“A Disobedient Hunter” by 8th Grader Kelvin Mnang’at

A Disobedient Hunter by Kelvin Mnang’at is a creative retelling of a traditional village story by an 8th Grader at Daylight! It is one of many in “Under the Mukusu Tree,” a collection of stories written by our 8th-grade students.

A Disobedient Hunter by Kelvin Mnang’at

A long time age, people lived peacefully in the forest. They worshiped Thunder, the god of the skies. Thunder loved his people and provided them with everything they needed. There were many kinds of animals and birds for them to hunt and eat.

pokot-hunter20160822-smallFor many years, the people lived happily. There they obeyed Thunder and took care of him. The young men were trained to use their bows and arrows only for hunting. Thunder, however, warned the people that they should never kill any multicolored bird.

One day, a group of young men went out to hunt. Among them was an expert hunter called Wango. Wango was proud and stubborn. The hunters killed enough animals and were on their way home when they stopped near a pool to drink water. While they were drinking, they saw a reflection of a very beautiful bird in the water.

“Look!” one hunter called out. “What a beautiful bird is in the water!”

“Is it really a bird?” Wango asked. “It has four legs and its head is very big. I’ve never seen such a strange bird.” They all looked up and saw the most beautiful but the strangest bird they had ever seen. It was perched on a tree above the pool. The colors of its feathers were many and they looked like a rainbow.

The hunters could not believe their eyes. They thought they were dreaming. “That creature can’t be a bird,” Wango said. “Have you ever seen a bird with four legs? We should shoot it. Perhaps its meat is very tasty.” With that he aimed his arrow at the bird.

As if it could understand what the hunters were saying, the bird flew lower down the tree and looked at them. The hunters realized that apart from its beauty and size, the bird had very bright eyes that looked at them strangely. They were afraid and tried to persuade Wango not to shoot it. Wango did not listen.

Wango told his fellow hunters that they were cowards. He shot his arrow but neither he nor the other hunters lived to tell whether it hit the bird or not. In the twinkling of an eye, they were all struck by lightening. A deafening thunder and very heavy rain followed. It rained so hard that many people died.

The creature Wango had tried to shoot at was the son of Thunder. Thunder was so annoyed with the people’s disobedience that he sent old age, sickness, poisons, and accidents. Since Wango shot at the son of Thunder, people have died and the people of the valley are no longer happy.

Read more stories in “Under the Mukusu Tree” !

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