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| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Momodou |
Posted - 14 Nov 2016 : 10:06:54
Smiling Forest Revisited - 1
By Baba Galleh Jallow
Chapter One
A brief historical background of Smiling Forest, Talkmuch Dolittle and other famous characters
Smiling Forest stood in the middle of the continent of Toro, the land of the black animals. Years ago, Smiling Forest was ruled by Mansa Talkmuch Dolittle, king of all the animals. The descendant of a lineage of leatherworkers, Talkmuch Dolittle rose to prominence by the sweetness of his tongue, the sharpness of his wit, the sheer size of his muscles, and the sharpness of his teeth. Having talked or clawed to submission all his major rivals for the throne, Talkmuch Dolittle “chased away” the former vassal chief of Smiling Forest, who served a great alien white queen in the distant forest of the red animals, and assumed leadership of Smiling Forest. He was hailed as a great warrior and savior – the great peace that had brought freedom to the animals of Smiling Forest!
For many years, Talkmuch Dolittle ruled Smiling Forest with a benign smile. Like the envoy of the great queen of the red animals, Talkmuch Dolittle made sure that absolute discipline reigned within the confines of Smiling Forest, so that generally speaking, life on Smiling Forest remained serene and peaceful throughout his long reign. His greatest weakness was that Talkmuch Dolittle talked too much, did too little and paid too little attention to the most ardent desires of his subjects. In general, however, his reign was one of peacefulness, relative security and a relatively high level of prosperity and dignity for the animals of Smiling Forest. For while he maintained strict discipline in the land, he did so with a philosophy of do nothing, suffer nothing.
Smiling Forest was a land of great social variety. There were very troublesome folks like Buki the hyena whose favorite past time was to ambush lesser animals and strike them dead or frighten them out of their wits; the likes of Nice Boy the monkey, who specialized in stealing the hard-earned food of other animals; his friend Nopa the hare, who enjoyed playing dirty pranks on bigger folks like Samo the elephant and Toothy the boar, who were rather slow of wit. Nopa particularly liked pretending that he was Talkmuch Dolittle himself by hiding behind some tree and making fearful noises to frighten lesser animals. There were the likes of Skimpy the giraffe, who bore everyone with his endless bragging over his ability to eat from tree tops; the likes of Saa the snake, who was such a notorious liar that all the animals disappeared whenever they saw him coming. He had caused many an untold misery to many an innocent animal by his crafty tales of deceit and scheming. The animals never forgot that Saa was responsible for the expulsion of Adama and Awa from the blissful garden of Ajana. And there were Spotty the tiger and Blackie the panther, who were widely rumored to have kingship ambitions and were said to be constantly plotting against Talkmuch Dolittle. Indeed, so persistent did the rumors grow that Talkmuch Dolittle banished Spotty and Blackie to a remote corner of Smiling Forest.
And there was the notorious Cheku the parrot, the most unpopular animal in Smiling. Cheku was reputed to have a very slippery tongue that just could not stay in one place for one single minute. He was always rattling his tongue about one thing or the other and when he had nothing to rattle his tongue about, he cooked up some phony tale which he loudly parroted to all who cared to listen. If he had no one to listen, Cheku the parrot would sit on top of a tree and chatter loudly away, mostly complaining about jealous folks who thought they were clever. And since there was supposed to be freedom of speech and expression in Smiling Forest, no one ventured to stop the garrulous parrot from having his noisy say.
Source: Gambia-L |
| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Momodou |
Posted - 30 Mar 2017 : 08:08:43
Final Chapter
Chapter Twenty One
By Baba Galleh Jallow
How Loony eventually fled into exile and the smile returned to Smiling Forest
Loony’s refusal to step down in the face of several mediation efforts heightened the threat of war and greatly worried the peace loving animals of Smiling Forest. Increasingly concerned about their safety and the safety of their families and loved ones, more and animals sadly trekked into exile to neighboring forests. Judging by what he said and the way he behaved, it became crystal clear to the animals that Loony did not care a hoot whether they lived or died, whether their blood and the blood of their innocent children and relatives in the armed foxes was spilled or not, or whether Smiling Forest became a raging battleground in a war whose consequences no one could imagine. The animals now saw that all Loony cared about was Loony and as far as he was concerned, Smiling Forest may as well be burnt to ashes if that would allow him to stay on in power for as long as he lived. But the animals also clearly saw that come what may, Loony must go because the odds were just too stacked against him. And they were just totally sick and tired of the mad fox in power. They knew that it was never again going to be 'Loony bark animal run'.
Loony was devastated when in a surprise tactical move that confused the mad fox to no end, the Association of Neighboring Forests suddenly invited the victor to attend the summit of presidents in the neighboring forest of Mili. This sudden and unexpected development really spooked Loony who repeatedly gnashed his teeth and furiously switched his tail this way and that to emphasize his anger. What evil plot are they hatching, he wondered. But of course, no answer was forthcoming and Loony began to throw furtive glances this way and that for a possible escape route just in case the Association of Neighboring Forests had some funny trick up their evil sleeves. It was widely reported in the international media that while the Association of Neighboring Forests was ready to send their armed foxes in to get Loony, the victor himself preferred a peaceful resolution to the crisis. But while the animals of Smiling Forest also preferred a peaceful resolution, they hoped and prayed that the victor would not reject the use of force to kick Loony out because that was clearly the only way the mad fox could be persuaded to leave power. When some animals interviewed on the international media were asked if they shared the victor’s optimism that Loony would leave power peacefully, their answer was a categorical no. Loony would only leave power if he were physically kicked out either through the use of force or the very credible threat of force against him. The mad fox had proven over and over again that the only language he understood was the language of force, which he habitually inflicted on innocent animals and which was the only way to take him out of power.
Four days to the expiry of Loony’s last term in office, Smiling Forest remained in an unpredictable limbo thanks to Loony’s evil and ill-fated plot to stay in power after his crushing defeat by the candidate for the coalition of independent animals. No one knew how the impasse would end, but many were convinced that Loony had to be forced out because he could not be reasoned with to leave. The unimaginable alternative to forcing him out would be many more years of Loony’s brutal dictatorship which the animals even dreaded to imagine. So while every animal held their breath and some fled into exile, they were unanimous that if getting Loony out of power meant war in their small beautiful forest, they would prefer that to extending Loony’s brutal regime over them. They were just sick and tired of the evil fox who dressed up in the garbs of piety but habitually engaged in the most devilish behavior for the past twenty two years. Shouts of ‘Loony must go no matter what’ resounding around Smiling Forest and the Smiling Forest Diaspora as the animals waited for their fate and the fate of their forest. Some hoped Loony would leave without a bloodbath while others hoped that he would remain stupid enough to insist on staying so he would be captured and made to pay for his innumerable crimes against the innocent and peace-loving animals of Smiling Forest.
Three days to the expiry of Loony’s term and the mad fox still remained defiant. But he was now openly showing signs of extreme fright as demonstrated by a call he placed to the president of Libiri Forest asking her to please make it possible for his mercenary judges to travel to Smiling Forest to settle the impasse peacefully. Watching him on TV, the animals saw that Loony’s face was white with fear. His increasingly dry face looked like a powdered rock with rough edges and cracks for lips. His eyes were small, round and white with fright. And he sounded rattled and cagey on the phone. His speech was dry and slurred, making some animals think that he was either drunk or on drugs. “My sister I greet you in the name of the Great God Yallah,” he cracked. “I am calling to personally beg you my sister to please beg the Association of Neighboring Forests to allow my judges to come and settle this matter peacefully. Let the judges come right now please, my good and best sister ever. Please I beg you to let them come now because right now I just want peace and security,” he cackled, his voice shaking. “I swear to the Great God Yallah that I will obey the constitution of Smiling Forest and we will all make peace and live happily ever after.” When the president of Libiri Forest asked him to issue a statement making the same plea, Loony readily agreed. But everyone knew that Loony was up to his dirty tricks again. In fact, in order to give the impression to the animals of Smiling Forest that he was still in firm control of the situation, Loony was secretly recording his conversation with the president of Libiri Forest. As soon as he hung up, he had the video broadcast on national radio and television and loudly bragged that he Loony, was the one and only one who could resolve the crisis. But the wise animals of Smiling Forest knew that Loony’s mind had gone blind, his reason totally clouded by the thick fog of his evil deeds, so that he stumbled from one blunder to another even as he tried to be clever.
His betrayal of the trust of the president of Libiri Forest was a particularly fateful blunder by Loony. The Libiri Forest president who was also president of the Association of Neighboring Forests was extremely furious. She granted interviews to international media in which she roundly condemned Loony and called him a dishonest cheat of the worst sort ever to walk this earth. Loony’s betrayal further infuriated all members of the Association of Neighboring Forests and strengthened their resolve to kick the mad fox out of power come what may. And so they accelerated their preparations to remove Loony by force. News spread that more and more fierce and heavily armed foxes from the forests of Sunulep, Nigiri, Libiri and Ghini were now amassed on the Smiling Forest border, waiting to move in, pounce upon Loony and take him out. In fact at this time there were reports that some of the armed foxes had actually entered Smiling Forest and encountered no resistance from the Smiling Forest armed foxes. Muhari the giraffe, still angry at Loony’s rude treatment of him sent fighter jets from Nigiri Forest. These zoomed across the skies of Smiling Forest, their loud noises adding to Loony’s fright and heightening the anxiety of the ordinary animals, who continued to flee into exile in their thousands. Loony was rumored to have lost all capacity for sleep and grown extremely irritable. His legendary ratatoi was fast coming back as small white cracks of fear appeared at the corners of his hot dog lips. Meanwhile, the Association of Neigh boring Forests flew the victor into Sunulep Forest where he awaited his inauguration as the new leader of Smiling Forest.
Driven more by his growing fear of capture and possible death than by concern for the peace and security of the animals of Smiling Forest, Loony secretly welcomed the presidents of the neighboring forests of Muriti and Gini to Smiling Forest. Their mission was to "persuade" Loony to leave. Two days of behind the door conversations passed before news started leaking that Loony had finally agreed to go. When the deadline for him to step down was just hours ago, it was announced that Loony had requested a few hours extension, which was granted by the Association of Neighboring Forests. Loony now knew that this was indeed the end of the road for him. The armed foxes chief had made it clear that he would not order his soldiers into battle on behalf of Loony and with that support gone, Loony knew that the die had been cast. He either had to leave, or fall into the hands of the fierce armed foxes from neighboring forests, and then he would either be killed or put in chains and dragged before a court of law to answer for all the innumerable crimes he had committed as the brutal dictator of Smiling Forest.
And so it was that one historic evening, the animals of Smiling Forest watched the mad fox who had vowed to rule them for a billion years stepped off their beloved soil onto a plane that carried him off into exile in the distant forest of Ekuta Guana. There he would live in exile, hosted by another notorious despot, the infamous Obinga Guma aka vampire, who was said to be so rich that his clothes were made of gold while the animals he ruled were so poor that they ate mud for survival. The Smiling Forest animals were so relieved that they could hardly jubilate. Most animals just broke down and wept, and praised the Great God Yallah for finally ending the tyrannical rue of the mad and brutal fox who had terrorized them for twenty two long years. Many months later, as the smile started returning to Smiling Forest and life got back to normal, pictures started circulating around the world of a frail and confused looking Loony lounging around in the thick and muddy jungles of Ekuta Guana. That was the end of many many dark days in Smiling Forest.
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| Momodou |
Posted - 06 Feb 2017 : 07:55:37
Smiling Forest Revisited - 20
Loony’s last stand and how he stoutly insisted he was the winner
By Baba Galleh Jallow
As the deadline for Loony to step down drew nearer, the confused fox grew more and more insistent that he was the true winner of the contest in which he was smashed to the ground before the very eyes of all the animals of Smiling Forest and the entire big wide world. He insisted that the referee had stolen the match for his opponent and that he was never going to step down unless there was a rematch in which he would appoint new, God-fearing referees. He lodged a complaint with the Supreme Court whose judges he would appoint from the neighboring forests of Sirali and Nigari to come nullify the results of the match and declare him the winner. Every day brought a new barrage of meaningless threats to never quit power from Loony. And every day saw him more and more isolated as members of his inner circle fled and members of his cabinet absconded to neighboring forests and issued statements asking him to accept the reality of his defeat and step down.
But Loony remained adamant. He increased the number of heavily armed foxes on the streets of Smiling Forest and bragged that he would fight to the death to safeguard the independence and territorial integrity of Smiling Forest. Having trampled upon the rule of law and the constitution of Smiling Forest for 22 years, Loony suddenly became an ardent advocate of respect for the constitution and the rule of law. He suddenly became a fanatic disciple of constitutionalism and frequently quoted constitutional provisions that he tried to tweak to suit his purpose of abrogating his opponent’s victory and staying on in power. But the majority of the animals of Smiling Forest called his bluff. The victor insisted that come the end of Loony’s term, he would be sworn in as the new president of Smiling Forest. Movements cropped up everywhere with defiant and revolutionary slogans like #SmilingForestHasDecided and #LoonyMustGo! A furious Loony ordered the Mental Surveillance Unit to crack down and arrest any animals seen wearing T-shirts with these slogans and to close down all radio stations that dared to talk about his defeat or any of these movements. Four radio stations were immediately shut down and several animals picked up and sent to Loony’s notorious “five star hotel.” Armed foxes that were thought to be sympathetic to the victor were also grabbed and taken to unknown destinations. But nothing shook the animal’s determination to bring Loony’s reign of terror to an end. The hashtags #NoRetreatNoSurrender and #WeAreTakingOurForestBack mushroomed and multiplied around Smiling Forest, encouraging the animals to stand their ground and show Loony that true power belonged to them and not to Loony and his brutal government.
