Why the dog barks
Copyright © Anike Foundation
The dog and the tortoise were once good friends. Both of them had farms.
The dog was very hard- working but the tortoise was lazy.
While the dog and other farmers worked on their farms, the tortoise would go around bragging that his harvest would be bigger than that of anyone at the next harvest festival.
When people doubted him for they had never seen him plant anything on his farm, he would tell them he had bigger farms in the other town.
As the yearly harvest drew near, the King sent out the town crier to announce the day of the harvest festival, and that the farmer with the biggest tuber of yam would be handsomely rewarded by the King.
When the harvest finally came, everyone harvested their yams, but the tortoise harvested nothing.
Later he went into the King's in-law’s farm and stole the big tubers of yam there.
He gave five of them to the dog, his friend. He told him to have a taste of his farm's yam.
The tortoise promptly went to report to the King that he saw the dog stealing from the King's in law's farm.
The dog was immediately arrested and the day for hearing and judgment fixed.
Before judgment day, the tortoise visited the dog in the cell, and lied to him that he had pleaded with the King to release him.
The King had agreed under one condition: the dog had to bark at every question; if he did so, he would be released. So the dog agreed.
On the day of the trial, the dog was asked why he stole the yam that he and his family was caught eating. Instead of giving the answer, the dog kept barking.
This annoyed the King, who decreed that the dog be kept in jail and forbidden from speaking again in the midst of people; otherwise, he would be executed.
Meanwhile the tortoise took over the dog's farm.
One day, at a palm wine stand, the tortoise joked about his wisdom, and revealed what he did to gain the dog's farm.
This information leaked to the King's hearing.
He ordered that the tortoise be punished while the dog should be released;
however, because Kings don't back down on their words, the dog has had to keep barking till today.
Moral of the story
1. We must not be lazy.
2. We must not cook up lies against other people.
3. We reap whatever we sow.
4. It is not good to be a friend with a person that tells lies.