by Yoti Lane
“Very well, but you might have asked us first,” said the youngest cricket. “And mind you keep your word, and reward us!” chimed in the elder.
“I’ll reward you,” Shan assured them. “Now keep very quiet until I tell you to sing.”
When Shan arrived at the village people gathered round, and asked where his mourners were. To this Shan replied that this was no ordinary occasion, and he wasn’t going to take the easy way out. He was going to do his own mourning, and he would play for them. This made a great impression, and everyone sat down and waited for Shan to make music. So Shan sat and prepared to twang the stringed instrument he had brought.
“Sing now,” he whispered to the crickets, and the crickets started off in an amazing rhythm. On and on went the noise, and everyone marvelled at this tireless performance, for the longer a mourner could go on the higher the esteem in which he was held.
At last when even the crickets were feeling a bit worn out Shan hissed, “Stop,” and laid down his instrument. Everyone crowded round and congratulated him, and invited him to come to the feast. At this the crickets leapt inside the bag. Pressing them down with his hand, Shan shook his head.
“I can only eat if I am left alone. I feel this is too sad an occasion to mingle with others, even my dearest friends. If you will give me a share of food and close the door behind I shall eat!”
Much awed, the people did this, and when he was safely alone Shan brought out the crickets.
“See now, how I keep my word. You can share this feast with me,” he said. The crickets danced for joy and jumped on the table.
“One moment,” Shan said quickly. “Before you eat, you must wash your hands.” The crickets apologised for their breach of etiquette and got down off the table. “There is a bowl of water,’’ Shan told them. So the crickets walked over to the bowl and washed their hands. Then they walked back again. Now as they walked on both fore legs and hind legs, naturally when they walked across the floor and climbed on the table they were as dirty as ever.
When Shan saw this he set up a loud cry, and commanded the crickets to go wash and wash once more, while he began to eat. This the poor crickets proceeded to do, but of course no matter how carefully they walked, each time they got back to the table they were far from clean, and they were still going back and forth and becoming more and more hungry when there was a knocking on the door, and a voice asked Shan if he was coming to play again.
At this Shan seized the crickets and thrust them back into the bag. “Have patience,” he commanded, “I’ll arrange things better next time.” Before he left he put all the food he couldn’t eat into another bag he was carrying. Then he went out, and started his performance again, and the crickets had to sing all night long without any food.
It was nearly morning when all was over, and by that time the crickets were quite exhausted. Everyone pressed round Shan and told him what a wonderful musician he was, and begged him to remain another day and play again, but Shan refused, saying he was really too sad to play any more. At dawn he went on his way.
After he had walked for an hour or so the sun began to get hot so Shan lay down and went to sleep. While he was asleep, the angry crickets managed, by making the most tremendous efforts, to escape from the bag. Then they crept into the other bag where the food was and demolished every crumb. After that they hurried away as fast as they could.
Shan woke up feeling very pleased with himself. He had been the hero of the ceremony, it had not cost him anything, and he had some very nice leftovers for his breakfast. He decided that he would even share with the crickets, so he opened the bag, and told them they might come out. When nothing happened he shook the bag gently, thinking that they were still asleep. When this did no good he turned it upside down, and then it dawned on him that the crickets had escaped.
“Oh well, all the more breakfast for me,” he said cheerfully, and picked up the food bag. He didn’t need to open that to know it was empty. Realising what had happened he howled with rage, and called the crickets thieves and villains. He made so much noise that all the animals, birds and insects round about stopped to listen.
“Gather round, everyone,” called Shan. “Come and hear what those low, dishonest crickets have done to me. I allowed them to sing so that they might earn some food. Now they have stolen all the food while I slept, and made off. Go, and find them, and bring them here. Until justice is done, all crickets will share in the disgrace!”
Now crickets are clever little fellows, and they decided that there were probably two sides to the story, so sitting well out of reach they proceeded to question Shan as to what had happened.
Somehow his answers did not satisfy them, and they soon guessed that somehow Shan had tried to cheat the crickets, and they had got the better of him.
“Wait until dusk, and then we shall find them,” a wise old cricket told Shan. “In the meanwhile you go home, and wait.”
Unwillingly Shan went, and as he walked he planned all kinds of ways in which he would have revenge on the crickets.
At dusk the crickets set out to look for their brethren, but as they went they sang loudly so that no one could fail to hear their approach, so of course the culprits were never found. Next morning they reported their failure to Shan who was highly indignant, and ordered them to go out again that evening or he would take revenge on the whole tribe of crickets.
Next morning the crickets returned to report failure once more, and so it went on until Shan became an old man, and died himself. But the crickets still go out at dusk and sing a song of warning to the two thieves who stole Shan’s food. If you go out on a fine warm evening, and sit in a wood or a field you will hear them, just like little fiddlers playing on a stringed instrument.
THE FISHERMAN
IN SOME PARTS of Africa people earn a living by fishing in the deep rivers. Once there were two brothers who left their home in the forest and journeyed until they came to a place where there was a great deal of fishing. Deciding they would like this life they settled down, and learned how to catch fish. Later on they became friendly with an old man and his daughter who lived nearby. This girl was handsome, and a very hard worker, and after a time both brothers fell in love with her, and the girl couldn’t decide which of them she would marry.