But many ordinary animals were scared of war and decided to leave Smiling Forest. The once happy and peaceful animals of Smiling Forest suddenly found themselves displaced and becoming refugees either in the rural areas of Smiling Forest or in neighboring forests. They cursed Loony and expressed their amazement that Loony could be so cruel and hard-hearted as to want to hang on to power even if it meant bringing war to their peaceful forest. Whole families fled Smiling Forest and often had to beg for food and shelter in neighboring forests in an attempt to save their lives. Curses rained down upon Loony like a violent hailstorm, but the mad fox firmly shut his eyes and stuffed his ears with mud to make sure that he neither saw nor heard the voice of reason and the world urging him to step down, convincing him that his time was up and that the Great God Yallah had indeed spoken.
Just nine days to the end of his term, Loony’s evil plot to hold the animals of Smiling Forest suffered another devastating blow: The mercenary judges he hired from the distant forests of Sirali and Nigari refused to come to Smiling Forest. They declared that they were not ready to back up his unjust claim to power. Loony was more furious and confused than ever before, but there was little he could do as the lone mercenary judge in Smiling Forest Chief Justice Fagbe da Log declared that the court could do nothing unless it had a quorum in several months’ time. Fagbe da Log suggested somehow that Loony should just negotiate his way out of the mess he had created. But Loony, his teeth firmly clenched, decided to immediately launch another attempt at hanging on to power. He declared that he was going to make a law that would grant amnesty to any animal that had committed a crime for the past two months and that he was in fact a forgiving fox, a fox of peace and security and a fox who had the greatest faith ever in the Great God Yallah. Opening his horse’s mouth big and wide, he thus addressed the animals: “I know that some of you are running away saying that Loony wants to bring war into this forest. That is not true. I am a fox of peace and security. I assure all of you animals that peace will prevail. But only my own personal Supreme Court can validate the results of this match that that crooked referee stole for my opponent. The so-called Association of Neighboring Forests is interfering in the internal affairs of my personal forest, and they are declaring war on my personal forest. But let them come here. I will show them who I am. I will face them and fight them and defeat them so badly they will leave their shoes and flee for their lives. I will rule this forest for a billion years and if any one doesn’t like it they can go to hell.”
The truth was that by this time Loony was extremely rattled around both by the approaching fierce armed foxes of the Association of Neighboring Forests and especially by some strange stories making the rounds around Smiling Forest about something called “Dragon Fire”. He was particularly troubled that this so-called “Dragon Fire” was said to be ‘quasi invisible’ and had laser beams and other frightful capabilities for ferreting out its targets and incinerating them. Loony heard the strange rumors but was both mollified and petrified when he read about them from someone called “Winged Scorpion.” What do they mean dragon fire and winged scorpion? Whoever heard such frightful names? Loony shivered and his teeth clattered like plates as he sat alone in his big private room pondering these strange things. He was so shaken that several times, he got up and prowled around the room, shaking from head to foot and wondering just what they mean by dragon fire and winged scorpion. The latter name sounded particularly frightening; for while he was certainly no stranger to scorpions, the idea of a winged scorpion sounded too spooky for his rattled nerves.
Meanwhile, efforts by the association of neighboring forests to mediate the impasse and convince Loony to step down peacefully continued. The neighboring forest of Nigari, whose president was the chief mediator kindly offered Loony asylum if he agreed to step down. Less than a week before Loony’s term expired, Muhari the giraffe, president of Nigari Forest traveled for a second time to Smiling Forest in a last bid to make the mad fox see reason. But the animals of Smiling Forest were not optimistic. They knew Loony was a psychopath and psychopaths never see reason, unless it is reason that serves their own interest or reason backed by force or a very credible threat of force. While his victorious opponent slated to become the new leader of Smiling Forest in a few days sounded optimistic that the impasse could end peacefully, and said Loony could stay in Smiling Forest, many animals were skeptical and believed that Loony would only leave power if he were to be physically grabbed and forcefully dragged or driven out of power. Some of them reasoned that the Great God Yallah was a God of miracles and would perhaps perform a miracle that would make Loony accept his faith to become an ordinary fox again. Everywhere in Smiling Forest and around the world, animals hoped and prayed for such a miracle as they waited to see what became of Muhari the giraffe’s latest trip to Smiling Forest. The animals were not surprised when they saw Muhari the giraffe stomping angrily out of Loony’s palace, his mediation efforts having proved futile. In fact, Loony had rudely told Muhari to his face that he should go take care of the rebels in his own forest rather than meddle in the internal affairs of Smiling Forest. He roundly told Muhari and everyone in the Association of Neighboring Forests and the whole big wide world to go to hell because he would never allow himself to be cheated of his legitimate victory. “I will rule this forest for a billion years and if you don’t like it you can go to hell Muhari!” he angrily ranted. “You say your armed foxes will attack me. Let them attack. Bulay bulay bulay, I will show them who Loony is!”
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| Momodou |
Posted - 02 Jan 2017 : 08:59:24
Smiling Forest Revisited - 19
By Baba Galleh Jallow
Chapter Nineteen
How Loony admitted defeat then insisted that he was in fact the winner
The animals of Smiling Forest could not believe their ears or eyes as they listened and watched General Loony admit defeat on national radio and television. They held their mouths and wiped tears of joy and shock from their eyes as they listened and watched the fox who had described himself as invincible and threatened to rule them for a billion years humbly concede defeat and promise to retire peacefully to his home village to become a champion farmer. Surely, this could not be real? Surely, this could not possibly be happening? The animals watched and listened, their hearts beating like a thousand drums in their chests as the defeated Loony, looking tired and broken, delivered his unprecedented admission of defeat.
“You animals have spoken,” Loony cackled through his horse’s mouth, revealing his large teeth. “Through you the Great God Yallah has spoken. I can hear the voice of the Great God Yallah saying Loony, this is it; your time is up. I happily submit to our will and the will of the Great God Yallah. I admit defeat and I will never question the decision of the Great God Yallah or go against the will of you, the animals of Smiling Forest. I admit defeat because our system is rig-proof and the best and most transparent in the world.” Loony let out a plaintive yelp of defeat and bared his teeth in a futile attempt to smile and hide his pain. He went on to say how much he loved the animals of Smiling Forest, how much he loved the female animals and the young animals in particular, because without the female animals and the young animals, he would have been a total failure. “I love you all and I will even die for you,” he whimpered, “and I thank you all for loving me back.”
“I have been your ruler for 22 years. But after 22 years the Great God Yallah has finally spoken,” he cackled, struggling to hold back his tears. “After 22 years I am now defeated. You animals say you want another ruler and now you have another ruler. I am no longer your ruler. I came 22 years ago on the sixth day of the week in the seventh month. I go 22 years later on the sixth day of the week in the 12th month. 22, 22, six, six. That means the Great God Yallah has spoken and this is destiny and I will never question the will of the Great God Yallah. I know that the contest was totally free and fair because our wrestling system is rig-proof and no one has ever cheated and no one can ever cheat. So I am happy to accept defeat because our system is open and fair and I do not want to contest the will of the Great God Yallah. I was thrown down before you all. And to those of you who were in my government, if you have no job do not cry. You can come to my home village and become a farmer like me because I will become a champion farmer. It’s a mad day.”
Loony rattled on and on about how the Great God Yallah had spoken and how as a total devotee and servant of the Great God Yallah whom alone he feared, he would never contest his defeat. The animals could see that Loony was severely confused. Several times he ended his rambling rant and stood up as if to leave only to sit back down and start rambling again. It seemed as if the throne was so sweet to his backside that he couldn’t bear not to sit on it, for just one last time, one last time.
Finally, after a long and rambling rant, Loony’s speech was over. At the same time, Smiling Forest erupted in the wildest jubilations the animals had ever seen. Large crowds of animals drove their cars in the streets honking their horns, doing the V for victory sign, and shouting “down with Loony!” at the top of their voices. Even the armed foxes joined the jubilations, celebrating the fall of the wicked fox that had ruled them with an iron fist for 22 long years. Loony was devastated to see how happy the animals were that he had been defeated and would no longer be their ruler. He was devastated to see animals climb tall buildings and rip to pieces large posters bearing his ugly face. He was devastated to see animals cast his images to the ground and dance on his face, stamping on it, wiggling their butts and even doing the unthinkable on his face. He was devastated to be forced to see and admit for the first time in 22 years that so many animals in Smiling Forest were sick and tired of him and were so happy to see him go. His amazement turned to crippling fear as word spread that the incoming government was in fact going to arrest and have him prosecuted for all the horrendous crimes he had committed over the past 22 years. Even though this was not the official position of the incoming government, Loony was scared out of his wits. He was so scared that his large tail shrunk and the hair fell off his ears. Then suddenly, it occurred to him that he could use this as an excuse to insist that the contest wasn’t fair and that he was in fact the winner of the wrestling contest because the referee cheated for his opponent.
Exactly one week after accepting defeat and congratulating the winner whom he described as the new ruler of Smiling Forest, Loony summoned national radio and television to his palace to announce that he totally rejected the outcome of the wrestling contest and that he was no longer stepping down because he was in fact the winner.
“Last week I told you that I was defeated. Today I am telling you that I was not defeated,” he thundered to the stupefied amazement of the animals. “Today I tell you that I totally reject the outcome of the contest and nullify the victory of my opponent because it was never a victory. My agents have done their investigations and we have found cheating and anomalies, and we have found that the referee cheated for my opponent. We know that when the dust was high and no one was looking, the referees jumped into the fray and pulled my legs and grabbed my neck so that my opponent could throw me down. I felt them pull my legs and I felt their claws on my neck but I thought it was just my opponent. Moreover, some of the animals, over 300, 000 of them were not allowed to support me. They were told the big lie that I had already been thrown down and there was no need for them to come. So I am not accepting any damn defeat and if you don’t like it you can go to hell. I command all of you to go right back and prepare for a new contest. I will appoint new God-fearing referees and I will engage my opponent again. I am doing this because I was cheated of my victory by referees who did not fear the Great God Yallah and were cheats and liars. I am never stepping down and I will continue to rule this forest for a billion years. I fear no one and I am invincible. If you don’t like it you can go to hell!”
Loony’s strange declaration poured cold water on the hopes and spirits of the animals. There was a universal groan and a moan, and shrill cries of utter disbelief at Loony’s strange action. He had promised to hand over power the following month, and he would be the legitimate ruler of Smiling Forest until that date. Now, he threatened to continue ruling the animals again, whether they liked it or not, and in the process, he could bring about violent conflict in Smiling Forest. The animals could not help remember Loony’s many boasts that no one could ever defeat him in Smiling Forest and that even if someone threw him down, he would never step down from power because he personally owned Smiling Forest and the lives of all the animals of Smiling Forest. It appeared that Loony was indeed determined to rule them for a billion years even if it meant violence and loss of life and limb in Smiling Forest. Loony followed up his threats by deploying heavily armed foxes all over Smiling Forest were they set up road blocks and mounted sand bags as if in readiness for combat. Loony expected the animals to come out in protest so that he could crush them all with rapid gun fire, arrest the victor and all his team for inciting the protests, kill or thrown them into jail and sit calmly back to continue ruling Smiling Forest with total impunity. But the animals did not come out to protest. They simply ignored the armed foxes and went calmly about their daily activities. And so Loony’s evil plot was foiled and suffered a still birth. Rather than go out to protest, the animals used their voices like never before to ask Loony to step down from power and to let him know in no uncertain terms that they were taking their forest back.
Loony was dumbstruck to see the very outspoken reactions of the animals. All kinds of animal groups put out statements condemning Loony’s about face, rejecting his claims of victory, and asking him to just step down and hand over power to the winner. From student groups to lecturers’ groups, doctors, nurses, businesses, journalists, lawyers, pharmacists and other professionals, everyone came out and asked Loony to step down. “We are sick and tired of your callous brutality!” they shouted. “We don’t want you anymore! Leave us in peace! We want our forest and our lives back! Go away! If you don’t go we will refuse to work!” It was clear that no animal feared Loony or his notorious Mental Surveillance Unit, or his armed foxes anymore. The animals had tasted power and they were now going to make sure that Loony felt the weight of their muscles.
The animals of Smiling Forest were so happy to see that everyone in the world supported their calls for Loony to step down. Messages of congratulation to the winner poured in from all over the world, from the distant forests of the red animals and the brown animals, to the forests of the beard and turbaned animals whom Loony considered his closest allies. Even Vulad da Pudding, the callous dictator of the red forest of Rizzi congratulated the winner. Everyone put out statements asking Loony to respect the will of the animals of Smiling Forest and step down from power. The association of neighboring forests sent high level envoys to talk to Loony, but Loony rejected their appeals and mediation, declaring that no power on earth could tell him what to do in his personal forest. “I own this forest and I will rule this forest forever and no power in the world can make me change my mind. I won the contest. The referees were thieves and cheated for my opponent. I must have a re-match because I have rejected and totally annulled the declared results of the past contest. So let no one tell me what to do or to step down!” he insisted fuming at the nose and mouth.
