THE INVINCIBLE THIEF
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 eagerly and began his search.
He scoured every corner of Velango, from the dusty roadside stalls to
the noisy market square. But not a single chicken was completely white — all
had a patch of brown here, a spot of grey there.
At last, when he was about to give up, he found one that was as white as
ivory! He inspected it carefully — only to discover a few black feathers around the area of its anus.
“Surely, the gods will not notice such a small thing.”
He then sacrificed the chicken, performed the ritual, and believed
himself invisible.
That very night, he set out to test his new power.
He slipped through the dark alleys like a shadow, his heart pounding
with excitement. Soon, he reached the hut of a man he had watched earlier that
day — a trader who had sold his corn and gone home with a heavy bag of coins.
The thief crept inside quietly. The man was fast asleep after his long
day at the market.
In the dim light, the thief found the bag lying in a corner. He smiled
to himself.
“Ah, what a fool this man is — leaving his riches for an invisible
thief!”
But just as he bent to pick it up…
CRASH!
He tripped over a stool he hadn’t noticed and fell flat on his face.
The loud noise woke the sleeping man, who sat up in alarm. He grabbed
his oil lamp and looked around, his eyes darting from wall to wall.
No one was there. Or so it seemed.
Still, he was certain he had heard something. He searched carefully, and
just as he was about to return to bed, his eyes caught something strange — a
pair of large, black buttocks hanging in the air beside the fallen stool!
Startled, he reached for his whip, raised his arm high, and cracked
it with all his strength across the mysterious floating sight.
“WHAA!” came a piercing scream — and in that instant, the thief became
visible again, squirming on the floor in pain!
The man shouted for help. Villagers came rushing in, and together they
tied up the thief’s hands with a rope.
By dawn, he was paraded through the market square to face judgment
before the village elders.
The Moyi chuckled, shaking his
head.
“So, you see, my children, one can
never hide his true nature. Even when you think no one can see you, the truth
always shows itself… sometimes in the most embarrassing way!”
 |
| The Baobab |
The children burst into laughter. Little Babu laughed the hardest — he rolled on the ground, holding his belly, tears of amusement running down his cheeks.
The Moyi smiled, his eyes
twinkling like the stars above.
“Remember this,” he said softly, “a lie, like a thief, may hide in
darkness — but not for long under the eyes of truth.”
And the baobab leaves whispered in agreement.
Moral: You can never completely hide your true self from
the public.
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