal

Pay you debt

Ken and Smith, cousins, grew up together in one neighborhood in a small city near the Indian Ocean where they often played and had fun together. They were now grown-ups in their forties and about to build and settle with their families. Ken started to build without first making sure his finances would be up to or better still without getting all the materials he needed.

The project started; all the walls were raised but he was short of funds to continue. His house was about to fall because of his poor planning. He was never aware of the difficulties he may face. The snow season was fast approaching but he was short of tiles to complete the roof with and so he was very worried and started to think harder. He thought,

“Oh, I remember my brother has been preparing to build a house for two years to come, and he has bought some of the materials. He told me he has bought all the tiles. I think I should approach him and borrow his tiles so I can complete my work and when his turn is due, I give back.”

So, Ken went and pleaded with his cousin Smith who because of family ties could not turn down his request but carefully and wholeheartedly decided to help his cousin who was like a blood brother to him. Of course, in their culture, male cousins refer to themselves as brothers while female cousins refer to themselves as sisters. He trusted his younger cousin could never let him down. Smith then gave with all his heart and wished him success but reminded him to buy the ties in time before he begins his own project. They hugged each other and departed.

Ken carried the tiles home, and his problem was solved. He used the tiles and completed his house and moved in comfortably with his family. As time went on, he did not nurse efforts to get his cousin’s tiles but procrastinated because there was still time. So, he continued enjoying his completed new house. He was more concerned about buying his furniture and making up his children’s school fees than dedicating himself to getting the tiles in time.

After some time, his brother visited him early in the morning and reminded him that his work would start in two months. He was surprised that the time to pay back his brother’s tiles was soon approaching. He struggled to get cash, but it was not enough.

The price for tiles had risen to forty percent more. He discovered that he was going to use more money compared to the time he borrowed the tiles. He said to himself, ” If I were to buy the tiles two years ago, at the moment I borrowed them it wouldn’t be this high and the money I have in hand would have been enough.” So, he decided not to give back physical tiles but money amounting to the number of tiles that he took at the moment of borrowing, and at the cost at that time. He kept saying this to his brother who now visited him often to ask for his tiles because his project was in jeopardy. He needed to roof his new house and take his family in before the winter storms.

“Wonders shall never end!” Bright exclaims as a bigger problem has just surfaced. They argued and argued to no avail until Bright in anger dragged his cousin to court. Instead of building his house in peace, Bright spent time and finances on the case at court. People who did not understand the issue doubted why instead of finishing his project he had pulled his brother to court and was spending more money and killing time. They took Bright for a cruel and foolish person. Judging from afar they wondered why he could be that mean to his cousin as they see no wrong in Ken. Some blamed him for abandoning his project and acting mean.

Bright who in the beginning acted out of love now is seen as a mean person by many in the neighborhood. However, the court got Ken jailed and the tiles were only paid back after several years. Bright’s house stayed uncompleted until the next summer season, a bitter lesson to learn.

At times in life, it is good to be wise and firm to say, “No” to certain situations especially when we meet irresponsible people rather than acting in sympathy at our own risk. We must be firm and wise in choosing whom to lend to, and on the other hand, beware of how we lend our goods. You may just become a sinner in public eyes after doing what you consider good to irresponsible people.

A Kingdom of Animals once existed in the equatorial forest of West Africa. There, the animals usually make friends amongst themselves. Those who were very good friends even cooperated in helping each other with their work. They could journey long distances in search of food or attend animal parties. During the season of a particular fruit, the King of the animal kingdom would organize a general party. On the party day, all the animals and their young ones would gladly move into the part of the forest where that fruit is in abundance. They would spend the whole day eating, singing, dancing, and having fun. They usually have a black plum party, palm nut party, banana party, pumpkin party, blackberry party, sugarcane party, guava party amongst many.

