Sankofa Creative Competition #2 : The Impossible Task (The King & The Two Wise Men - A Yoruba Folklore)

dante31 (63) in story • 7 years ago (edited)

Based On An Original Proverb

A f'ogbon ologbon s'ogbon ko te boro
(He that learns from others will not make mistakes)

From the Winner of the Sankofa Creative Competition #1 brings you this thrilling story of ancient wisdom that has been passed from the beginning of time to every generation of the smart native Yoruba tribe of Nigeria.

This story is an adaptation from a Yoruba Proverb. All credits are given to my wise forefathers that molded the present day Yoruba culture which we still hold on dearly to their knowledge.

Remastered by an unsung hero , a master in his craft and a great wordsmith.

@dante31 brings to you the story of the King and The Two Wise MEN.

Tune your mind and gear yourself up for this one. If your starter pack for this does not contain Pop-Corn and a Cola drink then you are not ready this.

Prepare to be amazed for what's popping? ... corn lol

So “without further ado"

The Plot

Long ago in a distant land.

In a land of peace and pure tranquility lived the fairest King in all the 8 kingdoms.

He was the supreme ruler of the realm.

One very day, the King was going about his business to settle a dispute between 2 land owners laying claims to a land.

It was a farm with vegetable plantation ready for harvest.

The King sent his top investigators to assess the situation. They returned with reports of their investigations stating that people have seen both men work the land at different intervals but never at the same time.

The result however was inconclusive to help this fair King to make the proper judgement.

The king sat on his golden throne lost in pondering of what to do. He has already ordered the 2 mean to return to the palace in 7 days for his final judgement.

He asked his trusted advisers to search for the wisest men in the land.

After a long day of search , two men were brought forward before the King.

A f'ogbon ologbon s'ogbon (One that seeks wisdom from others) and the other, A-tikalaare-gbon (One that believes he knows all).

The king needs only one of these two white bearded wise men. To determine which of them is truly the wisest, the King decided to test them.

These are the instruction of the the test:
bring a pot of water to the palace in 5 days , it must neither be full nor half full

He dismissed them from the palace to prepare for the ultimate test.

The two wise men were left in bewilderment. Reciting the test instructions over and over in their heads to sink the concept in and come up with a solution.

They thought logically about the How?

How? the pot cannot be less than full but must not be full.

Thinking about it drove them nuts.

A f'ogbon ologbon s'ogbon (One that seeks wisdom from others) went to visit older friend to seek some advice.

The older friend happens to be his tutor and mentor. They had some tea and discussed at length as the elders do.

He followed the advice of his friend by sending a message to the king to send two of his best guards to assist him in carrying the pot.

For the pot would be too heavy for him to carry alone.

He added a conditional statement saying:
the guard should neither be a man nor a woman.

When the message got to the King, he was highly impressed. His respect for A f'ogbon ologbon s'ogbon's (One that seeks wisdom from others) was over the top.

He immediately made arrangements to release him from the impossible task.

On the other hand, A-tikalaare-gbon (One that believes he knows all) knew it was an impossible task to pull off.

So he decided not to do anything about it.

He pondered over it and came to a logical conclusion that there was no solution to the task.

On the 5th day, A f'ogbon ologbon s'ogbon's (One that seeks wisdom from others) and A-tikalaare-gbon (One that believes he knows all) both appeared before the King.

A f'ogbon ologbon s'ogbon's (One that seeks wisdom from others) has been declared free from the task.

The King however asked how he came about his wise approach to the task which he explained in details to the King.

A-tikalaare-gbon (One that believes he knows all) was asked why he did not complete the task which he stated his reasons.

The king advised A-tikalaare-gbon (One that believes he knows all) that there is a need to learn from wisdom of other people.

He dismissed him immediately then proceeded to make A f'ogbon ologbon s'ogbon's (One that seeks wisdom from others) his right hand man.

The king beseeched his council and wisdom about the land dispute he is having problems with solving.

He came up with a plan after speaking at length with the King.

The judgement day arrived, the 2 men came forward as requested by the King.

It was a fertile land with vegetables ready for harvest. The king gave them 2 option;

they should share the land equally

or

the land should be burned down and none of them would have access to the land

Immediately the King gave his options one of the men dropped on his kneels pleading with King to let them share the land equally while the other man was advocating for the land to be burned down.

At this point the King was able to conclude the real owner of the land which he gave to the man pleading that the land should be shared equally.

The king told the other man that he deserved to be killed, but for the mercy of God. He punished him to work the land for the other man for a whole year without any reward.

The people applauded the King for his wisdom but he did not accept it. He declared that the wisdom was not all him but from A f'ogbon ologbon s'ogbon's (One that seeks wisdom from others).

He proclaimed A f'ogbon ologbon s'ogbon's (One that seeks wisdom from others) as the wisest man in all of the 8 Kingdoms.

THE END

U P V O T E

R E S T E E M

F O L L O W @dante31

if you enjoy what you read please drop your C O M M E N T S

                                                        *THANKS*

story nigeria poetry africa sankofacomp

7 years ago by dante31 (63)

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rizkisuryadi (37) · 7 years ago

Nice story Mr @dante31. Nice to introduce with you. Thank

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10 votes

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dante31 (63) · 7 years ago

Thanks😉

Following you

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alex-rudeandloud (54) · 7 years ago (edited)

Nice one mr dante, from a yoruba standpoint no less. . .

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8 votes

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dante31 (63) · 7 years ago

thanks man

following you

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misterakpan (61) · 7 years ago (edited)

The wisdom of our ancestors cannot be contained in a single book. Nice story. Amazing entry. Good luck.

Info on the contest can be found here: https://steemit.com/story/@misterakpan/sankofa-competition-1-winner-s-rewarded-or-acts-of-kindness-winner-shares-his-reward-or-competition-2-opens

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1 vote

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dante31 (63) · 7 years ago

So much ancient wisdom

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drotto (48) · 7 years ago

This post has received a 0.78 % upvote from @drotto thanks to: @banjo.

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minnowbooster (73) · 7 years ago

@dante31 got you a $1.75 @minnowbooster upgoat, nice! (Image: pixabay.com)

Want a boost? Click here to read more!

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oniraphaeleu (53) · 7 years ago

This story is a winner,
God wins.

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nigeriagist (47) · 7 years ago

I really appreciate this post.

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dante31 (63) · 7 years ago (edited)

Glad you like it man

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mr-aaron (56) · 7 years ago

Another nice one from @dante31 .
Upvoted and Resteemed

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dante31 (63) · 7 years ago

thanks fam

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jacksonmil980 (58) · 7 years ago

He that learns from others will not make mistakes....good proverb
congrats for you post

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dante31 (63) · 7 years ago

thanks.. learning from other people can help a lot in ones life and decision making.

I appreciate your support

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minnowsupport (70) · 7 years ago

Congratulations! This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by dante31 from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, theprophet0, someguy123, neoxian, followbtcnews/crimsonclad, and netuoso. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows and creating a social network. Please find us in the Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel. It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.