The Dog Fight
Oromia
A Story from Bale
Before you read the story
- How does a fight start?
- How does it stop?
- What do YOU do if you see people fighting or quarrelling?
Now read the story
One day, a woman threw a bone out of her house. Two dogs started fighting for it. A wise old man called Robele Megerra saw them.
"Stop those dogs!" he called out. "If you don't, the boys will start fighting too."
Nobody listened to Robele Megerra.
A few minutes later, a boy came up the path. The big dog was fighting with his little dog. He ran up and began to beat the big dog with a stick. At the same time, another boy was coming home from school. He saw the boy with the stick. He was hitting his big dog.
"What are you doing?" he shouted. "Stop hitting my dog!"
Soon the two boys were fighting.
"Stop those boys!" called out Robele Megerra. "If you don't, their mothers will start fighting too."
Nobody listened to Robele Megerra.
Just then, a woman came out of her hut.
"Why is that boy hitting my son?" she said, and she ran up to the boys and tried to stop the fight.
Then another woman came out of her hut.
"What are you doing?" she shouted to the first woman. "Stop hitting my son!"
Soon the two women were fighting.
"Stop those women!" called out Robele Megerra. "If you don't, their husbands will start fighting too."
Nobody listened to Robele Megerra.
Just then, a man was coming home from the fields.
"Why is that woman hitting my wife?" he said, and he ran up to the women and tried to stop the fight.
Another man was driving his cattle home for the night.
"What are you doing?" he shouted to the first man. "Stop hitting my wife!"
Soon the two men were fighting.
"Stop those men!" cried Robele Megerra. "If you don't, their clans will start fighting too."
Nobody listened to Robele Megerra.
Everyone heard the noise of the fight. They ran up and looked. Soon, all the men from the two clans were fighting each other. The fighting was very bad.
At last the battle ended. Sixteen men were dead, eight from one clan and eight from the other. Everyone was very sad.
"What are we going to do now?" they said. "How are we going to end this war?"
They went to see the elders. The elders discussed the matter for a long time.
At last they said, "You must pay for every dead man with the life of another man."
"But if we do that," everyone said, "we'll kill another sixteen men."
"Then you must pay a hundred cows for each dead man," the elders said.
"But if we do that," the people said, "we will lose one thousand six hundred cows. Then we will have nothing."
A crazy old man was passing the elders' meeting.
"What's the matter? What are you talking about?" he asked them. They told him all about it, and he listened carefully.
At last he said, "If you kill sixteen more men, everyone will be very sad. And if you give away all your cows, you will all be very poor. I know the answer to your problem."
"Tell us, tell us!" everyone said.
"Each clan must take its silver necklace," the old man said, "and throw it into the river. Throw away your hatred with the necklaces, and forgive each other."
So the people took the necklaces of their clans and threw them into the river. They forgave each other, and they never fought again.
Exercises
A. How much did you understand?
Robele Megele was a very wise man, but for a long time nobody listened to him.
Choose the right words from the list below to show the advice he gave.
- If you don't stop the dogs fighting, …… will start fighting too.
- If you don’t stop the boys fighting, .……will start fighting too.
- If you don’t stop the women fighting, ……will start fighting too.
- If you don’t stop the men fighting, ……will start fighting too.
- If you kill more men, you will be……
- If you give away your cows, you will be ……
sad, their husbands, their clans, their mothers, poor, the boys
B. Who, what, where and how many?
- What were the dogs fighting for?
- Where was the second boy when he saw the dogs?
- What did the second woman say to the first woman?
- What was the second man doing when he saw the women fighting?
- Who listened to Robele Megerra?
- How many men were killed?
- Who was passing the elders' meeting?
- What did the clans throw into the river?
C. Fill in the missing words
At the end of the story, the people of the village learn to live in peace.
Find the missing words in the story, and put them into the sentences below to show the old man's advice.
Each……must……its……necklace and …… it into the …….
Throw……your……with your …… and …… each other.
D. What do you think?
When countries disagree with each other, how can they avoid going to war?
Are there ever good reasons for countries to go to war?
How can wars come to an end?
Teachers’ answer key
A. How much did you understand?
- If you don't stop the dogs fighting, the boys will start fighting too.
- If you don’t stop the boys fighting, their mothers will start fighting too.
- If you don’t stop the women fighting, their husbands will start fighting too.
- If you don’t stop the men fighting, their clans will start fighting too.
- If you kill more men, you will be sad.
- If you give away your cows, you will be poor.
B. Who, what, where and how many?
- What were the dogs fighting for?
A bone - Where was the second boy when he saw the dogs?
He was coming home from school. - What did the second woman say to the first woman?
"What are you doing? Stop hitting my son!" - What was the second man doing when he saw the women fighting?
He was driving his cattle home for the night. - Who listened to Robele Megerra?
No one - How many men were killed?
Sixteen - Who was passing the elders' meeting?
A crazy old man - What did the clans throw into the river?
Their necklaces and their hatred
C. Fill in the missing words
Each clan must take its silver necklace and throw it into the river.
Throw away your hatred with your necklaces and forgive each other.
For teachers — answers to the exercises above.