However, Aron’s father was a patient man and he was one of the respected man in the village because of humble soul and down to earth besides he wasn’t afraid to greet people when they are walking towards him or anyway around him. Well... as humble as he was I think he knew that someday something will change. Simon as the child of the house he had his own duties though they had much but... they knew that having livestock in the rural areas kind of gives a sort of respect and dignity to the household. Luckily as they were waiting for another mating season for their goats to expand and their prayers were answered by God almighty. So two of the goats produced another two goats to make five goats around the mating season and Simon was so happy because there was going to be more milk for them in that season and he knew that his son Aron won’t be going in school with the empty stomach the whole mating season. Speaking of empty stomach, it is also the same thing that also made Aron lose the goats at the veld one afternoon when he fell asleep because he had no energy or power to stay awake whole afternoon. Even Aron his father told him about the news one morning before he went to school he knew that there will be no hungry afternoon at the veld when he’s watching over as always. and there will be no stealing he will do to make sure he survives the day at the veld so he wouldn’t be there with noisy stomach. Aron was so happy with all his heart and he was telling every student and every teacher at his school and everybody fell what he fell I mean the love of having something to look forward to I guess the happiness we all need if it as like that and I believe everybody was going to feel like Aron. As the little boy during the break time when he was playing with his friends he couldn’t close his mouth and the most beautiful thing is that he couldn’t even wait to get home so he can watch over the goat babies. His friends were so enthusiastic to see the baby goats and every afternoon used to bring his friends to his father’s house so they can see themselves what he’s been telling the whole school and his friends. Anyway we don’t always have good friends in our sides and it always hurts when you are being crossed by those you trust. Just imagine cruel hearts at the young age because of they were jealous of what they can’t even control so Aron’s friends stole one of the baby gats and they dumped it at the veld where they know that there is so much wolfs and jackals but... luckily baby managed to survive at the veld and when Aron was taking the Goats to the veld as always he noticed that there was baby goat at the veld and it was the only baby goat there and it was marked the same mark as his father’s goats but... he was shocked how he went there so immediately he took it home and left the other livestock at veld so he can tell his father about this strange thing because in his mind he knew that the baby goats was left home with other one. When he arrived home his father was surprised when he came home with the baby goats and he even asked him where he found it as Aron was explaining how he found it. His father remembered that he saw his friends carrying the baby goats outside the goats’ kraal and he never paid attention because he thought that they are with Aron along they were thinking the cruel things out of thinking of jealousy of something they can’t change. So his father warned him to never bring his friends in the house again because they don’t have pure intentions of what they are seen in Aron’s home. However, Aron rush back to the veld again where he left the goats and besides he never wanted to repeat what almost happened the other day when he fell asleep. By the way even his father wasn’t going to blame him but... you know how boys are and they don’t want to disappoint their fathers. Well... when he arrived at the veld as usually nothing happened his father’s goats were down the stream drinking water and on that afternoon the sun was hot as hell and you could see by yourself that even the grass was fight its own battling with the sun. So looked for the close tree where he can sit under until the sun was neutral, luckily he found the tree next to the stream banks and he had to look for snakes as it is no secret that snakes come out of the holes when the weather is too hot because of their cold blood I guess they don’t like too much hot temperatures. As he was sitting there what he didn’t notice there was the hole next to the tree he was sitting on and because he wasn’t noticing nothing as he was trying to get up and put the goats in the same place he heard this weird noise around the tree but... I never pay much attention on that so he went a little down the stream where his father’s goats where as he was trying to put them in the same place and he did exactly that. So when he came back to the same tree he noticed that the weird noise is not stopping but... instead it was getting even more worse and what he did is that he tried to be more careful about the weird noise as he was starting to see that there was a big hole next to the tree and he remembered that when it is hot there is a possibilities of snakes around any hole he sees around him. As he was focusing on that suddenly a snake came from up the tree going a head straight down to the hole and he jumped for his life so immediately he took his fathers’ goats and went home to tell his father about what he almost got himself in.



© Makaziwe Gotyana