It so happened that the Monkey and the goat meet at a palm kennel party where all the animals gathered to crack and eat palm nuts. Animals who could climb helped those who could not harvest the nuts. A monkey, who was a good climber, decided to help a certain goat who was one of those unable to climb. He was only good at sugarcane parties that needed no climbing. The monkey would climb and get the nuts from the tall palm nut tree while the goat concentrated on cracking the nuts with its strong teeth for them. They both enjoyed the party fully despite the goat’s inability. The goat was very happy enjoying the party with the monkey’s help and at the end, he happily thanked the monkey. From that day the Monkey and the goat became friends who often helped each other.

Monkey owned a large farm of kola nuts and pears on his part of the forest. The trees have grown wild and needed pruning. He went to his friend the goat and invited, “Please, my fruit trees are growing wild. I don’t think I would be able to do all the pruning by myself. Can you create time to come and help me?” The monkey lamented, “My back hurts a lot and my doctor has said I should not carry heavy loads and not use my arms to do hard work like pruning. That I should not also stand in the sun for long since my head also hurts.” The monkey sympathized and left. The monkey worked so hard, and overtime so he could complete the wedding.

During harvest season the monkey invited his friend the goat again. The goat happily accepted the invitation and on the agreed day came very early in the morning. They spent a long time on the farm harvesting kola nuts and pears. These were fruits the goat loves a lot. When they had harvested a good quantity, the Monkey asked him to take as much as he could carry to his home. The goat filled a big bag that weighed about twenty-five kilograms with pears and another with kola nuts. He carried the pears on his head and the kola nuts on his back, a quantity he could feed on for months to come.

The monkey watched keenly with amazement how his friend the goat packed his bags full with the crops. He wondered silently that there is someone whose doctor has advised not to carry heavy loads and do hard work who could still carry that much. As they were journeying home, the goat kept thanking him for his generosity. The monkey welcomed it but it didn’t cancel the fact that he just discovered the goat had become a cunning fox as foxes were known in that animal kingdom to be cunning.

It’s been ten years since I spent Christmas with my grandma who lived in Africa and I witnessed how Christmas was celebrated in her village. The Christmas season was a very festive one. In that small village, the style and fun of the celebration were awesome. It took a lot for the natives to prepare for Christmas. That is why the celebration was so colorful and full of fun.

As early as the month of September, the natives began preparing for Christmas. They harvested and sold their farm produce and Christmas was one of the top items on their list of expenditures. They gathered the money and saved as much as possible in their “Thrift and Loan” groups so that by Christmas they would have a good amount to use. Many of those groups disbursed the money by November ending so families could start preparing for Christmas.

By the end of November and beginning, December most active families had bought Christmas dresses and shoes for their kids since this was mostly done once a year by many of the natives. The child who is unlucky to get a Christmas dress or shoes might only get it next Christmas season.

You could find children gathered at their playground discussing how their family had prepared for Christmas. Those who have got their Christmas dresses and shoes already, proudly described how they looked. The others who were yet to have theirs would be jealous. This was the long-term preparation for Christmas, followed by the immediate preparation.

The immediate preparation started about two weeks before Christmas, with a cleanup campaign or community work as it was known. The people in charge of the neighborhood organized it to make sure all the roads and footpaths were totally cleaned in preparation for Christmas. Families too did the same they cleaned the surroundings of their households.

When it’s a week to Christmas most households did the general and thorough laundry of both dresses and household equipment. They checked the equipment especially kitchen utensils and replaced those that were bad. Thus, Christmas was like a time of renewal as everywhere was clean and anything missing was replaced. Those preparing to do their traditional marriages at Christmas were doing final touches like traditional rights within the families of the brides. Some family members who were in the cities came home to celebrate Christmas with their siblings. These activities were throughout the week up to Christmas Eve.

Early in the morning on Christmas Eve, most families went to the market to get groceries. They bought things like rice, meat, pork, spices, and drinks both for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day itself. They bought most things they don’t cultivate on their farms. Back home they did decoration of their homes and then engaged immediately in preparing the best dishes they had decided to prepare. Many began with what was known as “Christmas chin-chin” because this was one of the most important snacks during Christmas. In the interior parts of the country, most kids tasted it once a year on Christmas. It tasted like doughnuts but was more crispy in the mouth. They also did all the frying like fish, meat, popcorn, and peanuts also known as groundnuts. They cooked all the dishes that were difficult to prepare. Christian families then attended the Christian eve worship at about 8:00 to 10:00 PM. Thereafter, they went back to their homes and started enjoying Christmas. This went on up till midnight before they could go to bed.

