Spare the rod and spoil the child...

A tale my mother told me
to emphasize the need to train children well and correct them, when they are wrong

Pls read on..

Long ago , in the village of Tiye, there once lived some uncultured children. These untrained children lived a life of abandon and disrespect. They were so unbridled, untutored and ill-mannered that they abused every Tom, Dick and Harry that passed their way.

As bad and rude as these children were, their parents did not see anything wrong in their way of life. They grew so uncontrollable that they even mocked disabled people openly.

In this same village, there also lived Imude who was disabled from birth, he had crooked toes and wobbled legs. These children had a habit of making fun of him, often times they would form a ring round him and sing abuses of him in chorus anytime they see him passing by. One day, Imude was passing by as usual..the children immediately gathered to sing.

song

call: See this crooked toes
response: crooked toes

call: See this wobbled legs
response: wobbled legs

call: See this scattered teeth
response: scattered teeth

As these children sang, they jumped from one side to another following behind Imude. Imude did not seem to mind, he was used to their costly jokes. Amidst the jeering and sneering of these children, Imude went away as quietly as possible.
He shrugged it off, afterall it was not his fault that he was the way he was. He consoled himself with the fact that he was God's creation just as those that were mocking him.

These children continued unabated. One day, some neighbours and one of the fathers of the children, rebuked them and even attempted to beat them. They tried to prevent these children from following the disabled man. They caught the children and beat them, to teach them a lesson. But unfortunately, this gesture did not go down well with the mothers of these children. They flared up and started abusing these men. They started recounting how difficult it was for them to have these children.

One of the women, who was greatly embittered even narrated her ordeal before she could have her only child. She reiterated how she waited and struggled for seventeen years before she got the child. She however did not want anyone to beat her child.

These women threatened the men, warning them to stay away from their children. The men were dissappointed and they promised never to go near the women and their children.

These children continued in their unruly act and abyone that tried to stop them was abused by their mothers.
To them, the children were having fun. One day , a mysterious traveller passed by and saw these children in their usual act, abusing her for having a very big buttock. The woman was amazed at their effontery and went in search of their parents. On meeting their mothers, she narrated her ordeal but the mothers were quick to disregard the report, saying the children are just innocent kids, having fun. The traveller went away dissappointed.

Few days later, a very abnormal ugly creature appeared on the streets of Tiye. The creature was very rough and dirty, the ill-mannered children spotted him again and in their characteristic manner began to make jest of the unkempt creature.
They gathered themselves together and began to sing again.

They were so excited and they continued to sing, dance and clap, following the creature. Unknown to them, the strange creature was evil. They got so carried away that, they did not know when they got to the outskirt of the village while following the creature.

Suddenly, the strange creature stopped immediately and turned to a whirlwind which rose before them and enveloped them all as they screamed. On releasing the children, they became blind, deaf, lame and dumb. They began to cry and scream for their parents.

They could not leave the outskirts because they were blind. Hours later, a woman going to fetch water at the outskirts of the town, saw the children. She screamed then ran back to call their parents and the whole neighbourhood. The parents arrived the scene and the mothers began to cry, no one knew what had happened. The children could not talk or hear or see. Imude the disabled creature, who had seen everything that happened then told everyone that the children had danced and mocked a stranger who took them away to punish them. He further told them, that the creature dissappeared immediately.

The mothers of the children began to cry, if only they had listened to the voice of warning. If only they had not spoiled their children.