Why No One Keeps the Cock as Pet
Why No One Keeps the Cock as Pet is a folktale told to teach us about choosing our friends.
Why No One Keeps the Cock as Pet
Once upon a time, there was a very beautiful woman, who was desired by almost every man in the land. This woman first married the Duke of the Land and gave birth to a son whom she called Ekpo. When she got tired of that marriage, she left and got married to a common man for whom she had another son, Etim.
Regardless of the two boys’ backgrounds, their mother loved them both; they loved themselves so much. These two brothers never had issues with money. This was because they were very smart, and owned farms and buildings that helped them make money. The two half-brothers were really close and loved each other so much.
Ekpo had a cock, which he considered his pet, and he never allowed anyone to hurt it. Not even his family. He also had a friend, Ama Ukwa, a native of the village where he lived. Ama Ukwa was also a friend to Etim, but he always hated how much these two brothers cared about each other. He was always looking for ways to bring hatred between them.
One day, Ekpo decided to host his people. So he threw a very big dinner party and invited everyone, including Etim and Ama Ukwa. While they had their dinner, Ekpo stepped out to handle some business. Right after he stepped out, his pet cock flew on top of the table and started eating from Etim’s plate.
“Guards!” Etim yelled when he noticed the cock eating from his plate.
“Yes, my Lord,” the guards answered.
“Take this cock away and tie him to something,” Etim said, and the guards did as he instructed. Ama Ukwa saw this as a great opportunity, so he waited until dinner was over and everyone had gone home. He knew that Ekpo would ask for the whereabouts of his pet cock, and he had a plan in mind.
“Guards!” Ekpo called out after a while. Ama Ukwa sat patiently waiting for him.
“Yes, my lord,” the guards said.
“Where is my cock?” He asked simply.
“Your brother ordered us to tie him somewhere far away, my lord,” the guard said respectfully and walked away. This made Ekpo very upset.
“If I may speak, my lord,” Ama Ukwa said, and Ekpo permitted him. “I heard Etim tell the guards to tie the cock and then kill the cock.”
Ekpo was now getting very upset. “But why wouldn’t the guard tell me that?” He asked.
“Maybe because he is scared of what you will do to him. Didn’t you see how he scurried away?” Ama Ukwa said.
“Of course, you are correct. Okay, I want you to take a message to my brother for me. Tell him that he should return my cock back to me.” Ama Ukwa bowed before Ekpo and walked out to meet Etim.
When he finally stopped at Etim’s house, he gave the young man a completely different message. “Your brother Ekpo said that for betraying him and treating his cock unjustly that he will be coming for your head, and that means that he wants war. So I think you should get prepared.”
Etim became very angry and started talking to himself again. “Who does that man think he is? He wants to fight me because of a simple stupid cock. Well, if it’s a war he wants, then I will give him just that.”
The man was furious, so he told Ama Ukwa, “Return to my brother and tell him that I am prepared for anything he wants to do. So he can try anything.”
Ama Ukwa returned to Ekpo and told him that his brother Etim had declared war and that Ekpo should prepare to save his life.
Soon, Ama Ukwa arranged for them to fight. Ekpo lead his army to fight his brother, and many men died during this war. The war lasted for many hours.
Finally, the chiefs of Calabar got tired, and they met to decide what to do.
“These two men are destroying everything in our community. What shall we do?” They asked each other.
“I think the first thing we should do is try and stop this war, and then later, we can think of how to avert this crisis that has sprung up.” One of the elders said.
“That is a very good idea. Let us call Egbo men and tell them to go out with their drums.” So the men called Egbo men, and they went out with their drums to the battlefield. When Ekpo’s and Etim’s men heard the beatings of their drums, they stopped fighting immediately.
A few days later, the chiefs of the Land held a big meeting and invited the two men. When the men came together, they began to state their cause.
Ekpo said, “I was told by Ama Ukwa that my brother Etim wanted to kill my cock, and when I asked him to return him, he declared war on me instead!”
“No!” Etim protested. “That is not what happened. I just tied the cock so that it wouldn’t disturb the party my brother threw, but instead of thanking me, Awa Ukwa told me that my brother had declared war against me.”
The chiefs were a bit confused, so they called Ama Ukwa to speak, and when the young man had nothing to say, they knew he was behind everything. So they told the guards to bundle him, lock him up and prepare him for execution.
Ama Ukwa’s very rich father offered to give the Egbo’s five thousand rods, five cows, and seven slaves to redeem his son, but they refused his offer. The next day, Ama Ukwa was beaten severely. Then he was hanged and left hanging for twenty-four hours. Afterward, Ama Ukwa’s head was cut off.
The elders also said that Ekpo should kill his cock to avoid another person using that cock to start a war between him and his brother again. The elders also laid a decree that no one should have a cock as a pet animal.
Moral Lesson
Be careful of the people you call friends.
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