The Girl Who Taught A Boy How To Hunt

One day there was a boy who went hunting to bring meat home. . He carried his spear and his bow walking towards the forest where it was believed there were plenty of wild animals. The boy's mother had told him that there was no food in the house and the whole family depended on him. 'You know very well your father is sick, he can no longer hunt and you know we have house which has nothing except empty pots in the kitchen and water .' The boy nodded. The boy spent the whole day hunting but did not manage to catch anything. It was getting dark and the boy started walking home. Along the way the boy met a girl carrying a bucket of water. The girl knew his name and she excitedly shouted, ' James, your mum has made a big announcement that you are bringing meat from your hunting and the whole village is invited to feast.' James could not believe what he was hearing, ' How can mum embarrass me like that, she knows it’s not possible to catch an animal with this weather.' The girl dropped down the bucket of water and said, 'James, if your mum trusts you why can you not trusts yourself to bring meat home.' 'As you can see it is already dark, I don’t have a torch.' But the girl argued, ' Yes, you don't have a torch but you can see me, can't you?' James nodded. 'So it means it’s not too late for you to continue hunting.' The girl said. James and Mellissa walked together hand in hand and agreed to hunt together. The two of them reached the most dangerous part of the bush. There were hyenas, leopards and lions and other dangerous snakes. James held the hand of Melissa and said, ' I am scared, I can feel in my heart that we will die.' Mellissa said, ' I am glad your heart says so, my heart says we will make it, so keep on listening to your heart.' At other times the heart told James it was alright to go on but at other times the heart said the lion would eat both of them. As the two of them walked into the thick forest, it was getting darker and darker and the sound of a hyena could be heard some distance away. James froze with fear and trembled, 'This heart is saying we must go back. I want to go back.' Melissa touched his shoulder, 'That is a good point but remember your dream is to make history, to feed the whole village with plenty of meat. You have come very far and going back will put you and your mum to shame.' 'Well, why can I not listen to my feelings because the heart can deceive both of us?’ James said. 'You will never overcome anything if you act on your feelings. All you need to do is listen to your heart and that small corner of your heart that whispers you can do it also has a right to be listened to.' Melissa replied As James and Melissa continued to hunt for meat, James began to listen to his heart. The heart started telling him that ,' even though I complain its dark, it is just because i am your heart and many people's hearts feel that way when it is dark , they feel that they have to go home they are going to die if they face darkness. We their hearts once we hear such messages, we also become worried and we start beating faster causing more anxiety for our people to run to where they feel they will be safe. Because when bad things happen we are not happy. But if you can assure me that you will be alright I your heart will stop panicking.’ James told Melissa, ' My heart is saying if I stop worrying it will stop worrying.' Mellissa said, ' Good, now let’s face the darkness, give me your bow and you stay with the spear.' The sound of lions could be heard from a distance. 'We must follow where the lions are going that's where we will find meat.' Mellissa said. At this, James got frightened again, ' My heart says lions are powerful, they have killed many people and we will die.' 'Tell your heart that you understand lions are dangerous but the fear of danger is worse than facing a dangerous situation to find what you want. If you and I are truly searching for happiness which is killing an animal that will bring meat for everyone we should not worry about the sound of a lion.' Melissa said In the next hour, James' heart was no longer afraid until they saw a huge buffalo. He asked Mellissa, ' It’s sleeping but what if my spear misses it? I fear it will wake up and chase you and me till we die?' Mellissa did not respond. She snatched the spear from James and whispered to him to step aside. James trembled and held the bow watching Melissa walking with no sound until she was within touching distance of the buffalo. The buffalo awoke and sneered with its horns at Melissa. James screamed, 'My God we are dying!’ And suddenly there was a huge sound that frightened the whole bush. James couldn’t see Mellissa. He was afraid if Melissa had been killed. After seconds of commotion and noise there came silence like death. Blood was all over the grass and James started crying calling out Melissa's name, ' Melissa, please tell me you are alive!' His feet stumbled on something, something looking like a dead thing and the coldness of blood licked his skin. James turned around his heart pumping with fear and his eyes saw it all! The buffalo lying dead blood still gushing and the spear still deep inside in its body. Mellissa was on top of the tree laughing , ' As soon as it tried to hit me with its horn I went round and used the spear to kill it straight away and i quickly climbed a tree watching it dying.' 'What is your secret? ‘James asked Mellissa. 'Telling your heart that it should not be afraid and your heart will learn to be courageous.' The whole village feasted on meat because of the courage of one girl who taught a boy to be brave.