Having failed to convince him to step down peacefully, the association of neighboring forests decided that they were going to send in an intervention force to remove Loony by force if he refused to respect the will of the Great God Yallah and the animals of Smiling Forest. Their position was supported by the universal association of world animals and all forests across the world. Loony remained defiant, too scared to imagine himself as an ordinary fox again. “I will fight courageously, patriotically and win,” he cackled, trembling in fear, fear of being known for the coward he actually was. Loony transported his own family to safety in the distant forest of Miriki where he owned a multi-million dollar mansion and dug his heels in. He ordered the armed foxes to be in a heightened state of alert, threw off his flowing white robes, and now prowled angrily around within the walls of his palace in military fatigues to demonstrate his manliness. As the sun set on the last day of Loony’s last year in power, the animals of Smiling Forest remained hostage to the evil greed of the mad fox. Across the once peaceful Forest, families worried and prayed for peace. They wondered just how Loony would get out of power, for that was the only option left to him. A few speculated that he would negotiate his way into exile in a distant forest. Most animals however, believed that Loony would not go voluntarily. They believed that the most likely end to the saga of the mad fox in power is that one, his own armed foxes would forcefully grab and drag him out of power, or two, that the association of neighboring foxes will send in troops that will forcefully flush him out by either capturing him alive or shooting him dead. Either way, it would be good riddance for the long-oppressed animals of Smiling Forest.
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| Momodou |
Posted - 30 Dec 2016 : 08:19:55
Smiling Forest Revisited - 18
By Baba Galleh Jallow
Chapter Eighteen
Loony’s last year in power and how he suffered a crushing defeat in the ring
Loony the fox always wanted it both ways. He wanted the best of all worlds. He wanted to both eat his cake and keep it at the same time. He knew he was a heartless tyrant who was deliberately bullying and oppressing the animals of Smiling Forest. But he wanted to be considered a kind and generous saint and benefactor of all the animals. He was a dark-hearted idol worshipper but wanted to be considered the most clean-hearted and most devoted servant of the Great God Yallah. And so he draped himself in flowing white robes as befits a pious saint and carried around all kinds of religious regalia, complete with a small white copoti cap of the kind worn by the pious sheeks of Smiling Forest, most of whom had become fanatic goat holders for the brutal and greedy fox. Even as he inflicted horrendous acts of brutality on the animals and unleased the notorious Mental Surveillance Unit, his callous minions in the Loony is Always Right Movement, and the killer Gugula squad on them, Loony assumed a fake air of piety that almost made the animals puke with disgust. As far as Loony was concerned, it did not matter that he was a cruel and heartless tyrant and idol worshipper; it was enough that he pretended to be a kind and pious animal. To hell with everything and everyone else!
Throughout his long reign of brutality and terror in Smiling Forest, Loony made sure that every five years he conducted a national wrestling contest in Smiling Forest. These wrestling contests were designed to legitimize his rule and to show that he was not only a strong ruler, but also the undisputed and beloved choice of the animals of Smiling Forest. Any animal that wanted to wrestle with him was welcome to do so, Loony would announce. And if anyone ever threw him down, he solemnly swore by the Great God Yallah, he would step down and they would become the new rulers of Smiling Forest. He always followed this oath by also swearing to the Great God Yallah that no one would ever throw him down and that he would in fact be the ruler of Smiling Forest for a billion years. Loony would set a date for the grand wrestling contest and appoint a team of referees to officiate the event. Then he would declare a campaign period during which all contestants could go around Smiling Forest to seek the support of the animals and perhaps visit their spiritual masters in search of charms and jujus to help them throw their opponents down. However, none of Loony’s opponents were ever allowed to use Smiling Forest radio and television to address the animals, and journalists who reported anything critical of Loony were immediately picked up by the Mental Surveillance Unit, the regular armed foxes, or the killer Gugula squad and severely dealt with, even killed.
At such times Loony would travel the length and breadth of Smiling Forest, surrounded by heavily armed foxes, baring his large teeth, flexing his muscles, switching his large tail this way and that, this way and that, widely opening his horse’s mouth, and asking all the animals if they had not seen all the great work he had done for them and wondering why some of them were so ungrateful as not to in fact worship him. During these so-called campaign tours, Loony would promise those who supported him all kinds of developmental goodies and threaten to starve to death all who did not support him. “For 400 years the greedy red animals colonized you and did not do a single thing for you,” he would loudly cackle, baring his teeth, flicking his tongue, tweaking his nose and lashing out at the nearest animals with his large tail. “And after the greedy red animal colonialists left, for forty years Talkmuch Dolittle colonized you and did nothing for you. I created rice for you when you were starving and ordered water from the skies for you when it refused to rain. I built you air to breath and have driven all your sicknesses from your miserable bodies. I have even made it possible for your wives to have children when you couldn’t do it yourself because I have magic powers. But some of you who are nothing but donkeys still refuse to support me and say you support so-called donkey oppositions. If you support donkey oppositions then you are also donkeys and you will starve to death and go to hell. Because I will tell you right now that no one can ever defeat me in a wrestling contest and if anybody ever defeats me, then I am no longer your ruler and I will concede defeat and go back to live my life as a champion farmer. But no one will ever defeat me and I will rule this forest for a billion years and if you don’t like it you can go to hell.” He would pound his chest and shake his large tail and grin at the skies and shake his fist at the animals, some of whom would screech and scream and clap for him to avoid being picked up by the ubiquitous Mental Surveillance Unit, LARM agents or the killer Gugula squad.
For many years Loony was conveniently declared the winner of all these staged wrestling contests. In some cases, when it appeared that his opponents were about to throw him down, the carefully selected and appointed referees would surreptitiously intervene and pull his opponents’ legs or grab their necks and raise a cloud of dust behind which they would suddenly shout that Loony had won again! All accusations of cheating made by his opponents were simply ignored and Loony would be crowned in yet another lavish inauguration ceremony, complete with flamboyant new titles and much drumming, dancing and clapping by Loony’s numerous cronies and hangers-on. Loony used these opulent occasions to remind everyone that he was the undisputed champion and favorite ruler of all the animals and if any animals did not like it they could go to hell. Putting on his most notorious and arrogant sneer, the one that made his face look like a broken piece of dark wood with ashes for eyes, Loony would howl and grunt and cast aspersions on those he called unpatriotic animals who were agents and stooges of greedy red animals who wanted to come back and colonize Smiling Forest again. “I strongly remind all of those unpatriotic animals who did not support me that no one can ever defeat me in a wrestling contest,” he would rant. “If they think that they can be supported by the evil animals of the red forests to defeat me, then they must be fools. No wrestler can every throw me down and no stupid red animals will ever tell me what to do or install their puppets as rulers of this forest. This is my personal forest and I will rule this forest for a billion years whether they like it or not. If you don’t like it and if they don’t like it you can all go to hell! It’s a mad day!”
In the 22nd year of his brutal reign of terror, Loony decided to call for another wrestling contest to legitimize his rule yet again. He had noticed how angry the animals were and was a bit wary this time, placing as many obstacles as he could in the way of any potential challenger. He made it almost impossible for anyone to challenge him by imposing an age limit for potential contestants and raising the registration fee by a whopping 500 percent. He believed that apart from himself, no one could afford the outrageous fees to register to challenge him in the ring. And when some animals protested the unjust conditions and rules of that year’s contest, some of them were beaten to death, some tortured and raped by the killer Gugulas, and some thrown to jail on spurious charges of disturbing the peace. Unfortunately for Loony, these cruel measures and the stringent conditions he imposed forced the animals to pool their resources and unite behind one contestant for whom they paid the exorbitant fees. Loony was so shaken when he saw that the animals had united that he almost cancelled the contest. But that would have made him look like a coward, and Loony dreaded the very idea of being known for the coward he actually was. So he allowed the challenger to register and preparations for the grand contest to go ahead as planned.
As usual Loony appointed referees for the contest, hoping that in case he was in danger of being thrown down, they would intervene as usual and pull his opponent’s legs or grab his neck so Loony can sit on him and be declared the winner. Having appointed the referees, Loony then marched across the length and breadth of Smiling Forest, baring his teeth, switching his large tail this way and that, and making guttural noises and threats designed to scare the animals into supporting him as usual. “No one can ever throw me down,” he loudly boasted with his horse’s mouth. “I am invincible and if anyone thinks that they can throw me down, then they are fools and *****s and can go to hell. If the so-called donkey oppositions think that they can unite and pick one contestant to challenge me, then they don’t know themselves and they can go to hell. I will win this contest with the greatest landslide victory ever and will rule this forest for a billion years whether you like it or not.” He repeated all the rude insults he habitually hurled against the animals and dared anyone to raise their voice or even look at him with bad eyes. “I own this forest and if anyone thinks they can challenge me, let them come. I swear by the Great God Yallah that they will even forget their names! I will personally dig a big hole and bury them nine feet deep!”
But by this time, the animals of Smiling Forest had grown sick and tired of the mad fox’s unbridled cruelty and crass rudeness. They were tired of his rude insults and his tireless bragging that he was the personal owner of Smiling Forest and would rule them for a billion years. They were tired of living in a state of crippling fear and tired of the hundreds of Mental Surveillance Unit agents and liars snooping into their private lives and making life unbearable for everyone in the land. They were tired of the bullying and the endless whipping and the biting poverty they suffered under Loony’s brutal regime. And they were tired of being told that they lived in a haven of peace and prosperity when they were starving and their children were drowning to death in their hundreds as they tried to take the perilous Backway to the rich forests of the red animals. And they were determined to support the unity contestant and help him throw Loony down. “You just wait,” they whispered to each other, “we will teach this brute a good lesson this year!”
On the day of the great contest the animals of Smiling Forest formed a great circle to watch the event of the century. The drummers beat their drums and everyone shouted and ululated, urging their contestants on. Loony’s supporters called him lion and sang the “Loony will never die” song. When he arrived at the venue clad in all his red jujus and small animal horns, Loony sprang into the great wrestling ring and started doing the traditional baaku dance. He stamped his feet and wiggled his waist and thrust both hands to heaven and to the sides and gnashed his teeth and shook his butts to the accompaniment of the frantic drumming and clapping. He rushed this way and that, this way and that, and trotted like a horse to the rhythm of the drums, glancing this way and that, this way and that with wide, fiery eyes in the manner of the great wrestlers of old. He yelled and shrieked and did the somersaults and banged his chest with both his palms to scare his opponent, who stood calmly in his spot, flexing his muscles and waiting for the referee to blow his horn.
When at long last the referee blew his horn and said “let the games begin”, Loony and his challenger met in the middle of the ring and locked bodies in the famous rofoe style. The animals held their breath. Loony shivered as he felt the hard muscles of his opponent squeeze his body in what felt like a death grip. The wrestlers pushed each other back and forth in the ring, jumped around in tight circles, and pulled and heaved and raised a great cloud of dust. Their muscles grew taut like steel rods and Loony started casting secret glances towards the referee. Suddenly, Loony felt himself flying in the air, swung round and round in circles as if he did not weigh anything at all. He frantically whistled again and again, giving the usual signal for the referee to intervene and pull his opponent’s legs, but nothing happened as his opponent gave him one last swing and smashed Loony’s body with all his might onto the hard ground below. Loony shrieked as his back crashed against the earth; he saw fire and involuntarily let out a frightful yelp and another sound that no one heard because of the loud cheers and the mad drumming and clapping from the audience. Loony could hardly breathe as the victor sat on his chest and grabbed his neck, waiting for the referee to declare him winner. The animals could not believe their eyes as the referee ran over, lifted the challenger’s arm into the air, and declared him the winner of that year’s national wrestling contest. The animals burst into thunderous applause, clapping and shouting that was almost heard by the animals in nearby forests. As he clumsily sprang up to his feet in a confused daze, Loony heard the referee announce that from now on, the challenger was the legitimate ruler of Smiling Forest and that Loony was now the outgoing ruler. That night, word quickly spread around Smiling Forest that Loony was going to concede defeat and congratulate the winner the following morning. The animals could not wait!
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| Momodou |
Posted - 27 Dec 2016 : 10:47:30
Smiling Forest Revisited - 17
By Baba Galleh Jallow
Chapter Seventeen
Operation No Shadows and the fall of the mighty Bajub, Mukisa, Da and others
As the long dark years of Loony’s reign of terror slowly and painfully unfolded in Smiling Forest, those animals schooled in the science of personality realized with chilling effect that they had a psychopath for a ruler. Loony displayed all the characteristics of a typical psychopath: he was in constant denial and conflict with others; he was clearly incapable of guilt; he was completely selfish and had no regard for the rights or interests of others; he was a pathological liar who consistently made promises he never kept or fulfilled; he showed great indignation whenever his views or positions were challenged or his integrity questioned; he was incapable of accepting blame, making mistakes or learning from experience; and he would stop at nothing to satisfy his bloated ego or go ahead with his plans, however ill-conceived and harmful to others they were. He was in effect, a mad fox in power.
