Men of Honour and Other Stories

MEN OF HONOUR

         Edun was a very poor man living in a village called Adetoro. Edun had no wife because he could not afford the bride price, and he knew it would be a problem to take care of a wife and children without having money. Many times, Edun was constantly mocked by other men in his village, and they called him various abusive names. Some young girls also made fun of him, calling him a half-man. In spite of these insults, Edun remained calm and contented with his life. At times, he even helped some of the people who had abused him.

         One beautiful morning, Edun took his only goat to the open field to feed. The goat was the only property Edun had, and he gave it all his attention. While the goat roamed about eating grass, Edun decided to rest under the shade of a nearby tree. As he was resting, he dozed off and did not know that his goat had wandered off to another side of the field where Chief Ayeole's goats were grazing.

         When Edun awoke, he couldn't find his goat, and he was worried. He went uphill and downhill but didn't find it. He searched everywhere all day but he didn't see the goat. Edun was very sad because he had lost his only property. He was about going back home when he saw Chief Ayeole's herdsmen going away with Ayeole's goats. "They might have seen my goat!" Edun thought, and he quickly ran after them.

          "Please my friends, did you see my goat around here ?" Edun asked. "I left it grazing at the other side of the field. I guess it wandered away while I was resting. Please did you see it ?" Edun pleaded.

          Ayeole's men found Edun's question funny, and they began to laugh at him. To embarrass Edun, they asked him to search among their flock whether he would find his goat. Unfortunately, Edun could not do that because most of the goats had similar colour, and he had no way of knowing even if he saw his goat.

         Edun was really sad. He believed he had lost the only property he had, and he didn't know what to do. He sat on the ground. He tried not to cry but he could not help it as tears slowly trickled down his face. He covered his face with his hands, and Chief Ayeole's herdsmen began to laugh at him again.

         While Ayeole's men were laughing, Ayeole, the rich man who owned the flock, arrived, but his men did not know. Ayeole watched them for a while before showing himself. His men immediately stopped laughing, greeted him and returned to their job. Ayeole walked up to Edun who was still crying.

         "What happened to you, Edun ?" Ayeole asked.

         Edun looked up, and he was surprised to see Chief Ayeole, the rich man he had heard so much about, but never met. He wiped the tears with the back of his hand and stood up. "I brought my goat for grazing, and it wandered away while I was resting. I asked your men whether they saw it, but they only laughed at me. I'm sorry for disturbing your men. It's just that the goat is the only property I have!"

         Chief Ayeole was very touched by Edun's story. He had heard a lot about the man called Edun. His own wives had even laughed at him in his presence, and he had also heard that Edun was a very humble and honest man. Chief Ayeole asked Edun to come with him to his house, but Edun was afraid, thinking that Ayeole was going to punish him for disturbing his herdsmen. Ayeole assured him that he was in no danger. Edun agreed and followed the rich man.

         When Chief Ayeole and Edun got home, Ayeole's wives were surprised. They wondered what their husband was doing by bringing him home, but none of them could do anything about it.

         Chief Ayeole called one of his servants and asked him to take Edun to his personal bathroom so he could have a good bath with perfumed soap that was bought from the city. After that, Edun was given a new set of expensive clothes to replace the old and dirty one he was wearing, and a pair of expensive sandals to wear.