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NOTE: If you enjoy reading the following story,
you'll equally enjoy 'FRIED ICE-CREAM' Written By Ema Erhe You can read a free chapter of 'FRIED ICE CREAM' at the end of 'CRYING FOR NOTHING' on
this page, or click on: HOW TO ORDER on the Navigation Bar above to buy a copy. CHAPTER 5 NOTHING THE STORY TELLER Every afternoon when the children returned from school, they went to the playground in front of Nothing's hut. There
they would play, while the old man watched them, with love glowing in his eyes. Sometimes, they would just sit around his low hammock while he told them stories.
He would tell them stories of good and heroic children. Storiesw about their ancestors, tales about the tortoise, and
of great events that had since been forgotten. From experience, they knew he reserved his best stories for moonlit nights.
So they would leave their homes on such nights, and come to the centre of the village where Nothing's little hut stood at
the edge of the playground. The children would tell him some of the things that happened in the village school.
Then they would sing for him. After that, they would request for a fascinating story he had told before to be retold.
Often times, they asked for the story of the dog that wasted its time chasing the elephant. They also asked to be told
the story of the heroic boy who saved the whole village, and stories relating to the ever-cunning tortoise. If any mother told her child a new story and the children asked him to retell it,
he did it wonderfully. So much, so that the mother's version became pale. And the children asked on many occasions,
if he was the one who "made" the stories. Indeed, Nothing was a great storyteller. But more than that, he clearly understood the mind
of children. He knew the kind of scene to mention scarcely. He knew when to bend his body forward, and when to
lift his hand in demonstration. He knew when to pause and ask a question, and when to prevent any child from interrupting
the story. As he told his story, the children reacted unconsciously. Sometimes, they would
huddle together in fright. At other times, they would kneel down, only to sit again, as the tempo of the story changed.
Sometimes, they would put their hands on their heads in sorrow. At other times, they would sigh or clap as the main
character got in or out of danger. At the end of the story, Nothing would ask them what lessons they had learnt.
Then he would tell them some lessons and relate the story to real life. He would advise them to be honest and always
tell the truth, unlike the tortoise who took what belonged to everybody. He would tell them to always do their homework
and be hardworking, like the ant who saved for the bad weather. He would advise them to always obey their parents, teachers
and seniors, like the orphan who ended up as a king. He would advise them against cults, bad friends, bad habits, restlessness
or anything bad, as might be the lesson derived from the story. And on several occasions, the children woud go home and have the same dream:
About old-man Nothing's story. Questions: 1. Where did the children go to play every afternoon? 2. What kind of stories did the old man tell the children? 3. When did Nothing tell his best stories? 4. How did the children react to the stories? 5. What bad things did Nothing advise the children against?
CHAPTER 6 NOTHING'S FACTS FOR LIFE One morning when everyone had either gone to school or farm, Papa Nothing was woken up from his mid-morning rest by the
unusual sound of cars. When his visitors came close enough, he recognised the Supervisor for Health and the Chairman of the
local council, both of whom were sons-of-the-soil. With them was a matronly woman, whom they introduced as the coordinator
of UNICEF activities in the state. The visit lasted for over an hour. They had come to solicit his help in passing
vital health information to the clans people who often came to him for advice. Nothing told them he knew very little
about health matters. The council officials said they were aware, and that they will put him through so he can learn
them by rote. After the visit of the UNICEF coordinator, Papa Nothing began to lace his stories
with health information. Everytime he told the story of the dog trainer who always cut the dogs' tails and taught them necessary
skills when they were still young, he emphasised that for health matters, the earlier is always the better. He explained
that to reduce the dangers of childbearing for instance, all pregnant women should go to a health worker for prenatal care
and advice. That births should be at least two years apart, that pregnancies should not exceed four, and certainly not
be before 18 or after 35 years of age. Each time he told the story of how the tortoise became king by asking the other animals
to explain--to no avail--how water gets into the coconut, he seized the opportunity to tell them that it is equally difficult
to explain how water is drained from the body. But diarrhea, which is a channel, can kill by draining too much liquid
from a child's body. Therefore, the liquid lost each time the child passes watery stool must be replaced by giving the child
breast milk, gruel soup or salt and water solution. Whenever he told the story of the hunter who knew what he expected as catch by using
a live full-grown goat as bait, he likened it to the government spending so much money on immunisation. He said it was
because immunisation protects against several diseases, which can cause poor growth, disability and death. Every adult
woman should therefore immunise against tetanus, while children should be completely immunised before they are a year old. One day, Nothing told the story of the man who buried himself in a bid to hide from
his creditor. Unfortunately, he could not bury his hand, and he was found out. He said women who do not breastfeed
their children were burying themselves. For they will not get away with it, as breastmilk alone is the best possible
food and drink for children in the first four months. After four months they need other foods. While they are
under three years, they need to eat five or six times a day, with such foods containing mashed vegetable and fats. Day after day, old-man Nothing continued to dole out health facts at the end of his
stories. Once, he held a record crowd spell-bound with the story, which taught that when a rat laughs at a cat, there
must be a hole nearby. And that there can be no smoke without a fire. "By the same token," he concluded, "if a
child does not gain weight in two months, it is an indicator that all is not well. For parents to be abreast with their
health conditions therefore, children between 6 months and 3 years should be weighed every month. If it happens that
the child is sick, know the growth of such a child will be held back. To counter this, the child should be given an
extra meal every day for a week. On another occasion, Nothing made his listeners laugh uncontrollably with the story
of how the cock conned all the animals into making him king because they were made to believe the comb on the cock's head
was fire. It was only later they discovered it was harmless. "From this story," the old man concluded,"most coughs
and colds suffered by children are as harmless as the cock's comb. Which is saying they will get better on their own.