So it was that the animals, half scared out of their wits and half amused, watched Loony launch his most absurd project to date – Operation No Shadows – which he said was a new aspect of his faultless system of powercracy and his infallible personal philosophy of Me-Alone. Wherever he looked, Loony saw the ugly shadows of his recklessness and brutality which followed him everywhere. Wherever he looked, Loony saw images of misery and destitution; he saw hunger and malnutrition and disease; he saw death and destruction; he saw blood and tears; and he saw and smelt the stinking rot of corruption perpetuated by him and those animals closest to him. Overwhelmed and confused, Loony decided he did not want to see any of his shadows ever again. He therefore launched Operation No Shadows to eliminate all his ugly shadows in accordance with the dictates of powercracy and his infallible philosophy of Me-Alone.
Starting with his critics, Loony embarked upon a blizzard of arrests, detentions, sackings and killings. So many animals were arrested by the Mental Surveillance Unit that after some time, it was impossible to keep up with the numbers. Political opponents and journalists were routinely hounded and if this failed to break them, the harassment was extended to their friends, families and even distant relatives. Many animals, including members of the armed foxes, were forced into exile while many more were thrown into jail or simply disappeared. But in spite of the dirty work of what he came to call his electric broom, Loony’s ugly shadows seemed to multiply in Smiling Forest. He was stupefied to see that the more people he had arrested tortured or killed, the bigger, longer and uglier his shadows grew.
Operation No Shadows soon turned in full force on Loony’s own inner circle. Hitherto untouchable folks like Bajub the wolf suddenly found themselves arrested and detained – publicly humiliated and mercilessly broken. Bajub, the initiator and head of the notorious Loony is Always Right Movement, was one of Loony’s most ugly shadows. His thugs had committed more atrocities than even the armed foxes themselves and Bajub himself displayed a total disregard for the law, bragging openly that he was totally above all laws of Smiling Forest. Bajub engaged in dubious business activities for Loony, hoarded scarce commodities to hike their prices so Loony could reap more profits, and did just about anything he felt like doing in Smiling Forest. He had grown fat and wealthy and soon, rumor had it that in fact, Bajub was almost as powerful as Loony himself if not more powerful than Loony. The widespread currency of this particular rumor was why some animals felt that his arrest had to do with the Great Leader’s rising fears that Bajub could overthrow him and become ruler of Smiling Forest. Bajub was roughed up and thrown into Smiling Forest’s most notorious jail, which Loony callously called “my five-star hotel”. Bajub was never to see the light of day again because like many other inmates of Loony’s “five-star hotel”, Bajub died under mysterious circumstances. Loony had it announced that he died of high blood pressure, but many animals knew otherwise. The word around Smiling Forest was that Bajub was in fact deliberately poisoned by Loony because he knew too much about the brutal fox’s dark deeds.
Operation No Shadows neutralized some key members of Loony’s killer squad of brutal armed foxes and civilian spies. Brutal armed foxes like the notorious Sir Veggi and Red Face died under mysterious circumstances after been grabbed and thrown into Loony’s “five-star hotel”. These and other brutal armed foxes who formed part of Loony’s death squads were eliminated because they knew too much about all the evil deeds Loony had committed – the poisoning of prisoners like Bajub and the mysterious shootings of journalists and lawyers, like the lawyer who represented Bajub the hyena. This hapless lawyer barely escaped with his life after some armed foxes ambushed him and almost blew his head off with gunshots. Da the camel, director of the notorious Mental Surveillance Unit was another high profile victim of Operation No Shadows after his arrest on charges that he was involved in a plot to overthrow Loony. No one ever knew what happened to Da the camel because he simply disappeared into thin air after his arrest. Loony announced that Da had escaped a cohort of armed foxes that was transporting him in a truck to a prison on the distant island of Jamboree. Of course, no animal bought the ludicrous story. They knew without doubt that Da, once among Loony’s most loyal agents, had simply been killed and perhaps buried in some unmarked grave or thrown into the fabled old well at the outskirts of Loony’s home village. Some stories had it that Da’s body was in fact chopped up into small pieces and fed to Loony’s crocodiles at his palace.
Operation No Shadows also hit Mukisa the brown monkey. Mukisa, a naturalized citizen of Smiling Forest, was one of the wealthiest animals in the land. He owned countless stores and properties and was notorious for his perpetuation of bribery and corruption within the Loony administration. Mukisa was known to publicly brag that he could get anything he wanted because money talked louder than noise. It was clear that he had given many a bunch of cash to the Great Leader himself, but he was one of his ugly shadows that Loony could no longer tolerate. Mukisa was thus one early morning woken up in his pajamas and hauled off to jail by his former buddies in the Mental Surveillance Unit. He was accused of harboring treasonable thoughts against the Great Leader. Rumor had it that Mukisa the brown monkey was beaten so hard that he did something the animals found too embarrassing to speak of.
Next to fall was Duru the buzzard, arguably the wealthiest animal in Smiling Forest and one of the closest confidants of the Great Leader. Duru ran a multiplicity of businesses and held shares in a countless number of lucrative concerns both at home and abroad. He drove the most expensive cars in the land and lived – with the exception of Loony’s palace - in the most expensive mansion in Smiling Forest. He contributed generously to Loony’s personal accounts and managed some of Loony’s numerous businesses for him. At public events, Duru the buzzard was often seen perched proudly on the right hand side of the brutal fox, often exchanging glances and whispers with the arrogant ruler. But he was one of Loony’s ugly shadows and so had to be chopped down in line with the dictates of Operation No Shadows and Loony’s personal philosophy of Me-Alone.
Operation No Shadows grew more and more frantic and brutal as time passed. Divisional commissioners, district chiefs, local chairmen and petty bureaucrats who hitherto prided themselves in being close to the Great Leader or in the Great Leader’s good books suddenly found themselves under the sharp and unrelenting clutches of the Mental Surveillance Unit. They were arrested at odd hours, roughed up and publicly humiliated. They were charged with anything from fraud to sabotage to harboring treasonable thoughts against the Great Leader. And they were all thrown into Loony’s notorious “five-star hotel”. Some of them were lucky to escape with their lives. Some came out with life-long disabilities due to the cruel torture they suffered. Some simply died under mysterious circumstances.
Sadly, Loony also saw his ugly shadow among the petty traders of Smiling Forest and so sent the Mental Surveillance Unit after them. Fishmongers, vegetable vendors, bakers and bread sellers, cab drivers and butchers, money lenders and changers, were rounded up and hauled into jail on charges of public extortion and subverting Loony’s Vision Weeny Weeny. The bewildered animals never realized that their real crime was being an unwilling extension of Loony’s ugly shadow that now ominously loomed across the landscapes and skies of Smiling Forest. Often, these petty traders were deprived of their hard earned property and ordered to leave town or stop doing business altogether.
Finally, Loony saw his ugly shadow among the increasingly large number of poor beggars sitting at street corners in the Smiling Forest capital and nearby cities. These beggars included poor widows with children to feed, cripples and blind men and women who could not earn a day’s meal without begging, and extremely old people who depended only on begging for their daily sustenance. Loony unleased his fierce armed foxes and police upon these destitute animals. They were roughly pounced upon, grabbed, and hauled into waiting trucks. After all the beggars were rounded up and gathered in one place, they were rudely insulted and called pests and undesirable vermin that were soiling the good reputation of the Great Leader. Begging, they were told, was banned in Smiling Forest and any person caught begging again would be severely dealt with. After their release, the sad beggars all crawled and shuffled to their homes crying and beating their heads and praying to the Great God Yallah to please kick this wicked fox and his cruel enablers off their breaking backs. Their pain and outrage was shared and their prayer universally and constantly repeated by the majority of animals in Smiling Forest. They couldn't wait to see Loony's cruel backside leave their beautiful Smiling Forest.
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| Momodou |
Posted - 23 Dec 2016 : 11:14:13
Smiling Forest Revisited - 16
By Baba Galleh Jallow
Chapter Sixteen
Animal resistance and the birth of the ‘Loony is Always Right Movement’
If Loony the fox thought he was going to have it easy in Smiling Forest, he was gravely mistaken. For while some of the animals simply retreated into their shells and cocoons and kept mute over his brutal regime’s numerous outrages, some of them constantly bombarded him with demands that he should respect their rights and fulfill his numerous promises. They poked serious fun at him and called him Kooky the crooked who thought he was straight and Faliba, the donkey who thought he was a saint.
The more brutal Loony became the more stubborn and resilient some of the animals grew. You are a mere public servant! they shouted to Loony at the top of their voices. You are merely a citizen like the rest of us! You have no right to ride roughshod over us! You must fulfill your promises to us! Your promise not to stay in power beyond ten years! Your promise to respect animal rights and the rule of law! Your promise not to be corrupt and live a flamboyant lifestyle! Your promise not to eat all the apples and leave us starving! You have broken all your promises Loony! You are a serial liar and you should not expect us to sit back, fold our arms and keep quiet! We refuse to be cowed by the repressive and evil activities of your shameless agents! Down with all corrupt powercrats! Down with powercracy! Long live popularcracy! Forward ever, backward never! No retreat, no surrender!
Hearing these protests made Loony very angry. He grew so extremely angry that he roughly plugged a cow horn in each of his two large ears, angrily clenched a piece of dry bone between his teeth, and marched angrily around Smiling Forest, fuming at the nose and mouth, and making guttural noises. Khukh, khukh, he loudly grunted. How dare those puny little things question my authority? How dare they write funny stories about me or purport to tell me what is right in my own personal forest? How dare they challenge me - the preferred choice of the Great God Yallah! I would make all of them pay for their impudence and insolence! I own this forest and I will rule this forest for a billion years and if they don’t like it they can go to hell! Aaaah!!
Being ever the vengeful and vindictive character, Loony set about exacting vengeance on all who spoke out against him with reckless abandon. All foreign journalists who dared ask questions about his regime were unceremoniously picked up by the Mental Surveillance Unit, tortured, locked up and thrown out of Smiling Forest. Those journalists who were citizens of Smiling Forest were subjected to persistent arrests, detentions, torture, and verbal abuse on national Smiling Forest radio and television. He called journalists illegitimate sons of Africa and threatened them with death if they did not stop writing bad things about him, the greatest ruler in all of history since the beginning of time. He ordered media houses to be set on fire by arsonists. He ordered some journalists to be shot by unknown assailants while others simply disappeared into thin air on Loony’s orders. Did they not know that the Great Leader was above criticism, above the law, above everything and everyone in Smiling Forest? But in spite of the brutal repression, the animals of Smiling Forest refused to keep quiet and caused Loony the worst trouble of his life. Some who were forced into exile started writing funny stories about him, giving him funny names, planting tails on his backside and likening him to an elephant on mosquito legs who would one day crumble under his own weight, never to rise again. Others called him Janakh the rat who thought he was an indomitable giant and challenged all the cats to a fight. He was even called Tunguneh, the hen who thought she was a giant and challenged Banko the giraffe to a height-measuring contest. Sometimes, they called him Potopoto, the famous muddy puddle who thought he was a river.
In spite of his naked oppression of innocent animals, Loony still found support among some greedy and selfish elements within the Smiling Forest community. Irresponsible thugs among the Smiling Forest community who had no education and were too lazy to do manual labor flocked en masse to join the newly created “Loony is Always Right Movement” - LARM. LARM thugs were given license to intimidate, harass, beat up, even kill perceived opponents of General Loony, alias Mbotagi. Often, LARM thugs set out in the middle of the night to set fire to the homes and offices of Loony critics. Though they generally operated under cover of darkness, LARM thugs were placed high above whatever shreds of law were still functional in the statute books of Smiling Forest. For Loony and these criminal thugs, there were no limits, no boundaries to how far they would go to maintain the brutal and corrupt powercracy. Loony could just not imagine himself as anything less than the supreme lord and master of Smiling Forest for as long as he was alive! Indeed, hearing him talk about his resolve to stay in power for a billion years, one would have thought it never crossed the arrogant fox’s mind that like all mortal beings, he would one day succumb to the cold hand of death. No! Never! No death for Loony the mighty fox! The Great Leader! The grand lord, master and personal owner of Smiling Forest and all its inhabitants, including the trees, rocks and bushes! All hail the mighty immortal lord Loony with the horse’s mouth!
Their extreme brutality notwithstanding, Loony and his LARM thugs were perpetually frustrated in their attempts to silence the animals of Smiling Forest. The more they attempted to silence them, the higher their resolve to tell Loony the truth and demand that he fulfill his promises to them! After every moment of persecution and repression, the critical animals resumed their campaign with renewed vigor. To Loony's "no limits, no boundaries” the animals responded "no retreat, no surrender". This frustrated Loony so much so that he routinely spent whole nights in his underground shrine weeping and wailing profusely, loudly blowing his mountain nose and beseeching his wooden gods and iron ancestors to strike those stubborn animals dead. For although Loony publicly pretended to be a loyal servant of the Great God Yallah and started every speech with “I am the greatest living believer in the Great God Yallah”, he spent whole nights worshipping wooden idols, animal skulls, dry lizards, snake skins and other strange objects in his dark underground shrine. But of course, he could not fool the Great God Yallah. The persecuted animals found solace in the unshakeable reality that someday someday, they will free themselves from the brutal clutches of the power-sick, paranoid and brutal fox. At some point they knew, Loony would have no choice but to drop into the infamous dustbin of history. The animals saw that he was already halfway in and waited impatiently for the day he would finally fall right into the dustbin of stinking history he was creating for himself. They often repeated the saying that Loony was a big fool with a long rope who would one day hang himself. History stood to prove them right.
