Never Judge a Book According to Its Cover
No matter how long you live as a hero, you will one time be a coward, as Dinka people say:
There lived a man called Bollong. Bollong was well known all over the country because he called himself a man of means and a handsome man compared to others in the country.
This man here, I mean Bollong, have different behaviors, which are so dangerous to the others. He abducts girls that are still young to be his wives, and also he has acrimony tone, which lets others feel scared when they come in contact with him
One morning, Bollong went for his usual morning mission of abducting girls. He went and sat under a certain tree in the forest and waited for them. But nobody was passing, so he decided to go home and come back later in the afternoon hours. While he was standing he saw a beautiful girl coming from a far distance.
Do you know what happens to Bollong when he saw a girl coming? He broke into song:
I am lucky, I am lucky,
To spend the day with another beautiful lady
God knows me; that's why he sends me beautiful ladies!
He was dancing! Dancing to the tune until he looked like a drunkard enjoying his midday meal in the bar.
As soon as the girl arrived, the man dancing alone in the forest confused her. She stood beside Bollong and watched to see whether this man was a drunkard or a mad man. She tried to call him Money! Money! Money! Then Bollong turned aggressively and roared like an angry lion, so you are here NOW! Wait for me, I am coming he said, and went to the nearby bush to prepare himself for fighting!
My brothers and sisters, when Bollong returned back, he rushed to where the girl was, and grabbed her with his big hands until the girl fell down and screamed. But there was nobody to help her since it was in the middle of the forest.
Then Bollong took the girl to his home and he didn't know that she was a girl of witchcraft. When people saw Bollong coming with the witch doctor's girl, they were astonished and confused on what to do. They all ran to the witch doctor and told him that his daughter is with the buffalo, we mean Bollong.
When the witch doctor heard that, he was surprised on how he got his daughter because she is always at home! Then he took his weapon and went to Bolong's home while singing:
My power of devil you help me
Let me defeat Bollong to mark the end of my lesson
And to rest in peace when I am defeated
Surely pride goes before fall when Bollong saw the witch doctor coming to him. He was very angry and roared like a hungry lion in the bush and said, "So you have come to collect your daughter? You will not take her unless you kill me!" He rushed to the old man witch doctor.
Within a twinkling of an eye, Bollong caught the witch doctor and threw him away like a stone and yelled, "You will not defeat me unless you use your magical powers!" The doctor fell down and seriously hurt himself. He stood up and told Bollong, "You will not stay with my daughter unless you kill me and my son and he left!"
My dear ones, pretenders are worse than the murderers. The moment the old man left, people were surprised because they were expecting something to happen. Since the old man is very dangerous, they all left one by one until Bollong was left alone in the compound standing like an eagle who has won the war in the sky.
The old man went to his home and decided to perform his usual miracles in order to defeat Bollong. He performed them by removing his power and added it to his son's, until nothing remained with Bollong, and he was useless like wine, which is dashed in water.
Then the old man called his son and told him, "Go and bring your sister!" The son replied, "My father, how can I afford to fight a giant? He will throw me away like what he did to you!" But the old man insisted by telling his son, "DON'T JUDGE A BOOK ACCORDING TO ITS COVER! He is no more a man again, but a woman in man clothes, so go and bring your sister." The son agreed. After a very long discussion, he took his weapon and went to Bollong.
When Bollong saw the son coming, he tried to stand up, but he was shivering since he was powerless. He decided to sit and watch what the son would do to him. But the son was also scared, so he rushed in and collected his sister without conversation.
My brothers and sister, if Bollong could retain his life again, he will not bully people again like what he did because he has learned.
-Thuch Ajack Manyok
