be found. How could they have come and taken one of my camels and then disappeared like
phantoms without leaving any tracks? I was puzzled. After a three-day fruitless search, we went
home. Fortunately, nothing had happened to my cattle in my absence.
As Ghooku was leaving that night, I said, “Thank your very much for helping me out. You
must be exhausted. Well, I know I am, and I will need a good night’s sleep tonight.” Ghooku
smiled and bid me farewell.
That night, despite what I had told Ghooku, I went to guard my cattle. However, as I was really
tired, I soon dozed off after sitting down near the fence.
Suddenly, a low bang woke me up. I looked inside my cattle ring and saw Ghooku holding a
dead lamb. There was blood on the ground. I could not believe my eyes.
“What are you doing here?” I asked Ghooku.
He was very surprised to see me, and stammered “I saw a wolf walk by my place. I followed
it here but I was too late. It had already killed a lamb. I drove it away, and then I saw that you
were here.”
“But these are not wolf bites,” I glanced at the lamb carcass, then stared at Ghooku in the eye.
“Of course they are!” He stared back. I knew he was lying, and from the wavering of his gaze,
I could sense that he knew that I knew he was lying too.
“Well, here you go.” Ghooku handed the lamb carcass to me. “The wolf is gone. Let’s get some sleep.”
“Yes,” Still staring at him, I continued in an icy tone. “But since you caught the wolf red-handed,
maybe it will start taking your cattle too, so you should probably be on guard from now on.”
“Now that the wolf knows we are on guard, I don’t think it will come this way again,” he said
casually, then turned around and walked home.
I shivered. The night was cold, and with a leaden heart and a lamb carcass in my hand, I
walked slowly back home.
I never invited Ghooku to dinner again.