On Christmas Day itself, many families woke up very early in the morning at about 5 A.M. They finished up their cooking, tidy their homes, and then prepared for Church. Nearly everyone, especially the kids, put on a new outfit. They loved moving as families to show others how beautiful and prepared they were. All those assembled in our church that day looked very colorful. This as I can say was the peak of the day as everyone was in his/her best worshipping, singing, and dancing. After Church families returned home and continued enjoying Christmas as a family up till about 2:00 PM when people, especially the kids, were free to move out and visit their friends.

Then came the most interesting part of this day that was the Christmas boys’ juju; also called masquerades, known as “O ko kori ko”. The boys of the neighborhood gathered and made a beautiful juju, well decorated, and then they moved around from household to household, singing and dancing beautifully expecting the happy Christmas people to reward them with money. They would sing:

O ko kori ko, – eh wah!

Christmas juju – eh wah!

Salutes the papa – eh wah!

Salutes the mama – eh wah!

Massa, charge your pocket,

Kori kori has come today – – –

Christmas day – eh wah!

The lovely “O ko kori ko” would be dancing beautifully so as to lure members of each household to dash them money. Siblings would come out and enjoy the dance and even dance with them. After enjoying it they would give them any amount of money and they proceed to the next household.

By the evening of Christmas day, adults on their part visited especially homes where traditional marriages were going on, to greet the couples and share in their joy. This continued for a whole week with the marriage dance every evening.

The day after Christmas was a tiring day. Many people just did immediate clean-up and then sat or lay to rest. Many others, especially kids, would find their tummy hurting due to overfeeding on Christmas day. Some were so sick that they visited the doctor. Most people also did washing and boxing of their Christmas dresses and shoes. The kids would then continue to wear their Christmas outfits every Sunday to Church or on special occasions.

At the end of the Christmas week, relatives who came home to enjoy Christmas with their siblings returned to their various destinations while the natives resumed their normal daily activities which were mostly farm work. It was my best Christmas ever.

Often, the birds of that valley yelled at lions when they saw them, especially when they were fiercely behind prey. The birds had seen him on the hill that afternoon. As he began speeding forcefully down the hillside, the valley birds started yelling in different bird sounds; “kwi-kwi, ku-ku, swing-swing, tilin-tilin, zi-zi, kroko-kroko, kong-kilin, tswirrrrrr.” This was a warning to all the animals who could not fly or climb that they should run for their dear lives.

The deer, aware of this signal, turned to find out the direction of the enemy. To his surprise, he saw a lion speeding towards him fiercely, from the hillside. The lion was about four miles away. Without any waste of time, the deer took on his heels at the fastest speed ever. In confusion, he missed the way to his hiding place but found himself near a wide river that he couldn’t cross because it had no bridge.

A crocodile showed up and asked, “Who are you and what do you want in our territory?” The deer answered wisely with a question, “And why are you talking to me alone? Small crocodile, what can you do alone? The crocodile said there were many of them and they would deal with him accordingly. The deer said he had lied and that if they are many, they should show up for him to see. The crocodile dived into the water and in a minute, came back with so many of them.

The deer Exclaimed, “You are so few! If you know you are many, line up fast from this bank to that other one, and I would count you up to confirm.” Angrily, the crocodiles lined up very fast to prove that they were truly many. The deer told them he would count by stepping on each of them so that he would not make any mistake. All the crocodiles agreed.

The deer then proceeded with the counting; “One, two, three, four, five …, 98, 99, and when he reached the one hundredth, he leaped and landed ashore. Turned very fast and told the crocodiles, “Thank you, my friends, you’ve just made a good bridge for me to cross and escape from that fierce lion who is coming to gobble me up. Look, there he comes. Get him! Good food for you!” While the crocodiles turned to see the oncoming lion, the deer moved triumphantly on the way to his habitat.