However, if a child with a cough is breathing much more rapidly than usual, it means the child is seriously ill, and should
be taken to a health centre. Such a child should also be helped to eat and to drink plenty of liquids." To crown it all, Nothing told the story of how Death once became visible and lived
amongst men. Unfortunately, everyone stayed away from it. Even the laziest drones gave it a wide berth.
The result was that no one came in contact with it, and so no one died for a very long time. Out of anger--and indeed
as a last resort, Death decided to become invisible again. "One of its several forms today is to be germs which
try to find their way into our body through the mouth. This can however be prevented by using latrines; by washing hands
with soap and water after using the latrine before handling food; by keeping food and water clean; and by boiling drinking
water if it is not from a safe piped supply." Nothing's linkage of health matters with his stories were very effective. Before
long, the children and mothers knew more about health matters in general. Health Education became their favourite pastime.
And the lives of hundreds of children were bettered. Questions 1. Why did Nothing advise pregnant women to seek the advice of a health worker? 2. With what did Nothing liken the mystery of how water gets into the coconut? 3. Why does the government spend so much money on immunisation? 4. Why did the man's hand still show when he tried to hide? 5. What is the best food for children under four months?
CHAPTER 7 THE ROLE OF NOTHING Everybody loved Nothing's role in the village. Any child who had never been to Nothing's hut was like a dog who had
never barked. If any mother's child refused to work or go to school, she would threaten: "I will tell Papa Nothing,
and he won't let you play witth the others or listen to his stories." To avoid this, the child would do his work. If a baby was crying and the mother said, "Nothing won't like this," the baby would
keep quiet. If any child did something very bad, the parents would take the child to Nothing and report the case.
In the evening, the other children would shame the erring child. The old man would then tell a story that taught about
that wrong. More often than not, the child would cry bitterly and never do it again.
* * * The story is still told of how he had brought modern life to the village when he was much younger. According to stories
handed down, Nothing had returned from a journey one day, and refused to eat. When asked what the matter was, he said
he had seen a lot of good things in the capital city, which were not in Akaba village. For three whole days, he had drank only water in the day time and taken very scanty
food at night. In those three days, he was very sober. He remained inside his hut, crying repeatedly: "God...
bring the white man's life to this village. I will ask the people to serve you." On the fourth day, he was said to have gone to the capital city to see the white colonial
governor. Some of the villagers said he must be mad. But when he returned two days later, he announced that Akaba village
would soon be the new District Headquarters. Against all expectations, the Chief was said to have liked the idea. Some people
said it was a joke, but it turned out to be true. With the new status had come a church and a school. Then
a hospital, electricity and pipe-borne water had followed. Much later, a tarred road and the Royal Niger Company also
followed. It is further told that it was Papa Nothing who told the villagers who to vote for.
He told them to pay their taxes and embrace immunisation against deadly diseases. He also told them to attend church
and send their children to school so that they can play a part in the future of the country. Whenever a misunderstanding
arose between the companies and the villagers, the Chief always asked him to settle it. That was how he got the Royal
Niger Company to employ and train people of the clan as well as give some scholarship to study in the white man's land.
* *
* Over the years, the gentle old man became deeply respected in Akaba village and in surrounding villages as well.
Now and again, the local school sent their best pupils to Nothing to learn about craft. On some Friday afternoons, teachers
from other villages would come with their pupils, and Nothing would tell them stories that carried powerful lessons. The fascinating thing was that Nothing had a personal relation with every child.
He knew their names, their nicknames, whose children they were, and whom their closest friends were. He even knew when
they were absent. Everyone thus saw himself or herself as Nothing's favourite child. Each one
wanted to be good just to please the old man. Every child wanted to tell him a secret or ask him a personal question.