“Marry the one who is the best fisherman,” her grandmother advised her. “Both the young men are strangers, and we know very little about them. See which one catches the most fish within the next few weeks. Let each one go off and fish alone, without help from anyone else, and we’ll soon see who is the best man!”
The girl thought this over, and decided that at any rate the plan would give her time to decide which young man she liked best. They were both handsome, both quite clever, and there seemed little to choose between them. So she told her father what her grandmother had suggested, and he told the young men that his daughter would marry the best fisherman.
The elder of the young men was known as Suki and the younger as Kana. They decided that the girl’s decision was fair enough, and that they would do their best to catch as many fish as possible. So next morning they went their separate ways. Soon after mid-day Kana returned with a fine catch of fish. “Have you done fishing for the day?” asked the grandmother. “Yes,” replied Kana. “Then perhaps you will chop some wood for me?” “Certainly, I will try and find time,” said Kana, and off he went to chop wood, and after that he did several other jobs, when the worst of the heat was over.
It was evening when Suki returned, looking extremely tired, but carrying quite a good load of fish.
“You put in a long day,” remarked the girl’s father. “That is the way I work,” Suki replied.
One day passed after another, and each time Kana returned early with a load of fish, and Suki returned late with another load of fish. Suki was always tired out after his long day’s labour, and Kana seemed quite fresh and cheerful.
“Well, it’s easy to see who is the best worker,” remarked the father. “Kana only gives a few
hours to the job, he must be like the butterfly who can’t stay in one spot for any length of time. Suki is the real worker.”
“But look how much help Kana gives to others,” the girl pointed out, “Suki only does his fishing!”
“That’s as it should be,” the father assured her. “Suki is a good steady worker.”
“But he doesn’t catch any more fish than Kana,” the girl protested.
“The poor fellow has bad luck. I think he’s too anxious, and scares the fishes. When you marry him you will find he’ll catch twice as many,” said the father.
By this time the girl, who had seen a good deal more of Kana than she had of Suki, felt sure it was Kana she would prefer to marry and she was very worried because Kana seemed lazy and flighty in comparison with his brother. So one day when Kana came home early as usual she decided to talk to him about it.
“You know,” she said. “I expected that you would work very hard in order to marry me.”
“I work as I’ve always worked,” replied Kana. “Surely you would not wish me to deceive you by making false efforts?”
“Not exactly, but why do you not stay longer and bring back more fish?”
“I always bring back a full load, to bring any more would be wasteful,” Kana told her.
This was reasonable, but the girl was not satisfied.
“My father thinks Suki is a far better worker than you are!” she remarked.
“And what do you think?” enquired Kana.
“I’m afraid it’s the truth,” she replied, and went away feeling sad.
Then Suki arrived, looking tired, and a bit forlorn, and everyone fussed round making him a meal, and seeing that he spent a restful evening, while Kana joined in the singing and dancing round the fire. This annoyed the father more than ever. “Well I’m glad I put those two young men to a test,” he told his daughter. “It didn’t take long to prove which one was best. When the crops are in you shall marry Suki!”
This made the girl very angry, because she felt that Kana was making little of her. If he seriously wanted to marry her surely he would work harder, and harder, to prove himself the best worker. She did not want to marry Suki.
“It’s all very well for father,” she told her grandmother, “but I don’t think it’s going to be much fun marrying a man who works from morning until night and comes home too tired to talk, or dance, or sing.”
“Then you would really like to marry Kana?” asked the grandmother.
“Of course not,” snapped the girl. “He is making me look ridiculous!”
The grandmother hid a smile and spoke no more of the matter. Next morning after the two men had gone fishing as usual, she made a suggestion.
“Why not visit Suki. It must be dull for him to be there, alone all day long. Take him some food, and that will give you an opportunity to know him better. I’d creep up, and give him a nice surprise. You may find him quite different to what you think!”
At first the girl was unwilling, but then she decided to go. By this time she was so tired of turning the problem over in her mind, that she felt it was better to do anything than nothing, so she wrapped up some food, and set off for the place where Suki fished.
It was very hot and unpleasant, and she was sorry she had set out on such an errand, but she continued on her way until she saw the river in the distance. Then she went very softly to the spot where she expected to find Suki.
She was surprised to see some nets lying on the ground, and then when she looked again she saw a figure sleeping under a tree. She was surprised but thought perhaps Suki was having a brief rest, so she lay down in the shade and rested too. Hours passed, sometimes Suki woke, yawned, stretched, looked at the sun and then went to sleep once more. Finally, when it was late afternoon he rose, went to his nets, and fished. The girl rose to her feet without a word, and slipped away.
When she got home her grandmother was watching for her.
“Well, did you surprise Suki?” asked the grandmother.
“I didn’t go near him after all, so please say nothing,” replied the girl.
When Suki returned home a little later, he seemed, as usual, to be weary, and carried a small load of fish. Kana, who had been back for hours, and who had been doing various odd jobs, passed no comment.
