THE CRICKET'S WISDOM

THE CRICKET’S WISDOM

A Short Tale by Babayo U. Kabir

Aku the parrot fluttered his bright feathers, tilted his head, and said in his cheerful tone,
“Children, tonight I will tell you about a noisy little creature whose foolishness led to its own end — the cricket!”

The children drew closer under the wide shade of the ancient baobab, their eyes wide with curiosity.

“The cricket,” Aku began, “is a very funny insect indeed. Its loud noise fills the entire home like a persistent alarm bell, disturbing the peace and tranquility of the household. It roams freely through every corner — the kitchen, the courtyard, and even the bedroom — without the slightest care in the world.”

He paused for effect, ruffling his wings.

“Sometimes,” he continued, “the cricket wanders into the kitchen and jumps straight into the open sack of corn flour. There, it finds a paradise of plenty — food so abundant it forgets every caution. It begins to eat greedily, stuffing itself with the sweet powder until its belly grows round and swollen. Soon, the bulge of its stomach lifts its whole body off the flour, leaving its legs dangling helplessly in the air!”

The children giggled, imagining the silly cricket stuck and struggling.

Aku chuckled too, then went on:
“The cricket wriggles and kicks its long hind legs in the air, trying to regain balance. But in its foolish desperation, it forgets that sharp spikes cover its own legs. The more it struggles, the deeper those spikes dig — until, by its own reckless movement, it tears open its swollen belly. All its contents spill into the corn flour, and just like that — it dies from the wound it gave itself.”

The children gasped softly, their laughter fading into silence.

“At dawn,” Aku said gently, “the house owners find the dead cricket lying in their corn flour. They sweep it away, clean the sack, and cook their food before heading to the farm — never realizing the tiny drama that took place in their kitchen overnight.”

He looked at the children with a wise gleam in his eye.
“And that, my little ones, is the price a greedy one pays — a short life, ended by his own hand.”

Moral: Greed can destroy you. Contentment is wisdom.

From the collection Ancient Fables, a part of the book BAMBUKA by Babayo U. Kabir.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE INVINCIBLE THIEF

Image
  THE INVINCIBLE THIEF A short tale by Babayo U. Kabir The children of Pira – a village in the rainforest – sat cross-legged around the Moyi – the old man – their bright eyes fixed on his wrinkled face. The evening breeze swayed the branches of the baobab above them, and the chirping of crickets filled the pauses between his words. The Moyi cleared his throat and began, in that slow, deliberate tone that always made the children lean closer. “A long time ago…” In the remote village of Velango , hidden deep within the African rainforest, there lived a seasoned thief — a man so skilled in his craft that he wished to become invisible itself. One day, he heard whispers of a crooked priest who knew the secret of invisibility. The thief, driven by greed and pride, sought him out. When he finally found the old priest, the man said, “Yes, I can make you vanish before men’s eyes… but the charm will only work if you sacrifice a pure white chicken.” The thief agreed ...
Read more

THE CLEVER HUSBAND🧟‍♂️

Image
  THE CLEVER HUSBAND A Short Tale by Babayo U. Kabir The old man gathered the children under the wide shade of the ancient baobab tree to tell them a funny story. He cleared his throat, adjusted his walking stick, and began: “Once upon a time, in a remote village deep within the rainforest, there lived a newly-wedded couple — a young man and his beautiful wife. But their marriage was far from peaceful, for the wife’s sister — his sister-in-law — visited them almost every day!” The children giggled. “She was always around,” the old man continued, “poking her nose into everything. The young husband hardly had any breathing space to enjoy his new life with his bride. What made matters worse was that his wife dearly loved her sister — after all, they grew up together under the same roof.” The man grew weary of this constant intrusion and finally decided he had to act. One day, he devised a clever plan. He went to the market, bought a fine chicken, and brought it ho...
Read more

MAMI-WATER {The river goddess}

Image
  A Short Story by Babayo U. Kabir The Mermaid of the Denge River Aku , the wise grey parrot, perched on the old baobab’s branch as the elders and children of Pira gathered around him. The orange rays of dusk bathed the village square in gold, and the murmurs of evening faded into silence. He ruffled his feathers, cleared his throat, and began softly:   “The gentle wind blowing from the west carried the waves of the mighty Denge River and poured them sparingly onto the sandy banks to wet my dry feet. "The soothing touch of the cool water made me close my eyes, yawn, and exhale loudly. It was sunset, and I had chosen a quiet, secluded place between the small rocks by the riverbank." "Every living creature was retreating into the forest, leaving the riverfront silent and still." "The tranquility of the scenery kept me on the ground for a while longer. After flying for three days to reach this river of my dreams, the touch of its fresh wate...
Read more