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| Momodou |
Posted - 09 Dec 2016 : 11:02:19
Smiling Forest Revisited - 15
By Baba Galleh Jallow
Chapter Fifteen
How Loony retired from the Armed Foxes, imposed powercracy and formulated his famous Vision Weeny Weeny
The animals’ worst fears were soon justified. Sensing that there was bound to be an outcry against his breaking of his solemn promise not to stay indefinitely in power like his predecessor, Loony passed a decree proclaiming that from now on, he was to be regarded as the lifelong ruler of Smiling Forest. He decreed that as the chosen and anointed of the Great God Yallah, he would no longer tolerate any puny little fellows telling him what to do or what not to do with his God-given powers. Having promised that he was not there to stay, he now decreed that since all animals were equal and since foxes were also animals, foxes too had the right to stay in power. But, he decreed, as some of the animals were not in favor of armed foxes being in power, he would now retire from being an armed fox and become an ordinary fox, just like everyone else.
So it was that Loony and his fellow armed foxes in the Armed Foxes Potential Roasting Cabal all declared that they were no longer armed foxes. Loony painted his face black and his body white and no longer carried a gun, though he was widely believed to hide guns underneath his white skin. He took to wearing zebra skins and a zebra hood and carrying a cow horn in one hand and a monkey tail in the other. The Armed Foxes Potential Roasting Cabal was renamed the Pious Foxes Potential Roasting Cabal.
Having promised that no animal would be allowed to stay in power for as long as the ousted Talkmuch Dolittle, Loony now declared that he had never made any such promise. If the useless Talkmuch Dolittle could stay in power for forty years, why not his more sophisticated and erudite self? Of course he, Loony, with his famous philosophy of Me-Alone and his infallible principles of past, present and future, was much smarter than that old and tired Talkmuch Dolittle. So he, Loony, would stay in power for as long as he wanted and if the animals did not like it they could go to hell. And no animal must dare question his authority! “From now on there is no so-called democracy in this forest,” he declared. “We cannot tolerate any alien ideologies in this noble forest. From now on what we have here is my own personal ideology of Powercracy – a government of the powerful, for the powerful and by the powerful. All power belongs to the powerful. And if you don’t want to live under such a government, you can go to hell. All criticism is banned and we will not tolerate any so-called freedom of expression or of the so-called press, who are nothing but habitual liars and agents of foreign enemies who want to sabotage our glorious revolution and colonize us again. No more colonial mentality!”
Soon after this famous declaration of powercracy and the banning of democracy, Loony established a Think Tank to brainstorm and come up with what became known as his famous Vision Weeny Weeny. Reaching out to some of the intellectual giants of the Talkmuch Dolittle era, Loony recruited such luminaries as Nice Boy the monkey, Buki the Hyena, Mbeh the sheep and Nopa the hare to serve on the Think Tank. Cheku the parrot considered himself lucky to be appointed secretary and spokesperson for the newly formed Think Tank. Sa the snake was named as the committee’s resident adviser. Their brief was to produce a comprehensive document outlining Vision Weeny Weeny, a road map to development that embodied the great ideas of the learned and infallible Loony.
With great fanfare at a national Smiling feast, the fabled Think Tank was launched and set about its heroic task. For months on end, the small group of learned animals, under the close supervision of the philosopher king himself, crafted the document meant to direct the growth and development of Smiling Forest from a land of poverty and hunger to a land of peace and plenty. Under the distinguished and infallible guidance of the Great Leader, Vision Weeny Weeny envisioned a Smiling Forest where all the roads were paved with gold, where the trees bore fruits of gold, where the fish in the rivers were made of gold, where even the rain that fell from the skies was made of gold. The only absolute condition for the attainment of this state of gold was that Loony must forever be the unquestioned, unquestionable, undisputed and undisputable sovereign lord and master of Smiling Forest.
Meanwhile, conditions for the animals of Smiling Forest grew from bad to worse. As Loony grew fatter, the animals grew thinner. As Loony grew richer, the animals grew poorer. As Loony grew healthier, the animals grew sicklier. As Loony got better fed, the animals grew hungrier, to the extent that a few years down the glorious path of Vision Weeny Weeny, the children of Smiling Forest had to scratch for bits of rotten food in the rubbish heaps. They had to race and grab and compete with rabid dogs for scraps of discarded food, because Loony the fox had emptied all the granaries of the land and now commandeered all the good food for himself. The animals and their children were starving because Loony the pious fox had stolen all the money in the land and had grown fat on the blood and sweat of the poorest of the poor.
The animals knew that Vision Weeny Weeny was just another figment of Loony’s jaundiced imagination. Just another device, another excuse meant to further confuse the animals and grant legitimacy to the lunacy that was the tragic era of Loony - the greedy and paranoid fox who now perched majestically on the wailing throne of Smiling Forest. Loony, who now insisted that he must remain the one and only rightful ruler of Smiling Forest; Loony, the great founder and leader of the new breed of strangely submissive powercrats of Smiling Forest.
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| Momodou |
Posted - 07 Dec 2016 : 08:12:31
Smiling Forest Revisited - 14
By Baba Galleh Jallow
Chapter 14
The birth of the Mental Surveillance Unit and how the animals mourned their lost freedom, security and honesty
The more insecure Loony felt, the more power hungry he grew, and the more paranoid he grew. The desire to know what was going on in every nook and cranny of Smiling Forest, in every unit and department of the Smiling government became a maddening obsession with Loony. On many a night, he would stay awake, his head massively wired with thoughts of just how to make sure that he knew everything that went on in Smiling Forest. He imagined how he would surprise his enemies and opponents by suddenly revealing some of their greatest secrets. How they would then fear and tremble and look at him with horror-filled eyes! How he would smile and nod and ask how now?
On one such sleepless night, as he stared into the empty darkness of his room, a brilliant idea struck Loony’s mind: He would set up a special information unit in Smiling Forest! He would personally recruit and train its members in the art of general information gathering and spying, make them directly answerable to himself and unleash them into Smiling Forest! He would have all the members of this special unit swear their strongest oaths of secrecy and allegiance to him and him alone. They would be his personal special shadow police. He would offer them a juicy combination of the fabled carrot and the stick. Those who did well would be rewarded by rapid promotions and nearness to the Great Leader himself, which meant, among other special privileges, a bigger and growing pay check and a greater opportunity to listen to the classy lectures of the philosopher king. Those who failed to deliver would be dealt such a blow as they would never recover from! Thus was born the notorious Mental Surveillance Unit that was to cause so much pain and anguish to the animals of Smiling Forest for so many years.
Like a monster octopus, the Mental Surveillance Unit soon spread its tentacles into all nooks and crannies of Smiling Forest, monitoring every aspect of the animals’ lives. Mental Surveillance moles - thousands of them - were planted everywhere: on street corners, in police stations, schools, markets, local clubs, barber shops, movie theaters, bars, restaurants, business outfits, public offices, local leadership councils, media houses, mosques, churches, families – wherever there was any animal activity in Smiling Forest. Everywhere, the mentally programmed moles listened and watched out for any anti-Loony words or signs of hostility to the Great Leader. Hundreds of culprits were identified and effectively neutralized through arrests, detentions, demotions, dismissals, tortures and other repressive means gradually perfected by the self-righteous system. Some of those considered really dangerous simply disappeared into thin air or were openly killed. Loony made sure that members of the notorious unit were well fed with roasted beef and chicken even as they carried out their bloody work of beating animals to death and their notorious MUS headquarters.
Soon enough, the animals of Smiling Forest were forced to accept the cruel reality that what Loony touted as a “glorious revolution”, the dawn of a new era of liberty, truth and plenty, was just another seizure of power by an irresponsible bunch of armed foxes, led by another mad fox. It was just another abduction and monopolization of the animals’ birthrights. The myth of foxes with a difference was a cruel hoax and a fraud, no longer uttered by even Loony himself. There was no more talk of transparency, accountability and probity, or any such things as freedom, justice and equal rights. It was now all about power, power and more power for General Loony who soon became known as Kobolaka, the famous dry fish that could still swim in the river. “If you don’t know me I am Kobolaka,” Loony liked to boast, beating his chest. “I can even swim in the air and will rule this forest for a billion years and if you don’t like it you can go to hell.”
The animals realized that what had befallen other forests of the bleeding continent of the black animals had befallen their dear Smiling Forest. They realized that the next logical step in the sequence, as is always the case in all faked revolutions, would be the arrogant assumption of infallibility by the self-imposed savior, the total criminalization of speech and dissent, brutal repression, political assassinations, disappearances, a litany of treason allegations, kangaroo trials of perceived opponents of Loony’s “glorious revolution”, the raping and ******ization of justice, the institutionalization of unbridled corruption, blatant nepotism and self-righteous mediocrity of the highest order strutting proudly around as ideals of knowledge and wisdom, paragons of truth and virtue! The animals were forced to acknowledge the loss of national innocence, the first unsteady steps toward the total collapse of the failed state and the dawn of an era of acute poverty, hunger, oppression, and bloody anarchy. The sad animals saw that the head that was Loony could not carry the burden of state; yet, it was a head now so full of power that any talk of Loony’s departure was literally pulled out by the tongue and smashed on the rocks of oppression.
The animals knew that Loony and the armed foxes had kicked His Former Excellency out of power in the holy name of freedom and liberty only to become even more corrupt and repressive than Talkmuch Dolittle ever was or could ever become. They saw that their beautiful forest had become a state of fear, a repressive state in which the great leader had eyes and ears and guns and jails everywhere. The Mental Surveillance Unit arrested and jailed animals for harboring treasonable thoughts against the Great Leader or even for casting what they called “bad eyes” at the now ubiquitous portraits of a grinning Loony looming large on every nook and cranny of the land. Smiling Forest soon became a land in which there were official definitions of what constituted truth, justice, liberty, crime, good and evil by which all subjects - no more citizens - must abide or be grabbed and thrown into dark, stinking, airless, rat and mosquito infested cells, bludgeoned and kicked, electric devices applied to their genitals, even killed and buried in mass unmarked graves or dumbed into old wells. The Mental Surveillance Unit ensured that any jealous midgets harboring treasonable thoughts against the Great Leader were promptly discovered and neutralized.
Thus it was that Smiling Forest, the land of the happy smiling animals, became a land of tears, fear and suspicion, where brother could no longer trust brother, neighbor could no longer trust neighbor, and colleague could no longer trust colleague. And so the animals mourned the sad death of the age-old Smiling Forest tradition of mutual respect and trust, of healthy debate and mutual inspiration, of justice, freedom and liberty. The animals mourned the death of honesty and lamented the sad flowering of a culture of hypocrisy of the highest and most noxious sort; a culture in which seemingly respectable animals choose to shut their eyes tight to the truth for God knows what reason. Loony reveled in the sorry spectacle and promised to rule Smiling Forest for a billion years, whether the animals liked it or not.
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| Momodou |
Posted - 06 Dec 2016 : 14:27:20
Smiling Forest Revisited - 13
By Baba Galleh Jallow,
Chapter Thirteen
The end of the honeymoon and how trouble broke out among the armed foxes
Loony’s fears were justified. The unity among the armed foxes of Smiling Forest was short-lived. The foxes, who had always been rather invisible during the reign of Talkmuch Dolittle, now woke up every morning not believing that they had become the unquestioned wielders of power in Smiling Forest. Some of the more powerful foxes like Smaller Longtail got literally power drunk and staggered everywhere shouting “power! Yeah, power! we got power!” He soon grew notorious on account of his tendency to throw his weight around. When he drove around Smiling Forest, all oncoming traffic had to get off the road to let him pass. Those drivers who failed to do so were given the beating of their lives. His convoy of armed foxes would promptly stop the offending vehicles, drag their occupants out, and slap, punch and kick the hell out of them. Similar treatment was meted to drivers who dared overtake his convoy or to any animal that wittingly or unwittingly offended Smaller Longtail. He particularly enjoyed slapping offending folks and shooting at the tires of offending vehicles.
In addition to Smaller Longtail, some junior armed foxes conducted a reign of terror in Smiling Forest. Each armed fox soon became a king unto himself. There were frequent reports of fox brutality against innocent unarmed animals and a few cases of foxes shooting or stabbing other animals to death. Smiling Forest became a state of fear where armed foxes, feeling that they now owned the land, broke the law with impunity and went unpunished for their crimes. The fox uniform and the gun became the most feared symbols of power as the foxes swaggered and bragged that Smiling Forest now belonged to them. One armed fox was overheard saying, “when I wear this uniform, I feel like God.”
Soon, however, serious infighting started among the armed foxes. Though they tried hard to hide it, reports filtered out to the animals that there existed a bitter power struggle within the Armed Foxes Potential Roasting Cabal. General Loony’s authority was being challenged and the Armed Foxes Potential Roasting Cabal had broken up into two rival factions – one pro-Loony and one anti-Loony. Before long, it became general public knowledge that trouble was indeed brewing within the ranks of the armed foxes.
The trouble erupted into the open one dark night when gunshots started ringing from one of the armed foxes camps. Intense shooting continued into the early hours of the morning and then died down. Later that morning, Smaller Longtail went on national Smiling radio to say that a group of treacherous foxes had, under cover of darkness, attempted to overthrow the Armed Foxes Potential Roasting Cabal. He said their ignoble plan had failed and that the Armed Foxes Potential Roasting Cabal was firmly in control of the situation. The details emerging from the bloody incident revealed that a large number of the foxes involved in the alleged plot had been killed and buried in mass unmarked graves. Some of them had fled under cover of darkness and a search had been launched for them. That was the last that was heard of the bloody incident, at thoughts of which the other animals of Smiling Forest still shudder.
