Dr. Tzemin tells us a story of the biggest bull in the village, A-Wooo, fit to lead the herd of the cattle. How it became a king, was lost. Could the police find it? A Different Truths exclusive for the Africa Special Issue.
If you have been to the south along this road, you will pass the famous Da-Woo mountain area. After that, it will always be a rural scene. If descended a little on the side of that delicious vale, and will soon come to my hometown. Until met a stream that flows from east to west, blocking the way, a beautiful picture will slowly unfold in front of you. This is a village formed by a stream alluvial. Only a few families live in it, most of them are farmers, some storefronts. All the children are enrolled in the only elementary school in our village. Forty years ago, if you live here too, I believe you have heard such stories.
In the third grade of my elementary school, we had a delicate guest in our house, with a thin and weak body, constantly shaking, feet splayed out. It seems that it will fall down at any time. It looked at people timidly with that pair of big eyes.
“The nearby cow was born, and Uncle Chen sold it to us.” Dad said, “But you have to take it back to its mother’s house every day until it is weaned. Do you mind if I ask you to do this?”
“No problem, Dad, leave it up to me!” I have never been so happy to take over a job and survey it with a secret kind of pleasure. Since then, for more than half a year, in order to feed it, I have to take it back to find her mother every day. Don’t think that this is a simple job. It’s not easy for a child. I have to be getting up early, and then bring it back after school. However, because missed it too much, I often couldn’t wait for the bell goes, and I skipped to find it.
In the evening, Dad always asks me: “What name do you want to call it, let it be familiar with it earlier? It would be easier to be called. “I really thought hard again and again, but I couldn’t think of a good name. This can only blame me for skipping classes from time to time. Although I am already in the third grade, I still only recognise a few words. It is no wonder that the teacher often warns us: knowledge is never more than enough.”
Sure enough, now the retribution came, but apart from the name, I took care of it so thoughtfully. Under my scrupulous care, it is not only healthy but also growing up quickly, its physique is gradually becoming more and more strong. The two of us quickly established a very deep relationship. It can be said that we were after each other like shadows. As time goes by, as everyone can see, the pair of shoulders of my litter calf are getting stronger and gradually revealing the style of the king. Among the peers, no other calf can compete with it, regardless of body shape or strength. However, I still couldn’t find a very suitable name to call it, until one day, when I was helping it to take a shower, I bent over and ready to dig water, and it actually gently hit my butt with its head. I tripped and went sprawling. I just wanted to counter it back with a towel on my hand, but at this moment, facing me, it made the first cry of life, “A-Wooo”. The sudden voice made me stunned on the spot. After earthed to myself, I was dancing and gesticulating for joy as if a father heard his son call him “Father” for the first time. I madly ran three times around the square in front of the door, stretched out my hand and held it tightly into my arms, from that pair of its constantly struggling eyes, anyone can see that just one more second, it will be strangled by me. Everybody thought I was out of my mind. But I decided to call it “A-Wooo” right at that moment. Since then, A-Wooo has become a member of our family, and no one can take it away from me.
A-Wooo grew at an alarming rate. I put all my attention into cutting more pasture to feed it. For it, I had to go further and find more fertile rangeland. For a calf, its food intake is very terrible, and it cried all day long, “A-Wooo, A-Wooo…” seems that it will never eat enough.
Heaven helps those who help themselves！Its physique slowly overtook other cattle in the village. Sometimes, if he made a pigheadedness, no one can comfort such a monster, except me. This makes Dad feel interesting, and often tells others, “A-Min and A-Wooo look like twins. Their amazing feelings are so good. A-Wooo only listen to the words of A-Min. Sometime, it even will give me, its old master, the cold shoulder. It only like A-Min. What an exceedingly strange thing.” A-Wooo likes to play with water. When I was in class, it went to work in the field with my father until I came back from class. In private, Dad always put a bug in his friends’ ears, “A-Wooo worked hard, earnest, and very patient. It is really a good calf apart from that it is always likes to cry out A-Wooooo and A-Woooooo all day long.” Anyway, what it hopes most every day is to wait for me to come back from school and take it to the stream.
Usually, the children in the village went to the same stream, with the buffalos at home, at the same time. Sometimes the team of the buffalos would stretch for tens of meters. Most of the time, don’t need to pay special attention to anything. The fixed and familiar path, the cattle themselves knew how to go. They would line up one after another, in order, and didn’t have to be afraid to lose or wander away. The only thing to be aware of was not to let them fight each other or eat insects, such as wood-horse, and so on, to prevent diarrhea.