“Have you had a hard day, Suki?” the girl enquired. Suki nodded.
“A fisherman’s life is not easy. I have not got Kana’s luck!”
“I wonder if it is luck?” the girl remarked, and walked away from him.
She felt very angry at the way Suki had deceived them all, and resolved to expose him for what he was, lazy and hypocritical. Next day she told her grandmother she would really visit Suki this time, so once more she packed food, and set off. Again she crept up to the fishing ground, and once more she saw Suki asleep under a tree while his nets lay idle. So she turned and went back to her grandmother, and told her the truth. “I want you and my father to come with me and see for yourselves; then this pretence will have to come to an end!”
When the father heard the story he was scarcely able to believe it, and insisted that there must be an explanation, but the girl reminded him that she had watched Suki for hours on the previous day and he had done no work.
“Perhaps he was feeling ill,” suggested the father. “Then he ate a fine supper for a man who was feeling ill,” snapped the daughter.
“I don’t like spying on him, anyhow,” the father complained.
“Nonsense, he’s been deceiving us for weeks,” retorted the daughter. “Come on!”
So she led them back through the bush, and finally they sighted the river. Then the girl made them go slowly, and carefully until they could peer through the bushes. There the same picture met their eyes that the girl had seen earlier. The nets were lying on the bank, and Suki was asleep.
“What did I tell you!” whispered the daughter.
“A man’s entitled to a rest,” protested the father.
“He’s been resting since early morning, and he’ll rest till late afternoon if you watch,” said the girl. So she made the two others lie down, and wait. Every time they dozed off to sleep she wakened them again, and this didn’t improve their tempers, but she was determined that they would see how Suki cheated.
After several hours Suki roused himself, looked at the sun, then got to work, and gathered some fish in his net. Finding his load a bit heavy he threw some back in the river, and then he set off for the village at a slow pace. By hurrying along by-paths the trio got home before him, and were tending the fire when he arrived, and threw himself down wearily.
“Suki, would you fetch some wood for the fire?” asked the grandmother.
Suki sighed.
“I’ve had a very hard day, can’t Kana get it?”
“Here it is,” said Kana, and threw a bundle on the ground.
After supper was over the girl’s father said he had something to say.
“You two young men have now been fishing for some weeks, and I feel the time has come to give my consent to a marriage with my daughter!”
Suki smiled and looked at Kana triumphantly, but he pretended to be modest.
“I’m afraid you may find the decision a difficult one. I know my brother does not stick to his job as he should, but he is quick and clever. On the other hand, I don’t profess to be the clever one, I just like to work away and keep on till the job is done.”
“Cheat!” cried the girl in anger.
Suki looked amazed.
“What does this mean?” he asked.
“It means I didn’t want to marry you anyhow,” cried the girl, “but after what I have seen yesterday and today, I know you are not only lazy but a cheat as well. You see I went to visit you yesterday!”
“To give you a little surprise,” said the grandmother slyly.
“I was the one who got the surprise,” went on the girl, “for I saw that you slept nearly all day, and only worked for an hour or so. Then you came back here pretend
ing to be tired.”
“How can you say such a thing,” exclaimed Suki. “It would be terrible if your father and grandmother believed this story.”
“We saw for ourselves,” put in the grandmother. “You see we all went to visit you again this day!”
Suki was very indignant at this, and protested his innocence, but it was no use. The father agreed with his daughter that Kana was the proper man to be her husband, and arrangements were made for the wedding. Everyone was so angry with Suki that he had to leave the village, and go down to the coast where he had to work much harder at fishing in order to earn a living.
So the next time you meet someone who always seems to be very busy, and who never has time to help anyone else, remember Suki and the fish. It isn’t always the busy people who work the hardest.
HOW THE DOGS CAME
A LONG TIME ago there were no domestic animals, all were wild, and all were the enemy of man. They feared him, and he feared them, unless they were too small to do him any harm. There were no dogs such as we know today, but creatures roamed the forest who were a mixture of wolf, hyena and jackal. These creatures were not friendly with any of the animals. They killed smaller, weaker beasts for food, and they ran and hid when large animals appeared. If an animal was wounded or dying, they attacked and ate him.
Sometimes when they roamed around, they watched man curiously. They saw that man had shelter and warmth, and that he hunted for his food, and didn’t hunt alone, but in groups. They both despised and envied him.
Now it came to pass that there was a great drought, and food was scarce, and the wild dogs had to hunt harder than they had ever hunted before. One day a mother left her litter while she sought for food. It so happened that a number of families were moving to a new district because of the drought, as people often do in Africa, for one reason or another. They were resting from the heat of the day, and a very small boy wandered off by himself and came across the litter of puppies. They were very tiny, and the small boy was curious. He picked up one of the puppies, and decided he would keep it. So he wrapped it up in a bundle, and took it away. He was very anxious to own this strange little creature, but he was afraid his mother would not allow it, so he hid the puppy, and no one knew he had it until that night when they had gone much further on their journey. At supper time the little boy gave the puppy some of his own supper, and then the mother discovered the animal.