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The Quest “Are you listening?” “Yes.” “Can an egg earn a young man a companion for life?” “What?” Many would laugh at this question the way you are laughing right now. They’re right. So are you. An egg can do no such thing. But here is a story about a boy who grew up a long, long time ago without a father or a mother. The truth is, he did have parents. He also had a twin brother. It is said that before the twins were born their mother was one of those women disliked by the gods. None of the children she bore lived to see sunlight . There were whispers her womb was cursed. And then she bore twin boys. Chebe died at birth and their mother never recovered from his death. Funyi lived but was neglected by a father who spent the rest of his life mourning his wife. He had no ambition, acquired no land, and had no property to bequeath his son. For that reason Funyi said he had no father and no mother. Funyi didn’t dwell on his poverty. He was determined to be successful and, above all, not to die a bachelor. He learned to clear farms with other men and especially enjoyed hunting rat-moles. Digging for rat-moles was his specialty. He had the unique gift of spotting the right hole to dig when the beasts disappeared into an elaborate labyrinth of interconnected tunnels. 116 You are reading copyrighted material published by Ohio University Press/Swallow Press. Unauthorized posting, copying, or distributing of this work except as permitted under U.S. copyright law is illegal and injures the author and publisher. Funyi bragged that he was born with a knack for the geometry of a maze. You know what our people say about twins! This was certainly one of the gifts the gods bestowed on a twin. The Beba would say that the other twin’s death must have awakened even more powers in him. Funyi never came home with an unsuccessful hunting story. One day the boys went hunting and as usual they burned the grass and waited for the animals to run for what they thought would be safety. Of course, the animals simply ran into the blows of clubs and cutlasses. Funyi was not as lucky as the other boys, who successfully pursued and killed cuttinggrass and rat-moles. His friends teased him, reminding him that missing a shot at a bird only gives the hunter tact. But Funyi scowled, and his anger got the best of him. He bragged that he was the best hunter of the group and refused to accept the wisdom that even expert hunters must time and again squat before they aim. He returned home hungry and despondent . He refused the food his father offered him and went to bed hungry. The next morning, his stomach growled and growled and he couldn’t stand the hunger any longer. He wandered about and came upon the old man who lived three compounds away. He stopped and asked the old man for food. “Father,” he said, “I am hungry.” “I have already eaten all the food I cooked,” the man confessed. “What can I give you, my child? Go behind the house and pick an egg. Go find some firewood, roast it, eat it, and drink some water. You’ll live, do you understand?” “Yes father.” The boy thanked the old man and picked an egg from the pen. He bade the old man good-bye and walked away on what turned out to be a long journey. He thought staying would make him the village ninnyhammer, so he ran away from the other boys, choosing the ways of the landloper instead. The Quest / 117 You are reading copyrighted material published by Ohio University Press/Swallow Press. Unauthorized posting, copying, or distributing of this work except as permitted under U.S. copyright law is illegal and injures the author and publisher. Funyi walked all night and all day. He crossed two rivers and came to a village where he met a man gathering and feeding hens—a whole lot of hens. “Good morning, Father.” “Good morning. Where are you off to this morning?” “I’m on a quest, Father.” “What would lead one so young on a quest?” “I used to be an expert hunter. One day, I couldn’t catch ratmoles anymore. That’s what I want to find out. What have I...

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