One fine morning a few months after that bloody incident, an announcer on national radio informed the animals in a shocking bombshell that Smaller Longtail and Sadface Slowy, two senior members of the Armed Foxes Potential Roasting Cabal had been arrested. The announcer said the duo had made an attempt to kill General Loony. Several months later, Smaller Longtail and Sadface Slowy were arraigned before a kangaroo court, found guilty of treason and sentenced to long prison terms. Sadface Slowy died in jail a few months later under mysterious circumstances. Official reports said he had died of high blood pressure but that could never be verified. Smaller Longtail languished in jail for many, many years. Local lore had it that the once all-powerful fox became a philosopher during the long period of his incarceration. No one ever knew what exactly happened.
Smaller Longtail’s arrest and detention elicited an audible sigh of relief from many of the animals on account of his brutality. Rumor had it that less than a week before his arrest, the arrogant fox had insulted a group of religious elders over a dispute involving a prayer house in a remote part of Smiling Forest. He was reported to have publicly called the elders kaffirs and asked them to go dumb their religious books in the river. The story goes that one of the elders had said to him, “you insult us, but go, you will soon see.
The two incidents involving the aborted uprising, Smaller Longtail and Sadface Slowy were ample evidence that unity among the armed foxes had become a thing of the past. From now on, Loony knew that some of the armed foxes would try to remove him from power. And he was not ready to get out of power, not just yet, not as long as he was alive! He knew that some of his fellow armed foxes were extremely mad at him for giving all the power to himself. There were at least three more attempts at removing him from power by members of the armed foxes. Some of the foxes that had fled after the first mutiny slipped back into Smiling Forest and attacked one of the fox camps, killing one loyal fox. They seized a jeep and headed for the capital. But they were only five in number and poorly armed. So when they met the general’s reinforcements, they were easily routed. One of the invading foxes was killed, one fled and three were captured alive. Those captured alive were paraded before national Smiling TV, sent to court and sentenced to death.
On yet another occasion, a group of six angry animals attacked an armed foxes camp. They killed at least three foxes and captured the commander of the camp whom they held hostage for several days before they were hunted down by the general’s reinforcements and routed. The commander escaped with his life. The tragedy for the animals was that the more threatened he felt, the more brutal General Loony became. His armed foxes grew increasingly repressive and the once peaceful Smiling Forest was turned into a state of terror. From then on, the animals lived in mortal fear of civil war. They had seen it happen in other forests. They knew it could happen in Smiling Forest. The scary red writings had started forming on the wall. Some of the animals started missing the good old days of Talkmuch Dolittle.
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| Momodou |
Posted - 06 Dec 2016 : 14:22:44
Smiling Forest Revisited - 12
By Baba Galleh,
Chapter Twelve
General Loony's worst nightmare and how he hides under the executive bed
General Loony ran! Along the endless empty space he ran as he had never run before, his tail flying in the wind, his ears flat on the back of his head, his tongue clenched firmly between his teeth. Behind him he heard the roaring of angry animals - a ragged, bloodthirsty mob with canines that stood out from their blood-soaked lips and the red claws of hungry vampires! They wanted his blood! The General knew if that mob caught up with him that would be the end of his life. And so he flew like the wind in space, yelping and yelling, feeling neither pain nor fatigue, only the cold fingers of fear gripping his heart which, it seemed, had stopped beating long ago!
Just as he thought he was out of harm's reach, the great general felt sharp claws digging into his shoulders and jerking him harshly back. He yelled as he had never yelled before, twisting his body to break free of the evil claws, some of which now gripped his tail. With one last desperate pull, he broke loose, flew into space, landed with a thud and rolled into a dark hole to safety. Slowly, the dazed general realized that he was under his own bed. He hurriedly squeezed himself out and for a moment sat on the floor, leaning against the expensive executive bed, shivering all over. He frantically glanced around to make sure no one had seen him dash under the bed like a frightened little rat.
General Loony felt his rage rise and bubble like a volcano in his chest. He felt like killing someone just then! Why was the world so evil? Why was everybody trying to destroy him? Why was everybody so jealous of him just because he was His Excellency the President, Head of State and Commander-in-chief of the Armed Foxes Potential Roasting Cabal, Nowit di Masta? Why did all those evil animals now rudely intrude into his peaceful slumber and give him all those awful nightmares? He would let them know that he, General Loony, was no ordinary fox! That he was as constant as the northern sun! He would show them why he was called Shela, the dog that bit without a bark! And Munku, the fire that burnt without a flame!!
Loony agonized long and hard over why all the animals now hated him. He could see it in their eyes - scorn, hate, a desire to kill! He could hear it in the endless tales of conspiracy reported daily by his network of spies, liars, sycophants and moles! No more tales of blind admiration! No more tales of General Loony the great patriot! No more tales of Loony, conqueror of rivers! Only tales of Loony the tyrant and Loony the despot! Of Loony the wicked and Loony the monster! Of malignant forces prowling and lurking in every dark nook and cranny of Smiling Forest and beyond, waiting for an opportunity to pounce upon him and rip him apart! He could see it on the nauseating pages of so-called newspapers that pretended to be pious! He could see it in the lean and hungry looks of the throngs of poor, starving, helpless, frightened animals who stared at his tinted-glass, siren-ridden convoys, escorted by fierce, gun-totting foxes as it sped at breakneck speed through the pot-hole ridden streets of the God-forsaken cities of Smiling Forest! And he saw it every night in his gruesome nightmares - ragged devils with long, forked tongues and protruding canines, long emaciated limbs and razor sharp claws reaching out to grab his throat and suck his blood!
Loony shivered. He felt that Sikundeek himself, the dreadful jinneh jomal nala was out to get him. He felt frightened, extremely frightened. He had, over the past few months, become a bundle of shaking, crippling fear, although he made a great show of being a fearless dragon. Standing in his jeep, escorted on all sides by his fierce-looking armed foxes, the mighty general would raise both hands to heaven, make the V-for-Victory sign, and stiffly grin as his convoy sped through the streets of Smiling Forest. But deep down, he was frightened and shaken. He felt insulted and belittled by the fact that he was afraid, that members of his own armed foxes were now his arch enemies and that some animals dared to say bad things behind his back, even conspiring to form a coalition and throw him out. And the more he thought of this, the stronger his resolve never to let go of power and to crush any signs of dissent mercilessly and remorselessly. To hell with all promises he made! Were promises not meant to be broken? Were promises not mere ladders by which to deceive stupid animals in order to climb up to one’s dreams? “I have sacrificed my precious life to save these wretched animals,” he would say to himself. “Anyone who wants to derail me will be buried deep, deep, deep.” And then he would quote his favorite local philosopher Mokali Veli who once said the knife justifies the stab.
Deep down, the troubled general wished that things were what they used to be at the dawn of what he liked to call his “glorious revolution”, when he led his gallant foxes against the corrupt and unpopular regime of Talkmuch Dolittle. He remembered with heart-breaking nostalgia how he used to ride on the lofty crest of popular sentiment both among the ordinary animals and among his fellow armed foxes. How he used to relish that endless chorus of praise and admiration for getting rid of an inept and redundant political class! He remembered the pleasant nights when his dreams were full of stars and blue skies and sweet smelling roses and images of himself floating above the world, as if he had been elevated to the status of angel by a God happy with his glorious saving of the wretched animals of Smiling Forest! How he used to wake up every morning with a smile on his lips and a song in his heart! Eager to go meet the happy faces of the adoring animals who thought they had been saved!
But gone were those days of easy slumber. Gone the days of adoring looks and unquestioned loyalty. Gone the days when crowds of animals lined the streets to see him past and sent a million cheers up to heaven. Now the animals jeered rather than cheered and there were some elements among the ordinary animals and within the ranks of the armed foxes that wanted his head. It was General Loony’s worst nightmare.
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| Momodou |
Posted - 30 Nov 2016 : 09:09:16
Smiling Forest Revisited - 11
By Baba Galleh Jallow
Chapter Eleven
How spiritual leaders became Loony’s goat-holders and widespread fears of the end of times
These were strange times in Smiling Forest, everyone agreed. There was little doubt that these were the end of times. It seemed as if the world as the animals knew it for a long time was ending. There had been talk of the end of times many times before, when times looked strange and unnatural. But all those times had come to pass. Now, there was little doubt about it because some very strange things were happening before the naked eyes of the bewildered animals of Smiling Forest.
Seeing how Jege the hen, Nice Boy the monkey and Cheku the parrot started growing fat from the generous largess of Loony the fox, some spiritual leaders in Smiling Forest soon found a way of attracting similar favors from the new seat of power. The very same spiritual leaders who prayed that Talkmuch Dolittle stayed in power forever were now quick to curse any animal that dared to think well of the ousted king. Instead, they now made their way to Loony’s palace, their heads bowed, wearing their most generous boubous, their faces generously oiled and shiny as a mark of piety, and their beards come stiff and straight in reverence to General Loony, whom they now declared was indeed the one and only choice of the Great God Yallah to lead Smiling Forest for the next one thousand years. Prominent among this group of spiritual leaders were Sheek Foofy the monkey, who soon became Loony’s personal spiritual adviser and head of Loony’s palace shrine, Sheek Tan the vulture and Sheek Saaji the sheep. Saaji the sheep sharpened his voice so much that when Loony heard him bleat, he immediately appointed him chairman of the High Animal Spiritual Council, which oversaw all spiritual matters in Smiling Forest under the supreme leadership of Loony the fox. From now on, these former spiritual mentors and protégés of Talkmuch Dolittle disowned their former master and became the most ardent supporters of General Loony. Every now and then, they thronged to the royal palace where they offered generous prayers for Loony, had sumptuous meals with the new king, and received bulging envelops stuffed with brand new banknotes from the king’s own hands. “May you rule us forever,” they always prayed as they bowed and kowtowed in obeisance to their new benefactor.
The great consternation and resounding hue and cry in Smiling Forest bounced back from the skies and drove all the small birds from Smiling Forest. The trees now stood naked and leafless, the rivers devoid of fish and crabs. Even the toads in the swamps and ponds hopped away from the deafening noise raised by the distraught inhabitants of Smiling Forest. Scenes of animals beating their heads against walls and tree trunks and pulling their hair in the streets became common sights in Smiling Forest. The more religious of the spiritual leaders of Smiling Forest – those who maintained their dignity and refused to support Loony – sought refuge in endless prayer, raising their hands to heaven, and banging their foreheads on the ground, repenting for their sins before the sound of the great bugle boomed, announcing the end of days, before the cackling great fire from the east came and consumed them. Any spiritual leader who dared criticize Loony was promptly seized and thrown into jail, tortured, killed or forced into exile. Some spiritual leaders were grabbed in the middle of the night and locked away indefinitely, denied any contacts with their families. Terrified folks gazed at the skies with tear-filled eyes, wet faces, and running noses, looking for the first signs of the skies beginning to fold, as they must at the end of days.
The animals were horrified that their spiritual guardians, the venerable sheeks of the land upon whose shoulders the moral edifice of their forest rested had been willfully reduced to mere goat holders for General Loony. The now enormously wealthy General, who had long lots his ratatoi, recruited more and more prominent sheeks and paid them fortunes to abandon their traditional roles as guardians of the animals and become instead his royal goat-holders. The sheeks now spent their days and nights holding still the goats of the land, as their generous patron indulged in his favorite and most hallowed pastime – goat-milking. General Loony now spent his entire days and nights milking goats. The pious sheeks of Animal Forest likewise spent their entire days and nights holding goat. It was a strange spectacle.
Every goat in Smiling Forest was now milked by Loony, whether it was a male goat or female goat, for the goats of Smiling Forest were all milkable. But what most shocked the animals of Smiling Forest was not General Loony’s fanatic goat-milking per se, but the enthusiasm with which the pious sheeks plunged into their roles as goat holders for the General. At every milking session, five to six sheeks, their boubous firmly wrapped and securely tucked around their waists, vigorously pounced upon the goats and pinned them down so that General Loony could milk them to his milky satisfaction. Another couple of sheeks would roughly grab the mouths of the noisy goats so that their bleating would not violate the gentle sensibilities of the great general. Yet another sheek or two would spread their palms or hold their pious caps just under the goats’ backside to make sure that their droppings did not roll anywhere near the venerable person of the spotlessly clad General Loony.
When the business of goat holding and goat milking reached a fever pitch and General Loony gently grunted and repeatedly belched with satisfaction at the barrels of milk safely stowed away in his enormous milk tanks, his excitement inevitably rubbed off on the loyal sheeks. At such moments, to make sure that their share of the milk would be particularly generous and their envelopes particularly bulky and smiley, the sheeks would break out into General Loony’s favorite song about the kind and gentle caliph whom God loved so much that He gave him enormous herds of willing goats that he could milk all his life and even beyond. General Loony particularly loved hearing that part of the song that told how God loved this caliph so much that He appointed the best among his animals to be his loyal goat-holders. Sometimes, during short breaks when General Loony’s fingers got tired of forcing the milk out of the goats, one or another of the sheeks would suddenly improvise a heroic poem which he then recited in a pious and melodious tone amid unfailing ululations and shrieks of passion from his fellow sheeks. Sometimes, a sheek or two would suddenly see the light, feel the spirit, prance up, and swirl round and round like the brown dervishes of Irani Forest to the utter satisfaction of the cool-eyed general and the utter amazement of the ordinary onlookers of Smiling Forest. Those sheeks who fell ill and did not have enough energy to physically hold the goats nevertheless dragged themselves to the goat-milking sessions to recite specially composed poetry or sing General Loony’s favorite song about the great caliph whom God loved so much that He gave him the best among his animals to be his loyal goat-holders.
