Thank you Muhammed. Glad you enjoyed the piece. Warm regards, Baba On Nov 15, 2016 5:26 AM, "Muhammed Drammeh" < [log in to unmask]> wrote: > Mawdo Baba Jallow Thank you. Bravo to our own literary giant. Keep it up > > ------------------------------ > * From: * Baba Jallow <[log in to unmask]>; > * To: * <[log in to unmask]>; > * Subject: * [G_L] Smiling Forest Revisited - 2 > * Sent: * Sun, Nov 13, 2016 9:59:23 PM > > *Chapter Two * > > *How Loony the fox came into Smiling Forest* > > Loony the fox was a refugee in Smiling Forest. He and his family having > suffered some strange misfortune in their forest of origin, Loony had > abandoned his dying parents and crept stealthily into Smiling Forest in > search of greener pastures. > > When he managed to slip into the borders of Smiling Forest, Loony had to > stay in total hiding. To avoid detection by the ever vigilant immigration > police, Loony sometimes covered himself in green leaves and posed like a > bush when any animal passed him by. Sometimes he stood erect on his hind > legs and froze, posing as a rock to avoid detection. When he felt in real > danger of being detected, Loony smeared his entire body with red mud and > froze at the slightest movement, pretending to be an anthill. > > Ever the shady figure, Loony the fox spent most of those early days > slinking on the dark fringes of Smiling Forest. As much as possible, he > avoided detection and only went hunting during the nights. During the days, > he crept stealthily around or slept under the protective cover of some > thick bush. > > Elsewhere in Smiling Forest, life went on as usual. Cheku the parrot told > his endless tales. Buki the hyena stole other people’s food. Nopa the hare > endlessly played his unpleasant tricks on innocent folks and sometimes > pretended to be Talkmuch Dolittle. Nice Boy the monkey was always on the > look-out for some mischief to make. Saa the snake, ever the celebrated > liar, wove fantastic tales of pulp fiction and continued to wreck havoc on > the stable relationships of unwary folks. Momba the tortoise, famous for > his lackadaisical attitude, was mainly concerned with stuffing his shell > with delicious food and sleeping under the cool shades of big trees. Samo > the elephant, who was so dull of wit that he often forgot his own name, > wandered aimlessly around, going to great pains not to crush tiny animals > under his massive feet. For stupid though he was, Samo had a kind heart. > Toothy the boar, hardly cleverer than Samo, continued to be a co-victim of > the vicious Nopa’s ugly tricks. Skimpy the giraffe, ever-proud of his great > height and his magical ability to eat from tree tops, gamboled gaily > around, boasting of his height. The banished animals, poor old Spotty the > tiger and Blackie the panther, quietly nursed their wounded egos in a > remote corner of Smiling Forest. There they laid their plans and waited for > an opportunity to pounce on the pompous Talkmuch Dolittle, tear him to > pieces and assume leadership of Smiling Forest. Every dog has its day, they > often consoled each other. Cheku the parrot kept his busy tongue wagging, > trying to throw verbal spanners into the works of whatever worthy projects > were going on in Smiling Forest, while Mbota the old frog hopped and > croaked dully away. > > At the onset of every cold season, when the rains had completely stopped, > Talkmuch Dolittle called a general council of all the animals in Smiling > Forest. At such a conference, under the wise guidance of Chokie the > bushfowl, Talkmuch Dolittle gave a state of the forest address, reviewed > developments, highlighted achievements and pointed out failures. It was > here too that the animals expressed their opinions and views on burning > issues in Smiling Forest. It was here that new arrivals who wanted to be > accepted into the Smiling Forest community publicly stated their cases. > This was a rather risky business because if Talkmuch Dolittle was not > satisfied with an animal’s explanation, that animal was immediately pounced > upon and forcefully thrown out of Smiling Forest. It was to this annual > conference that Loony the fox came weeping and wailing, limping on all four > legs, his long tail sadly drooping, a haggard and mournful look on his > gaunt face, totally awash with baleful tears of extreme remorse. > > A few meters away from the large gathering of animals, Loony the fox > suddenly started weeping and wailing, attracting all eyes towards his > direction. All the animals were mighty amazed when they saw the poor > stranger dragging himself from behind some bushes and painfully staggering > towards them. “Help him, help him!” Cheku the parrot shrieked, not able to > hold his tongue at the sorry sight of the staggering stranger. “Give him a > hand! Give him a hand!” Cheku loudly shrieked, frantically flapping his > wings, swaying this way and that, performing all those concerned antics at > which he was a great expert, prompting a few strong animals to run to > Loony’s aid and carry him moaning, groaning and wailing into the ring of > animals. They gently placed him before the incredulous Talkmuch Dolittle, > who repeatedly asked, “Who are you? What’s wrong with you?” Bending over, > Chokie the bush fowl whispered something into Talkmuch Dolittle’s ear, > while casting a suspicious glance at the moaning and groaning fox, who > looked as if he was going to die any moment. > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To > unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web > interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html > > To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/ > SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please > send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To > unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web > interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html > > To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/ > SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please > send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