The fierce lion who was on speed could not halt himself on time before reaching the river. He tried to force stop, but had to tumble thrice, then landed into the river. The crocodiles fell on him and wanted to tear him into pieces but he screamed, “Please, please, I wanna pee-pee, I wanna pee-pee!” All the crocodiles closed their mouths and grumbled, “Mmmm! Go! Go! And don’t mess up our appetite with your stinky pee. Pee fast and come back here!” The lion leaped ashore, and as if he was going to pee, fled away. The crocodiles missed good food that day, both the deer and the lion. The lion hurried back to his den and never went to that particular valley to hunt again.

I had read about lepers and leprosy in several books, but had never come in very close contact with them until I picked up a job in one of the schools in their settlement site. This gave me the opportunity to know more about them as I interacted with their kids in the school and during parents-teachers meetings.

The settlement site or camp was a place where lepers who had gotten well from their confinement camp, we’re settled. I learned how in the past, persons identified with leprosy were treated as outcasts and confined outside the community. They were not supposed to mix with other citizens, but lived very far apart, either in the bushes or in confinement camps, away from the community. Anyone who was identified with leprosy was taken to the leprosy camp because leprosy was known to be highly contagious. Special Doctors were assigned to go to the camp from time to time to administer treatment to the confined lepers. The sick persons would live there until they were fully healed. When they were proven totally healed and good to mix with the rest of the citizens, they would move into the settlement site or go back to their community of origin if they could identify it..

Some family members oftentimes abandoned their siblings who had been admitted into the confinement camp. As a result, some of the lepers had lived there for too long and could not recognize their siblings anymore, or their community of origin. When they were finally cleansed, some would decide to move into houses at the settlement site, if they could not identify their communities or families, and or think they can’t support themselves back in their original homes.

The administration of the settlement provided free housing, food and basic necessities to the various families. Those of them who have learned a trade, mostly weaving, with the help of well wishers, had the opportunity to construct their own houses. They were however free to take provisions from the main settlement camp if need be. Their kids would rush there early in the morning before school and collect their share for the morning. They would do the same in the evening after school for the evening share.

It was interesting to learn how they were highly collaborative to the extent that they got married or inter-marry and brought forth very beautiful and healthy children. Though the kids looked poor because of the background of their parents, they were very happy and cute. It is always awesome to see how beautiful their offspring were and how healthy they grew. These beautiful and healthy children continue to live with their parents because they have no other place to go. The few who could identify some of their relatives went to visit or lived with them, or the relatives came for them.

On my first day in school, I noticed that most of the kids came to school barefooted. They ran and jumped around, playing amongst themselves happily. It was a surprise for me, coming from a city where school kids were more civilized. The bell went, it was time for mourning assembly. They all rushed to their various class areas and lined up.

During the morning devotions they usually sang a song or two, followed by prayers. The song they sang that morning touched me deeply and I shall never forget it. It was so meaningful, taking into consideration the background of the kids who were singing. They sang:

I was crying when I had no shoes.

I saw someone without legs,

I started asking, “Why should I be crying?

The Lord had given me joy in my heart.

They would clap and dance and enjoy the song. I was marveled at their faith. They taught me a great lesson on what happiness is. I learned from them that happiness is everywhere and it is not in riches. That it is far better to go barefooted than having no legs.

Why The Cock Has No Teeth

Vigilance in Gaming

Once upon a time, Mr. Cock and Mr. Rat were great friends. They jointly cultivated a farm and planted lots of groundnuts (peanuts). They did all the farm work together and during the harvesting season, they both went to their farm, harvested some of the groundnuts, and took them home.