For a long time, there has been an unwritten rule in our village. Only the strongest buffalo can walk in the forefront of the team. This is the status symbol reserved for “the King”. Up to now, most of time the throne was dominated by Wu-Liu’s bull. Other cattle didn’t dare to challenge. His bull looks like an elephant. What’s more, Wu-Liu, like the bull he raised, was also the king of the children in our village. He was a natural sportsman, lived next door to our house, a year older than me. With shoulders a few inches wider than me, I couldn’t clearly remember how many times we come to blows, but I were very sure that I have never won, and when he knocked my head with his fist. He didn’t have mercy on me at all for the friendship of neighbours.
But, as A-Wooo grew taller and bigger, until his body slowly good enough to challenge the “throne”, I decided to let it try. This may make me suffer misfortune, but I thought that, for A-Wooo, everything was worth it. Although he was taller than me, but A-Wooo was younger and stronger than his bull. So, after measuring the total number weight of people and cattle together, it may not necessarily there is no chance of winning. The next day, after class, I hotfooted it down to home. Brought A-Wooo to the intersection very early, waiting for other children to come. I deliberately blocked him in the middle of the path, so that others could not surpass it. Its majestic shoulders and buttocks are like two solid fortresses connected by the big cattle belly which got it by huge appetite ruining me every day, and the others are far being blocked at the back end. If there are some of oblivious children protest, I’ll gave them a ferocious black look, until Wu-Liu and his cattle appeared. He came forward, quite at ease and vainglorious, with a natural look, waved to me, asked for my A-Wooo’s concession. I turned a blind eye to him and continued to take my A-Wooo forward even without any hesitation. Wu-Liu froze for a moment. By the time he had collected his wits, I have led the herd some distance ahead. Suddenly I heard him yell at the back, “Don’t you dare! What’s your problem? You better give me roll. Drop dead.” I paid no heed to him, although I deeply understand that this is an insult to him in his life. Suddenly, there was a commotion in the herd. He rushed forward in a huff with his cattle. When stopped again in front of me, he raised his right hand and pointed straight far behind the front line. This time he lowered his voice shouting, “Get out of here to go back.”
I looked up at the two angry eyes that almost pressed against my head and were surprised that I have never seen a bigger one like this except a bull’s eyes. However, I still shook my head and said firmly, “No.” And poked his chest with my middle finger and said, “It is you who should get out of my way.”
“Curry? Do you have some kind of death wish?” Wu-Liu asked irritably, turned and pulled his cattle to the front of A-Wooo. Maybe he was thinking about forcing my A-Wooo to give in with a powerful power. I didn’t panic and with full composure, patted A-Wooo’s forehead and signaled that it didn’t have to be afraid. A-Wooo looked up straight to the sky and that means understanding what I mean. And then, with its unbeatable huge lungs, A-Wooo sucked in a thousand liters of oxygen and screamed loudly toward the sky, “A-Wooooooooooo….” At the same time, the four huge hooves hit against the ground, causing the ground to sway again and again. This earth-shattering sound is enough to shake the mountains and wring tears from the spirits. And scared Wu-Liu’s cattle half of death. Suddenly turned and fled back. Wu-Liu like a bear with a sore head but still could not pull his cattle. A-Wooo was half a head taller than Wu-Liu’s cattle, the horns were thicker and the shoulders were wider. Look at his back of escaping, there was bursts of laughter from all around. It seems that I don’t have to worry too much about the others will pick a fight or find any troubles. In the next decade, I thought that A-Wooo has found its duty to go forward and not to turn back to be the “King” in this village. However, Wu-Liu’s bitter eyes still make me feel scared. In most of the time, people are easily stunned by short-term victories. If I don’t want to be like this, I have to be on guard.
The heroic spirit of A-Wooo made me, its little master, feel extremely glorious. I curled the rein into a shape of 8, and wrapped around its huge horns, letting A-Wooo lead that group of children to walk along the stream. I lay on its back leisurely, stroking the sides of A-Wooo’s belly with my feet. This is the reward he deserves. Perhaps, everyone was still stand on such ceremony as to the adaptation period of “new cattle king”. The team was nothing but silent now. But I took a grip on myself and was feigning composure, but I hoped that there would be no more disputes from now on.