It was this strange spectacle of the goat-holding sheeks that convinced the animals of Smiling Forest that the end of days had really come. It was this strange spectacle of the guardians of the animals, the custodians of their great traditions of truth and nobility turned into singing and dancing goat-holders for the callous General Loony that convinced the animals of Smiling Forest that the sound of the feared bugle would soon boom, that the roaring of the great fire would soon cackle in from the east, and that one of these days, a corner of the sky would start rolling and folding like a carpet over their heads, and all the dead of the distant ages would rise from their graves, and the final judgment would be held before the mighty throne of the Great God Yallah.
Yet, the sheeks, so engrossed in their lucrative business of goat-holding seemed totally oblivious of what was going on around them. They were totally consumed by the delightful specter of General Loony milking the goats of Smiling Forest, by the mouth-watering prospect of getting a generous share of the milk, and the even more delightful prospect of holding those bristling smiley checks in their pious fingers, or stuffing those bulging wads of new smiley bank notes into the great pockets of their generous boubous. For such delightful prospects, yes, they will grab and hold all the goats down so General Loony would cheerfully milk them to his milky satisfaction. And yes, they would sing and compose pious poetry for General Loony, and they would gladly sing and dance the days and nights away. Were they not God’s pious favorites? How could they enjoy the great honor of being the great general’s loyal goat-holders if the Great God Yallah was not pleased with them? No more koo keh koo tayla, they would gleefully say, happily munching their cheeks and stroking their pious goatees.
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| Momodou |
Posted - 28 Nov 2016 : 09:43:45
Smiling Forest Revisited - 10
By Baba Galleh Jallow
Chapter Ten
How some animals switched sides and General Loony’s radical philosophy of Me-Alone
For a while after the Tragic Day of the Foxes, some of the animals who were not top officials in the former government but were closely associated with Talkmuch Dolittle kept a low profile, afraid that the foxes would hunt them down and lock them up or kill them. Prominent among these were Jege the hen, Nice Boy the monkey and Cheku the parrot. Jege the hen kept close to home and made it known that she had a dream that she was going to lay eggs soon. Nice Boy pretended that he had caught the flu and constantly coughed and spluttered and loudly blew his nose, while Cheku claimed that he had high fever. His wings and head drooped ominously and his entire body continuously shook and he constantly croaked “I sweat, I sweat, I’m cold.”
Soon however, Jege the hen, Nice Boy the monkey, and Cheku the parrot started making public statements in praise of Loony the fox and his infinite wisdom. Jege the hen who used to call Talkmuch Dolittle father and his two wives mother, publicly denounced and renounced the ousted royal family and declared her undying love for Loony. She made a great hue and cry and loudly declared that she could give every single one of her feathers to Loony if the new king demanded them right there. She would wipe his shoes and sweep his palace without pay and she would plunge into a fire if that was required to show her love for Loony. Nice Boy the monkey, never to be outdone, declared that Talkmuch Dolittle was an evil king who deserved his evil fate. The animals of Smiling Forest, he preached, should thank the Great God Yallah and pay humble homage to General Loony for saving them from what could otherwise have been a horrible fate. The chorus was picked up by Cheku the parrot, who now specialized in singing loud songs of praise for the Great Leader and his gallant cabal of armed foxes. Cheku, also reputed to have called Talkmuch Dolittle father and his wives mother, now declared that the former king was in fact a cheat and a liar and that he had so much love and respect for General Loony that he could willingly become his slave. The eventual effect of these profuse compliments was that Jege the hen, Nice Boy the monkey and Cheku the parrot were soon declared national patriots, awarded the highest national honors – the national honor of the lips - and co-opted into the new ring of die-hard Loony loyalists. They were given new jobs and held up as shining examples of the new revolutionary creed and disposition of unquestioning patriotism.
Meanwhile, the ordinary animals of Smiling Forest regarded their new king with dreadful awe and wonder. A web of fantastic tales and myths was woven around the Great Leader’s person, which soon made him larger than life in the minds of the less imaginative animals. All manner of tall tales were told about him. Word soon spread that General Loony had great supernatural powers and could even turn himself into a donkey. Rumor had it that the General was actually all-knowing and all-seeing and could turn himself into a chameleon if he was in the mood. Some said that he could make one of his eyes red and the other eye green; and that if he looked at you with the red eye, you dropped dead and if he looked at you with the green eye, you immediately turned to stone. Some even argued that General Loony was a reincarnation of the great prophet Moosaa, sent by the Great God Yallah to save His people from the clutches of the evil Firr-Awoon and lead them on to the Promised Land. Some whispered that he was in fact a reincarnation of the legendary Yadicone of the numerous tails, king of the cats. At their most dramatic, the rumors had it that Loony was in fact the mythical Yappa Yakh, king of the squirrels.
Still other tales had it that General Loony had great healing powers. The General himself declared that he came from a great lineage of healers and that he was himself a great witchdoctor. He claimed that he could heal all manner of illnesses ranging from leprosy, to hapati, to poverty. Through the rattling beaks of Cheku the parrot and Jege the hen, now his most vocal spokespersons, General Loony spread the word that he could heal any disease with a single tap of the hand. When Toothy the boar heard that one, he loudly groaned and blew his nose. Sindah the lizard instantly had a running stomach! Mbota the frog loudly croaked and plunged into the pond for his annual hibernation, even though the time was not yet ripe. Momba the tortoise quietly withdrew into his shell to avoid, he said, the fantastic hailstorm from breaking his fragile head.
But General Loony’s greatest renown came in the field of philosophy. He soon made it known that he was a great thinker with a unique mind and baffling thought processes. His personal philosophy of life, he declared, was the infallible philosophy of Me-Alone, which showed the general’s profound understanding of the workings of not only the animal mind, but also this mortal world whose cardinal characteristics were past, present and future plus one, two, three. At every possible opportunity General Loony would delve into a learned exposition of his erudite philosophy of Me-Alone. He would explain to his faithful cronies and to the entire Smiling Forest community how any animal would drown in hell who did not know that everyday was divided into morning, afternoon and evening. “You cannot come to afternoon if you do not pass through morning and there would be no evening without afternoon”, he would loudly squeak, his head titled to one side, a distant look in his eyes. He would proceed to indicate that it was thanks to his personal wisdom that he was able to discover this brand new philosophy of life which hundreds of generations of wise animals had tried in vain to discover, namely, that life is divided into yesterday, today and tomorrow.
“My personal philosophy of Me-Alone,” he would squeak, “is no simple philosophy and can only be understood by animals whose eyes, ears and noses are in their right places. But those of you whose eyes are where your mouths should be will never understand that one sunrise follows another, just as yesterday was followed by today, not tomorrow.” Another favorite line of exposition for the wise general, who now insisted on being also called Chief Londibali, was that in counting, one must always start with one, two, three. Everything in life, he preached, was based on one, two, three, which were also the basic principles of his erudite philosophy of Me-Alone.
Indeed, such was the great depth of the Great Leader’s wisdom that apart from Chief Londibali, he was soon called Chief Jahasay, Kidunnit, and Monteh. Some of the more modest animals called him WaSenagi, MoiTurugi, and Kanjagi. Loony gleefully basked in the light of these new titles which, he insisted, had come into existence as a direct result of the boundless wisdom of his philosophy of Me-Alone, which would now define his ruling of all the animals and land of Smiling Forest.
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| Momodou |
Posted - 23 Nov 2016 : 09:20:42
Smiling Forest Revisited - 9
By Baba Galleh Jallow
Chapter Nine
Other members of the Armed Foxes Potential Roasting Cabal and how Loony promoted himself to General
The early days and weeks of the foxes were exciting times for the bewildered animals of Smiling Forest. It was like an action thriller in which the self-imposed forces of good – the armed foxes – routed the forces of evil – the Talkmuch Dolittle administration. Loony, alongside a number of hitherto unknown foxes now loomed larger than life and took on legendary proportions.
In those early days of the takeover, Loony and his new team of ruling foxes routinely marched in the streets of Smiling Forest, their hands held high up, to the rapturous cheers of the excited Smiling rabble. It reminded some animals of the commoners of the ancient forest of Romulus and Remus, who were as easily swayed as the wind. How Loony, his dry face oily with excitement and tears of pride streaming down his hollow cheeks, enjoyed the rapture of those glorious moments!! He would widely grin and wag his tail and sniff and snort as he did what soon became his trademark V for Victory sign. And when he spoke to the roaring crowds, Loony never failed to reassure them that he and his fellow patriotic armed foxes were “not here to stay”, that they were foxes with a difference and that they were all for truth, equality and justice, transparency, accountability and probity!! How the animals loved those reassuring words! These are indeed foxes with a difference, they assured each other, hoping against all hope that they were right.
Alongside Loony in the Armed Foxes Potential Roasting Cabal were other prominent foxes. There was Smaller Longtail, who soon emerged as a potential contender for attention within the ranks of the armed foxes. There was Sadface Slowy, Smaller Longtail’s closest ally among the foxes. There was Stewart the brown fox, Fatty the mouthy and Jacob the fat-eyed, who soon became notorious on account of his verbal dexterity and volubility. Jacob the fat-eyed soon entered the whispering channels of Smiling Forest as Jacob the fibster on account of the fabulous fibs he wove. How he wove juicy tales in praise of Loony’s prowess! How Jacob jumped the bushes to please Loony!!
To further reassure the skeptical animals of Smiling Forest that they were indeed foxes with a difference, the Armed Foxes Potential Roasting Cabal invited other animals to join their ranks in the new administration. Some of these animals had fallen foul of the former administration and were quite eager for vindication. By this action, Loony and his Armed Foxes Potential Roasting Cabal succeeded in winning a degree of trust from both the animals of Smiling Forest and the powerful forests of the red animals. Some of these co-opted animals commanded a lot of respect from the Smiling Forest community while others had public records of dubious quality. “See?” Loony was wont to declare; “We told you we are foxes with a difference. From now on all the animals of Smiling Forest are equal. Those of you who lived flamboyant lifestyles will now suffer while those of us who suffered will now enjoy. This is the dawn of a new era of equality and justice!! And as I always tell you, we are not here to stay. We are here to serve you, to correct a corrupt system, hand over power and return to our rightful place – the barracks.” And then he would add a threat: “But we the patriotic armed foxes have sacrificed our lives to save you lower animals from the clutches of the evil regime of Talkmuch Dolittle. Be therefore warned that whoever tries to derail our glorious and patriotic revolution will be buried deep, deep, deep. You have been warned and no one will say Loony has not told me so!!”
And then to really clean house and purge Smiling Forest of all corrupt elements, the Armed Foxes Potential Roasting Cabal set up a number of Hunting Groups to search the forest and question animals with properties of dubious origin. Most of those questioned by these Hunting Groups were members of the ousted Talkmuch Dolittle administration. But the Hunting Groups also wandered and probed into the territory of smaller fry among the Smiling Forest community. Hundreds of wealthy animals were jailed and hundreds of expensive properties seized. Most of these seized properties – land, houses and cars in particular - were distributed among members of the Armed Foxes Potential Roasting Cabal. Then in order to effectively oversee the all important affairs of the Hunting Groups, and in order to grow more deserving of the elevated station of king of all the animals, Loony the fox promoted himself to General and assumed the learned title of Chief the Honorable Doyen, Guru and Doctor of Numbers, Letters, Phrases and Sentences. This was just the beginning of a tradition of title-taking that would make the Loony the animal with the longest string of titles in the whole big wide world.
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| Momodou |
Posted - 22 Nov 2016 : 13:36:07
Smiling Forest Revisited - 8
By Baba Galleh
Chapter Eight
How the armed foxes consolidated their power and how the animals learned who their new ruler was
The overthrow of Talkmuch Dolittle’s government elicited loud protests from other forests far and wide. The whole world was filled with a universal cry of foul and there were persistent calls for the foxes to allow Talkmuch Dolittle back into power. The powerful forests of the red animals, who considered Talkmuch Dolittle a paragon of virtue, threatened to isolate and take punitive measures against Smiling Forest if the foxes did not hand power back and return immediately to barracks. But of course they were wasting their bullets on the rocks. It was clear that the foxes would never do such a thing. And they said as much. “Over our dead bodies,” they declared. “Talkmuch Dolittle will never be allowed to rule Smiling Forest again! We are now the by force lords and masters of this forest and if you don’t like it you can go to hell.” This was a mantra Smiling Forest animals were doomed to hear for the next twenty-something years!
The Smiling Forest animals tried in vain to understand what was going on. The greater part of the Tragic Day of the Foxes was shrouded in mystery. The animals knew that Talkmuch Dolittle had been overthrown by the foxes; but they did not know which particular foxes were involved. They glued their ears to their transistors, listening to the endless ominous drone of fox music that played on national radio. Small groups of animals crowded around the available transistors, quietly listening, holding their mouths and shaking their heads in wonder. It was a strange spectacle indeed, as if some strange aliens had descended into Smiling Forest and mystified the very environment itself. The air was filled with an ominous foreboding. Even the trees seemed to bend their heads in sadness.