They planned to have a groundnut party to celebrate their success during dinner. In the evening they boiled some of the fresh groundnuts and sat near the fireplace eating. Mr. Rat proposed that they should start the “groundnut game”. This game is played by throwing and catching grains of groundnuts over the fire. It was a fun game with a lot of fun. The rule of the game was that failure to catch a grain means giving five grains to the other person. The throwing and catching went on smoothly for about ten minutes. By then Mr. Rat had had four failures and Mr. Cock only one. This entails Mr. Rat had given twenty grains of groundnuts to Mr. Cock already and had received only five.

Mr. Cock, very much intended to maintain his position in the game, thus doing all he could to make sure he catches all the throws. He would jump up, tumble, sway left and right, and even roll just to catch a grain. He would exclaim, “Oh, I got it. Here you go! Ha, I nearly missed it!” He also screams and laughs joyfully in some moments with his golden-colored little but very strong teeth lined right in there with his tongue in between them. He had such a red-looking mouth with a long beak that was widely opened when he laughed. You could see his teeth lined up, golden-white like soldiers on a war front. It was truly fun for Mr. Cock.

Likewise, however, Mr. Rat was almost feeling tired already due to his inability to cover the gap between them in the game. Even so, he would not give up. He was still having fun hoping to make up and beat his opponent in a short while God is his helper. He decided to put more vigor and be livelier and smarter. He would spring up, and stretch left and right just to make sure he catches a grain. He would whisper and dance by shaking his black tail vigorously and would say to Mr. Cock, “Give me a while and I will catch up and beat you. I am coming! I am coming up, man!” When he misses it again, he would go, “O men! There I go again!” By now he had gotten two more failures though Mr. Cock also had one more.

After playing for some more time, Mr. Rat threw a grain at Mr. Cock, but it didn’t go all the way and fell in the fire. Mr. Cock foolishly and hurriedly bent to pick the grain to maintain his winning position. Immediately, down with his handsome beak, he lowered himself to pick up the grain but unfortunately for him he heard “Tororo”, the sound of his burning teeth. Before he could struggle to jump out, the fire caught up with his teeth and burned out all of them, so much so that not even one was left in place.

“Oh no!” His friend screamed in tears. “Not so! Not so Rat!” But it was too late to help. Their fun was messed up as they hurriedly called for quick rescue from friends. So, that is why the cock has no teeth till today.

Be careful and honest while you play games. Do not play foolishly.

Animo Poor Beggar Ever

The poorest became the richest.

Animo, a woman of about sixty-three, lived in a kingdom near the Indian ocean. She had lost her husband, and two kids to war. At her age, she lived in a hut alone, about fifteen kilometers from the seashore. Even though old, she was still able to go miles around each day begging for money and food. She would preserve some of the food and keep some of the money she collects for rainy days. Everyone in the neighborhood knew Animo, she claims she is the poorest poor ever and goes nearly everywhere to beg.

She went to the king’s palace day after day, to complain to the king how poor she was; that she had nothing; no oil, salt, food to eat, soap to bathe, nothing at all. Whenever she complained the king would ask the palace guard to give her whatever she needed. She would go and come again with the same complaint. She did the same at road junctions and in various households.

Many people became bored with Animo’s nuisance and tend to ignore her at times. They say she was even stronger than others and why was she such a nuisance? The fact that she lived alone didn’t back her being in poverty. She can still do a bit of gardening. Children would also mock her on the way because she was always moving about and became so popular.

Animo was a bold type, she was never ashamed. She would even go to the mayor’s and Governor’s offices just to show how poor she was and how badly she needed help. Of course, she had received a good dose of help from these high places just because of the pressure she put in, pressing on all the time.

Animo had a female friend, Jadu, who lived very close to her. She would scold Jadu time and again that she was very lazy and that is why she was not getting enough help like her. She encourages her to always follow her to places she goes, and her life would not be the same, as she would experience a great change.

Jadu was very reluctant to follow her proposal because she thought Animo was exaggerating the situation. Jadu was someone with a good conscience, who would not want to portray a bad image in society though she was poor. She advised her friend that though they are poor, it was not good to use their situation as a means of exploitation of others. She proposed they should jointly construct a small garden near their homes as a means to help make up for what others are giving them. Animo said she is too old and weak to do that.

