The Tortoise and the Monkey, Imonikhe Ahimie [good book recommendations txt] 📗

why the happenings of that day had occurred. It was a very long while after the Leopard had flung him aside so unceremoniously that the poor Monkey had recovered enough to crawl his way to his home, thanking every deity in existence that he remained in possession of his life.

 

The true value of prayer

A couple of days or so after the events which have just been related had occurred, the Tortoise paid a visit to his friend at home as he was wont to do from time to time. But the Tortoise’s present visit was not entirely fortuitous for the Leopard had confided the entire story of his encounter with the Monkey and the fellow’s unbelievable intransigence to the Tortoise and had begged the Tortoise to do his level best to get some more of the Monkey’s sweet waste, readily admitting to the Tortoise that only the thought of never again tasting those deliciously flavored morsels had saved the Monkey from a worse fate. The Tortoise graciously promised to do his best in trying to get the Monkey to provide some nice waste.

When the Tortoise entered the Monkey’s house and found him all bandaged up, he feigned the greatest astonishment.

“My dear Monkey, whatever in the world has happened to you?” cried the Tortoise in a horrified voice.

“Just a few days ago, when last we were together, you were in perfectly good shape. But here you are today looking as though you had had a run-in with the Elephant; or, perhaps, the Leopard” he finished with a sly lilt to his voice.

It was in a trembly voice all choked with emotion that the Monkey told his friend the entire story of his unfortunate encounter with the Leopard. By the time the Monkey had finished with his story, the Tortoise’s face was all awash with tears even as he was nodding his head wisely. There was a long moment of silence, and then the Tortoise began to speak.

“My dear, dear Monkey, I commiserate with you most deeply over this unfortunate incident. I suppose that we must be grateful that you escaped relatively unscathed.”

The Monkey stared at his friend; unscathed? The Tortoise returned the stare, and continued to speak.

“Yes, my dear friend, unscathed! Just think, you could easily have been sent off to join your illustrious ancestors on that fateful day and I would have been left all bereft

“You see, dear Monkey, it was precisely against these sorts of dangers, unforeseen and, indeed, unforeseeable, that my spirit moved me to pray against the other day. I must have had an inkling of the danger that you faced; you know that I’m a very intuitive kind of fellow, don’t you?

“Anyway, you will no doubt recall, though in your present state it may be that recall of past events is beyond you, that having made the prayer, you refused to assent to it in spite of my entreaties. You could see no point, I believe you said, in saying ‘amens’ in response to prayers made for no ‘discernable reasons’; sorry, ‘obviously discernable reasons’.

“Obviously discernable reasons indeed!

“If reasons were obviously discernable to us, dear friend, we’d be deities rather than pitiful mortal beings. That, my dear Monkey, is the purpose of prayer, the fact that reasons are almost never obviously discernable!

“Now, perhaps if you had assented to that prayer that day, the Creator as, well as all the deities and your illustrious ancestors, would have enabled you to avoid this calamitous meeting with the Leopard; at all events, you might have received considerably less thrashing!

“My dear friend, I trust that you have learnt your lesson and I hope you will get better soon. I must go now, but be sure I’ll visit again very soon.”

The Tortoise rose up and took a couple of steps towards the doorway then stopped. Turning to face the Monkey, he rolled his eyes upward and intoned:

“Oh, most benevolent Creator as well as all of you deities, known and unknown, as well as those of you yet to come into existence hear our humble prayer!

“Our humble request is directed also to you our most illustrious ancestors!

“We pray, here and now, that we may be protected from being involved in troubles the origins of which we have no knowledge!”

“Amen” the Monkey replied in pious tones. “Amen.”

The Tortoise smiled benevolently at his friend and sauntered out of the house; he had, after all, to make arrangements for the preparation of some sweet waste for the Leopard.

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Publication Date: 09-12-2015

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Dedication:
This is for Mum!