As the cattle team came to the stream, everyone scrambled to rush into water, and the sound of the plop was lingered in everyone’s ears. The cattle were also happy to immerse their bodies in the water, revealing only one head. Not long after, the serious temperament eased, except that Wu-Liu and his cattle were still far away from everyone. Someone proposed to go to the other side, picking red-hearted wild guava to eat, so the cattle team slowly passed the stream. The cattle had not arrived, those older children had already climbed to the tall wild guava trees, and some younger ones were waiting under the trees and trying to catch those fallen guava. The other cows were scattered and looking for the grass to chew, only A-Wooo did not go far from the tree and refused to leave, with big eyes open and looked around. Knew that he was looking for me, so I deliberately hiding in the leaves, throw it with some little guavas and teased it.
For several days in a row, other cattle have gradually become accustomed to the leadership of A-Wooo, and my wariness has slowly relaxed. Everything has returned to the previous mode, and the cattle were played freely in the stream. Everybody got together, eaten the guava, chatted, played or caught crabs. Did not notice at all, there is a strange shadow, sneaking in the dark, silently observing A-Wooo.
An evening after a few days, it should be the time all cattle go home. All the cowboys found their own cattle one by one, but I could not find A-Wooo anywhere. At first I thought that A-Wooo just hid in the water or in some of pit. But after several searches, I still couldn’t find it. Then, I finally felt the situation was serious.
I was screaming in my heart, “A-Wooo is so strong and tall, always attracting people and very eye-catching, he never left me too far, how can’t I find it.”
However, I and my companions thoroughly searched the riverbed several times, just did not see the figure of A-Wooo. I was so anxious. I wailed and the other children were scared. I ran wildly all the way home, and grabbed my father’s neckline, said, “A-Wooo was gone, Dad, A-Wooo was gone!”
Dad was shocked: “What happened, Amin, he has always been very well-behaved and obedient, it will not run about by itself. You should calm down.”
But I searched all the banks of the creek and could not find A-Wooo’s trace. “Hurry up and call the police immediately.” Dad finally alerted, “Maybe the thief is not far away.”
The chief of township helped us to report the police. The police station dispatched the police car and asked us to wait for news at home. Slowly, the villagers who knew the things were coming to our home. The neighbours were all concerned about, the village has lost a cow, in the simple countryside, this is a big event. All the cattle-raising families were inevitably on tenterhooks and lived in terror and uncertainty.
When the time was close to dinner, Dad was facing everyone and said, “Dear folks, thank you for your concern. But it is not early now. In order not to disturb everyone’s work, please go back to rest. If there is any news, we will immediately go to the chief’s home. Sorry to have troubled you almost all day long. Thanks, thank you.” After an uproar in the crowd, except for a few close friends, everyone else went home.
Before long, the police called, “Are you Mr. Tsai?”
“Yes, I am.” Dad replied.
“We intercepted suspicious people in the next village and he took a cattle. I want to confirm with you, does your cattle have special characteristics?”
“It has no special characteristics.” Dad replied.
“Then how do we know that this cattle belongs to you?” the police said.
“Please wait a moment, I will call my son. Maybe he has a way. He is raising him on weekdays.” Dad passed me the microphone.
“Hello, sir. Is that cow big?” I asked.
“Big! Big! Big! It’s the biggest one I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s a monster if you ask me.” Mr. Police said exaggeratedly on the phone.
“Ha ha ha, yes, sir. May I ask you if the reins of the cattle are entrenched rely on the horn?” I asked again.
“Yes, it’s on the horns, it’s a figure 8. It’s not enough, is there any other features?” Mr. Police replied.
“Sir. Could you please to put the earpiece on its ear and touch it on the forehead and wait a minute, if you hear ‘A-Woooo…’ that’s it,” I said.
“Ok! Ok!”
I first asked my father to turn the phone into a loud sound. Then, faced to the receiver, shouted loudly and bluntly, “A-Woooo!”
A second later, the voice of Mr. Policeman’s excitement came from the phone, “It, yes, o my, it is calling “A-Wooooooo”, this bull is calling “A-Wooooooo”, and…, but…”
“And, what’s wrong! Mr. Police?” Dad asked nervously.
“No, no, there’s nothing wrong. But it’s callings of A-Wooooooo never stop!” the policeman said in a funny tone. All the neighbours put their hands to a thunderous applause and rolled on floor laughing.
Visual from internet
#ShortStory #Fiction #Africa #DifferentTruths
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