Towards late afternoon of that tragic day, the guttural voice of a fox came on the air. The fox, whose name had hitherto been unheard of in Smiling Forest, declared that he was Sgt. Taba Sumbu Nyinkiling, the one-toothed fox. The government of Talkmuch Dolittle he declared, was no more. The patriotic armed foxes had decided to rid Smiling Forest of the corrupt monarch and his decadent cohorts. For thirty years, he barked, Talkmuch Dolittle and his decadent cohorts had pillaged and plundered the resources of Smiling Forest. They had stolen all the money and sucked the coffers dry. They had lied and cheated the poor animals of their God-given resources, forced them to live in abject poverty and hunger while they lived flamboyant lifestyles of ease and plenty. From now on, no more flamboyant lifestyles! No more teyakh and yengal! No more talk of Sweaty-Sweaty or any other similar nonsense like koo keh koo tayla! This was the era of reality and hard work! Down with Talkmuch Dolittle! Down with corruption! Long live the glorious armed foxes of Smiling Forest! Long live the patriotic animals of Smiling Forest! Free at last! Free at last! Never again!
Having angrily spoken at great length, Sgt. Taba Sumbu Nyinkiling asked all the animals to remain calm and to report for their various duties as usual. Within the next few days, he said, a new government would be announced. But meanwhile, all institutions of government had been suspended and all political activity banned. Any animal that dared engage in political activity would be severely, mercilessly and brutally dealt with. And so began the systematic proscription of the inalienable rights, privileges and immunities of the animals that was to become a hallmark of Smiling Forest life. From now on, the foxes claimed full and total control and ownership of Smiling Forest and bullied the animals left, right and center.
The following day, Sgt. Taba Sumbu Nyinkiling, who appeared to be the armed foxes’ spokesman, was on the air again. This time he announced that the Armed Foxes Potential Roasting Cabal had been formed, under the leadership of the gallant Captain Drymouth Bow Wow Wow Loony, who henceforth was to be referred to as His Supreme Lordship, Savior, Grand Lord and Master of Smiling Forest, Sole Owner and Guardian of the Lower Animals. The Grand Lord and Master, Sgt. Nyinkiling announced, will now address the animals. A moment later, the metallic voice of the gallant Drymouth Bow Wow Wow Loony came on the air. The animals were surprised at how dry his English was. Some even thought he was speaking through a metallic pipe.
“Fellow animals,” he cracked, “the corrupt government of Talkmuch Dolittle is no more. From now on, we the patriotic armed foxes of Smiling Forest are your lords and masters. We are not only your lords and masters but also your owners. For thirty years, Talkmuch Dolittle and his gang of thieves plundered your resources. For thirty years they built big mansions, owned landed properties and lived flamboyant lifestyles while you the poor and toiling animals of this our dear Smiling Forest were left to sweat and scratch the dry earth and chew the dust for a living. Aye, we were all left to do the tobal tanka dance and chew the dry dust while Talkmuch Dolittle and his corrupt cohorts did the yengal style, lived on eggs, meat, butter and cheese and grew fat and lazy. In fact, some of us grew so hungry that we developed the ratatoi while the so-called bigwigs drank all the milk, ate all the apples and oranges and bananas; and you poor animals were left to live on the rotten tomatoes. That era is no more. We the patriotic armed foxes have decided to risk our lives to save you from the tentacles of greed and corruption. We have risked our lives to make sure that Smiling Forest does not become like the crying forests in our sub-region.” He paused for breath and let out a mournful whimper and gnashed his teeth, then continued.
“But we want to assure you that we are not here to stay. I swear by the Great God Yallah that we will be here for only two years and then we will hand over to civilian animals and go back to barracks. We are foxes and we know that a fox’s place is in the barracks. We promise you that we are not politicians like Talkmuch Dolittle and his bunch of thieves. We are not interested in luxury cars or big mansions or private planes or flamboyant lifestyles. No more flamboyant lifestyles in Smiling Forest! We are here to right the wrongs of that wicked Talkmuch Dolittle and his corrupt cohorts and then we will allow you to decide who you want to be your ruler. From now on, our slogan is accountability, transparency and probity!! But you must remember that we risked our lives to save you and so we own you right now and you must not raise a question! Anyone who tries to challenge us will go six feet deep! If Talkmuch Dolittle used to say nii mang koo keh koo tayla I am saying whether you koo keh or not if you challenge us you are going to hell! And that is warning before wounded.
“We are aware that some of you are afraid of us and what we might do to you because we have the guns,” he continued in his metallic voice. “We are aware of the wicked things that armed foxes that have seized power in other forests have done to the animals living under them. But I want to assure you that we are foxes with a difference. Our motto and guiding principles are respect, equality and justice. We shall defend and uphold all your God-given rights, serve you with all our energy!! Criticize us when we go wrong. For we are here to be your servants, not your masters even though my title is Lord and Master of all the animals! But when I say servants I just mean servants in a metaphorical sense and you must not get excited and start making funny noises. Fellow animals. For thirty years you have been robbed and cheated. All of us have been robbed of cheated and some of us even have the ratatoi! Look at my mouth and tell me if this is not the real ratatoi! But today I say unto you, no more ratatoi! The day of liberty and freedom has arrived.
As Loony rattled on and on, his metallic voice rang like creaking corrugate iron sheets in the ears of the bewildered animals. He repeated over and over again that they were not there to stay, that they had come merely to clean the Smiling Forest house, that their motto was accountability, transparency and probity with truth, equality and justice; that they were foxes with a difference, that they were there to be the animals’ servants, even though all the animals must now consider him – Captain Drymouth Bow Wow Wow Loony - , the one and only Grand Lord and Master of all the animals of Smiling Forest – dead, alive and unborn! Finally, he ended his lengthy rant with a sudden crack and cackle of “Long live Smiling Forest! Long live the Armed Foxes Potential Roasting Cabal!”
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| Momodou |
Posted - 21 Nov 2016 : 09:21:43
Smiling Forest Revisited - 7
By Baba Galleh Jallow
Chapter Seven
The visit of the Miriki Forest foxes and how Talkmuch Dolittle sailed into exile
The announcement over Smiling Forest radio that some red security foxes from the distant and powerful forest of Miriki had arrived in Smiling Forest for joint security maneuvers with the local foxes elicited little surprise. It was an annual custom for Miriki foxes to come give some training to Smiling foxes and so there was nothing strange about it. The ship in which the Miriki foxes sailed could be seen anchored off the coast of Smiling, awaiting the time to discharge its fox cargo for the exercise. So that when the animals of Smiling Forest woke up to the specter of hordes of heavily armed foxes marching down the streets towards the royal palace, there was little alarm at first. They were simply preparing for the joint exercise, the animals thought. But it soon dawned upon them that the joint Miriki-Smiling security foxes exercise was still two days away. And waves of fear and anxiety swept the four corners of Smiling Forest.
That fateful day became known in the annals of Smiling Forest history as the Tragic Day of the Foxes. The day when the self-declared gallant and patriotic foxes of Smiling Forest decided that since they had the guns and machetes, they were more entitled to wielding power than the increasingly corrupt, inefficient and unpopular Talkmuch Dolittle administration, or any of the other animals who had no guns or machetes. On that fateful tragic day of the foxes, something died in Smiling Forest and something - dark and sinister - was born. It was to haunt Smiling Forest for more than two decades.
As the armed foxes marched towards the royal palace, word of the strange spectacle somehow reached Talkmuch Dolittle and members of his government who were having an early morning meeting. It was as if a bombshell had been dropped in the middle of the august assembly. All the great officials, including his Royal Highness, scrambled off for dear life. Talkmuch Dolittle, with help from Andi Smoothy, the Miriki Forest envoy, who by some strange coincidence, happened to be present, quickly herded his family into a canoe that rowed out to the waiting Miriki foxes ship, which sailed further away from the shore and later proceeded to Sunulu forest. Here, Talkmuch Dolittle and his entourage were granted temporary asylum. Reports had it that on board the Miriki ship, one of Talkmuch Dolittle’s two wives had fallen upon Jumbo the peacock and severely clobbered him with her high heeled shoe, cussing and accusing him of bringing the evil misfortune on the royal family. A few months later, a crestfallen Talkmuch Dolittle traveled to the distant forest of the red animals where he sought refuge. Jumbo the peacock, having craftily stashed some of his wealth abroad, set up shop in Sunulep Forest and became a businessman.
As Talkmuch Dolittle sadly sailed away into exile, speculations abounded as to what role Andi Smoothy and the Miriki Forest government played in the ousting of Talkmuch Dolittle. Miriki Forest was notorious for helping oust leaders around the world, especially if they were seen as having too cozy a relationship with the forests of the yellow animals and their ‘munism ideology. The speculations soared to the sky when it was discovered that six days before the Smiling Forest foxes seized power, Andi Smoothy had met with the six foxes who later emerged as the lead conspirators in the overthrow of Talkmuch Dolittle. Many years later, some animals still suspected that the Miriki Forest government had something to do with Talkmuch Dolittle’s ouster. Since that information remained classified, some animals impatiently waited for the day when they would lay their hands on documents explaining the nature of the Miriki-Smiling Forest relationship during Talkmuch Dolittle’s last days in office.
After the flight into exile of Talkmuch Dolittle, Jumbo the peacock and other members of the ousted government, the armed foxes consolidated their iron grip on power in Smiling Forest. Having flown and dashed frantically into hiding, senior officials of the ousted administration were ordered to come out and hand themselves over to security stations around the forest for their own safety. A few ventured to obey the orders, but the majority had to be hunted down, fished out and thrown into jail, charged with the plunder of Smiling Forest resources. In those strange early days of the foxes, it was common to see the powerful animals of yesterday being shamefully hounded and paraded around Smiling Forest, from pillar to post, post to pillar, severally denounced as traitors and thieves who had plundered the resources of Smiling Forest and had lived flamboyant lifestyles while the great majority of animals lived in abject poverty. Captured members of the Terifo and Mayifo factions were driven around in the backs of trucks, guarded by heavily armed foxes. For the next few days, no one knew who the leader of the foxes was.
Over the years, there had been many cases of armed foxes seizing power in near and distant forests around the continent of Toro. Chilling accounts of the horrendous crimes committed by these foxes in power reached the animals of Smiling Forest and made them shudder at the very idea of foxes in power. Horrendous tales of murder, injustice, wanton destruction of lives and property, the near deification of power drunk foxes characterized the fate of forests taken over by armed foxes. In all cases, a mad fox seemed to have been the leader. There were the stories of Corporal Idim (the cannibal) of Ugidi forest, who promoted himself to General, declared himself emperor of the red fox empire, killed thousands of innocent animals including some of his friends whose wives he seized, and kept chunks of animal flesh in his fridge; of Corporal Bikisi (the clown) of Cenetu forest, who also promoted himself to General, crowned himself emperor and wore a crown worth over thirty six million dollars; of Sergeant Sado (the sadist) of Bareyu forest, who butchered all members of the government he overthrew, declared himself General, and went for a weekly hairdo worth thousands of dollars in the distant forest of Miriki; of Sabacha (the butcher) of Nigiri forest, whose killing squads gunned down countless opponents to his brutal regime; and of the maddest of them all, General Motusi Sicko (the vampire) of Ziyiri forest, who, though a fox, insisted that he was a leopard, built a castle on the sea, and demanded to be worshipped by the animals. Motusi Sicko liked to have the blood of his victims drained into a glass and drank it so he could become invincible. The list was endless.
In spite of all these frightening and horrendous tales of brutality and madness about armed foxes who seized power around the continent of Toro, the majority of Smiling Forest animals brushed aside all possibilities of such an aberration in their own dear motherland. “Smiling Forest is a blessed forest,” they convinced themselves. “We are not like other animals and other forests," they reasoned. “We are simple, honest and hardworking folks. The great God Yallah loves us and will not allow what happened in other forests to happen here. What about all the prayers we say, all the sacrifices we make to the great God Yallah? Surely He will not allow us to go down the path of those other miserable forests, whose animals are ungodly and treacherous and ungrateful to the great God Yallah?”
The ugly reality, as the animals were soon forced to acknowledge, was that Smiling Forest had indeed joined the list of the raped forests; the miserable club of depraved forests where truth becomes lies and lies truth; the sad forests where justice becomes injustice, and freedom slavery; where truth becomes lies, and lies truth. Smiling Forest would soon become worse than those forests where only the wicked and the mediocre thrive and the truthful and the good are relegated to the status of unwanted pariahs - jailed, beaten up, shot dead, sent scrambling for dear life into distant hostile lands where they are considered third class citizens and have to endure all manner of shameful and degrading treatment.
And so while some of the less sober animals celebrated and danced in the streets, the more sober animals cried and wailed and hit their heads against the earth, and threw a thousand questions up to heaven, hoping that the great God Yallah would send them a clue, help them understand just what had happened, where they had gone wrong. All they got in reply was silence, a deep silence that threatened to burst their tortured ear drums. The Great God Yallah was not in the habit of talking back to His creatures. He had stopped that long ago, when the world was still young…. Smiling Forest was in deep, deep trouble. Its animals were destined to suffer one of the longest and most brutal experiences of armed foxes rule not only within the continent of Toro, but throughout the whole big wide world. |
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