After a long time, the king could not bear Animo’s nuisance anymore. One day he sent the Palace Messenger to announce to the entire kingdom that on the next traditional Sunday everybody should bring his/her problems to the palace.

On that day Animo, with her bag of troubles, which weighed about twelve kilograms, came first and sat right next to the King’s throne. People with difficulties began assembling their burdens. Some carried theirs in big baskets, some in very large basins, and some in drums. Many more arrived with theirs which would fill rooms. Some others haul theirs in U-Hauls. Animo saw that her bag of problems was the least of all the luggage of problems assembled at the palace porch that day.

This was more than Animo could take. She secretly carried her tiniest bag of problems and cunningly found her way, tiptoeing through the back of the palace, onto a footpath that she followed hurriedly back to her home. Many who saw her tiptoeing, laughed in silence.

The king came and asked, “where is Animo?” The guard said she had suddenly left with her language. The king was surprised but out of his wisdom, understood why. He then spoke and advised the whole community that had gathered to always pray to God and beg Him for the graces they need to carry their crosses because some people have larger burdens to carry than others.

The lion was dying of hunger because he could not find any prey. He had been searching for three days but had caught none. However, he had caught some tiny insects and a few rats but was not full because he was such a heavy feeder. He stood on a hillside that afternoon staring keenly at the valley below which was about five miles away, hoping to see a big straying animal to prey on. Suddenly his eye caught up with a deer moving in the bushes along the valley. He started racing in that direction.

Often, the birds of that valley yelled at lions when they saw them, especially when they were fiercely behind prey. The birds had seen him on the hill that afternoon. As he began speeding forcefully down the hillside, the valley birds started yelling in different bird sounds; “kwi-kwi, ku-ku, swing-swing, tilin-tilin, zi-zi, kroko-kroko, kong-kilin, tswirrrrrr.” This was a warning to all the animals who could not fly or climb that they should run for their dear lives.

The deer, aware of this signal, turned to find out the direction of the enemy. To his surprise, he saw a lion speeding towards him fiercely, from the hillside. The lion was about four miles away. Without any waste of time, the deer took on his heels at the fastest speed ever. In confusion, he missed the way to his hiding place but found himself near a wide river that he couldn’t cross because it had no bridge.

A crocodile showed up and asked, “Who are you and what do you want in our territory?” The deer answered wisely with a question, “And why are you talking to me alone? Small crocodile, what can you do alone? The crocodile said there were many of them and they would deal with him accordingly. The deer said he had lied and that if they are many, they should show up for him to see. The crocodile dived into the water and in a minute, came back with so many of them.

The deer Exclaimed, “You are so few! If you know you are many, line up fast from this bank to that other one, and I would count you up to confirm.” Angrily, the crocodiles lined up very fast to prove that they were truly many. The deer told them he would count by stepping on each of them so that he would not make any mistake. All the crocodiles agreed.

The deer then proceeded with the counting; “One, two, three, four, five …, 98, 99, and when he reached the one hundredth, he leaped and landed ashore. Turned very fast and told the crocodiles, “Thank you, my friends, you’ve just made a good bridge for me to cross and escape from that fierce lion who is coming to gobble me up. Look, there he comes. Get him! Good food for you!” While the crocodiles turned to see the oncoming lion, the deer moved triumphantly on the way to his habitat.

The fierce lion who was on speed could not halt himself on time before reaching the river. He tried to force stop, but had to tumble thrice, then landed into the river. The crocodiles fell on him and wanted to tear him into pieces but he screamed, “Please, please, I wanna pee-pee, I wanna pee-pee!” All the crocodiles closed their mouths and grumbled, “Mmmm! Go! Go! And don’t mess up our appetite with your stinky pee. Pee fast and come back here!” The lion leaped ashore, and as if he was going to pee, fled away. The crocodiles missed good food that day, both the deer and the lion. The lion hurried back to his den and never went to that particular valley to hunt again.