Every boy pledged in his innocent mind that when he grew up, he would build a big house for Nothing. The girls thought
to themselves that they would cook the best meals for him. Questions 1. How did mothers get their children to obey them? 2. How did the other children treat any child who did something very bad? 3. Mention three of Nothing's roles in the community? 4. What was fascinating about Nothing? 5. How did the children plan to reward Nothing when they grow up?
CHAPTER 8 THE
DEATH OF NOTHING The people of Akaba village took it for granted that the beloved old man would live forever. Nobody reckoned with
death because he was never ill. They forgot that he was not a pillar just because several people grew up to know him
and had passed on before him. But one day, death embraced Nothing and thus stabbed every heart in the clan. On the night before he died, Nothing was awakened from sleep by a bright light.
When his eyes mastered the light, he saw the man in flowing white robe. He looked exactly as he did nearly one hundred
years ago. The old man got up slowly and went on his knees. "I do not deserve your worship," the man said. "I am but a messenger of the
Most High." "How come you have not aged?" Nothing asked. "One hundred years ago, I was a
child and you were an adult.' "We do not age. Since then, even one day has not passed in our time... But that was
not why I came. I have been sent to let you know that you have played your role well, and your work is done. Prepare
yourself. Tomorrow at mid-day, you shall go on leave and rest. If you wish to bless anyone specially, now is the
time." When he had gone, Nothing sat on the edge of his bed and began to plan his last hours.
Any child who follows my advice shall be blessed, he prayed to God. Such a child shall grow to be the head and not the
tail. Any child who hears or reads about me and adopts my words of advice shall also become a leader. Every parent
and every teacher who imparts the wisdom learnt from me to other children shall also partake of the blessings--for such a
one shall produce great leaders in the name of Jesus...
* *
* For decades,the middle-aged women of Akaba had taken turns to take food to old-man Nothing. On this particular sunny
afternoon, it was the turn of Mama-Eno, the mother of two sets of twins. She first took the food basket to the Chief's
senior wife for inspection as was the practice, then proceeded to Nothing's hut. What she saw was an unusual sight and it surprised her. The old man was dressed in
his best traditional attire--the outfit he wore only during feasts, to indicate he was the oldest man in the village.
He lay on his slanting backrest chair, asleep with a smile of content on his lips, and his arms were folded across his chest,
with the right one clasping his tin of snuff. Something inside Mama-Eno told her that this was no ordinary sleep. She called
the old man three times, but he did not stir. Quickly, she put down the food basket. She took to shaking him gently.
He did not move either. She felt his chest, and found it was as still as stone. Her fears had been confirmed.
The old man had just died, and the truth rooted her to the spot. But only for
a moment. She thought of Eno whom she had wanted to complain to the old man about. And at once, the true weight
of Nothing's death fell on her. Without knowing it, she jumped into the air, and landed on the ground with a scream. When she picked herself up, she ran through the village, tearing her clothes and pulling
at her hair. Even as she ran, she shouted: "Our children are dead! Death has killed us!" Pupils were just returning from school, and they stepped into the bush to let her
pass, then ran after her. When the men at home managed to grab her, she just struggled and shouted even louder.
"Papa is dead! Our children are lost! We are dead!" There was now a sizeable crowd. And as one, a loud wailing rang from it.
Children and teachers who were still at school heard the collective cry and hurried towards it. People in their homes
heard the unmistakable loud cry and began to hurry quickly towards it. Even those in their farms heard it and began
to find their way home. Questions 1. Name one set of people Nothing blessed before his death? 2. Which people took food to the old man everyday? 3. Who first found out that the old man was dead? 4. What was the first reaction of the person? 5. Why did the crowd wail loudly?
CHAPTER 9 CRYING
FOR NOTHING The men went to Nothing's hut and found him dead. Every person was touched by the sad news. Children cried
uncontrollably. Women wailed and rolled on the ground. Some men cried openly. Others simply shed tears as
they went to the town hall to meet. Nothing was given a hero's burial, with the whole clan in attendance. As he
was finally laid to rest the following day, not a single eye was dry. Not a single person could muster enough strength
to console another. Moving slower than a snail, the days crawled into weeks, and the men began to recover.
The weeks rolled into months and the women also got used to it. But even as the months rolled into years, the children
could not forget. At one time or the other, children would suddenly remember the old man who was their
friend, and they would begin to cry. Sometimes, a mother would bathe, feed and provide her child with every necessary
thing. Yet the child would sometimes remember the old storyteller whom he would never meet again. And the child
would begin to cry, to the surprise (and sometimes annoyance) of the mother. Mothers who do not understand would think there is no reason for the cry. But
it is a wonder if children can ever stop crying for Nothing. Questions 1. What did the children do when Nothing was confirmed to be really dead? 2. Why do you think the men went to meet in the town hall? 3. What kind of burial was Nothing given? 4. Which people first recovered from the death of Nothing? 5. Why do children sometimes cry even when they have been given everything?
THE END. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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