There were two men who lived together in one hut; one was blind and the other was lame. It was a time of famine and all the people suffered hunger. These two were hungry also. As they sat in their hut, Lame Man saw a troop of monkeys in their yard. He thought of monkey stew and smacked his lips. Then he groaned.
'What is it with you, friend? Are you not well?' asked Blind Man.
Lame Man answered, 'Oh, I am well enough, but hungry. If I could only walk, I would shoot a monkey and cook a fine stew to eat.'
Blind Man laughed. 'I laugh so that I will not cry. My belly is empty, too, and the bush is empty of game. The hunters in our village go out each day and find nothing to shoot. Where would you find monkey?'
'Right in the yard of our hut,' said Lame Man. 'Because you cannot see the there, don't think I am blind, too. There are monkeys outside!'
This convinced Blind Man and he said, 'Climb on to my shoulders and tell me where to walk and where to stop. I will carry you and the gun to shoot the game.'
Lame Man got on Blind Man's shoulders and directed his steps. They came outside where the monkeys were in the pawpaw trees.
'Boom!'
Lame fired the gun and a monkey fell. The others fled speedily out of range.
They carried the game inside and Lame Man built the fire up and began to prepare the stew. As he stirred the pot, Blind Man asked, 'Is it ready?'
'Not yet.'
All the while he was cooking the stew, and because he was so hungry, Lame Man kept tasting it for flavour. And each time Blind Man asked, 'Is it ready?' Lame Man had just taken a large mouthful of hot stew and had to swallow it hastily to answer his companion. Before long there was nothing left in the pot but bones and a weak soup.
This time when Blind Man asked, 'Is it ready?' the answer was, 'Yes, it is ready', and he was given a bowlful of bones and soup.
'What is this? Bones? Ah, you wretched fellow! You have taken advantage of my blindness and eaten all the meat. Did I not share equally with you in its capture? Should I not have an equal share to eat? Without my legs you would not have shot anything at all.'
Lame Man answered, 'I saw the game, I shot it. I cooked it. This is the large portion of the work, and hence I should get the larger portion of the food. You used only your physical strength. I used my eyes, my skill as a hunter, and talent as a cook. This is certainly more! If I had not first seen the monkeys there would be nothing in the pot at all.'
Thus they disputed and grew very vexed with each other. Blind Man went from the house and a stood on the road, stopping all the people to listen to his account and beseeching them to judge and punish Lame Man. From the Hut, Lame Man shouted his arguments and begged people to judge him right.
The people were not able to judge. Can you tell which, of the two, was tight?
Extracted from An Anthology of African Folklore.
'What is it with you, friend? Are you not well?' asked Blind Man.
Lame Man answered, 'Oh, I am well enough, but hungry. If I could only walk, I would shoot a monkey and cook a fine stew to eat.'
Blind Man laughed. 'I laugh so that I will not cry. My belly is empty, too, and the bush is empty of game. The hunters in our village go out each day and find nothing to shoot. Where would you find monkey?'
'Right in the yard of our hut,' said Lame Man. 'Because you cannot see the there, don't think I am blind, too. There are monkeys outside!'
This convinced Blind Man and he said, 'Climb on to my shoulders and tell me where to walk and where to stop. I will carry you and the gun to shoot the game.'
Lame Man got on Blind Man's shoulders and directed his steps. They came outside where the monkeys were in the pawpaw trees.
'Boom!'
Lame fired the gun and a monkey fell. The others fled speedily out of range.
They carried the game inside and Lame Man built the fire up and began to prepare the stew. As he stirred the pot, Blind Man asked, 'Is it ready?'
'Not yet.'
All the while he was cooking the stew, and because he was so hungry, Lame Man kept tasting it for flavour. And each time Blind Man asked, 'Is it ready?' Lame Man had just taken a large mouthful of hot stew and had to swallow it hastily to answer his companion. Before long there was nothing left in the pot but bones and a weak soup.
This time when Blind Man asked, 'Is it ready?' the answer was, 'Yes, it is ready', and he was given a bowlful of bones and soup.
'What is this? Bones? Ah, you wretched fellow! You have taken advantage of my blindness and eaten all the meat. Did I not share equally with you in its capture? Should I not have an equal share to eat? Without my legs you would not have shot anything at all.'
Lame Man answered, 'I saw the game, I shot it. I cooked it. This is the large portion of the work, and hence I should get the larger portion of the food. You used only your physical strength. I used my eyes, my skill as a hunter, and talent as a cook. This is certainly more! If I had not first seen the monkeys there would be nothing in the pot at all.'
Thus they disputed and grew very vexed with each other. Blind Man went from the house and a stood on the road, stopping all the people to listen to his account and beseeching them to judge and punish Lame Man. From the Hut, Lame Man shouted his arguments and begged people to judge him right.
The people were not able to judge. Can you tell which, of the two, was tight?
Extracted from An Anthology of African Folklore.
How the lame man exploited blind man
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