He Wanted To See The End Of The Snail's Tail

In my culture, people believe in storytelling. They would bring to the new generation what happened a long time ago in stories. They believe that storytelling is one of the ways to preserve their culture and tradition. They teach many lessons using stories, some of them fiction, just to pass on a life lesson, and some of them true as they would assure the kids that it actually happened.

The grandma's and the grandpas would gather the kids around the fireplace after dinner in the evening and tell them a nice story about their past. At times they would repeat the ones they had already told sometime back but they were always interesting and teachable. This helped the youths; the new generation to grow with their cultural values inculcated and also fit well in the society.

This story I'm about to write is one of those that my people quote always and assure us that it truly happened. Nowadays, we are tempted to think it might have been just fiction but our parents kept saying with confidence that it did happen.

They would narrate the story as follows. A mature young man lived with his parents who were reasonable enough to ask many questions. (The Young man I have named Grover in this write.) One day, Grover questioned his parents about how things grew. He questioned his Mom and Dad on how the corn they planted grew. He wanted to know the exact moment they took the move. He wondered how they would plant corn then before long it germinated, kept changing its size and no one saw the exact time it moved up. He also saw other crops like beans, pumpkins, vegetables, grasses, and trees that grew then but no one had ever seen or could tell the exact moment they moved up or crept forward.

This supernatural thing kept bordering Grover. He thought about it day and night but never had a right answer or any proof. One day Prover decided he must prove this out and see for himself. He said that something like this cannot be happening on earth and nobody can explain. His mom and Dad told him that no one has ever proved it and that it's but one of the doings of God. They said he should not bother himself because he shall never know and that only God knows.

Grover was not satisfied with their answer but still continued with his plan. He said to himself, "I usually get up in the morning just to see how the plants have already increased in height and size. They surely take the moves at night." Then he decided to target the night period. He prepared himself against the cold, wore warm clothing from head to toe and only his eyes were out. He made sure he ate his dinner because that night was going to be a long one for him. He also took his nap during the day so he would not sleep at night. He said, "I must see 'the end of the snail's tail'" (as my people would put it), and be able to prove to his people and explain to them how he saw plants growing up; the exact moment they do this.

The weather that day had been good so Grover was so happy he would accomplish his mission with ease. He made sure he was on the farm at dusk so as not to miss a moment of the night. He went lying near a maze plant that was about 15cm tall after germination. He took time lying and staring steadily at the maze plant wanting to see the exact time it would make a movement. He was so steady and focused that he could see even the smallest move.

Unfortunately for Grover, he watched and watched, then looked and looked until he could look no more. That is, he watched the maize plant forever and ever. In the morning, Mom and Dad found him lying with eyes wide open and staring at a maze plant but he was no more. Grover had died.

His story kept spreading among my people from that day, onto the next generation, and to the next, up to the present day. Presently, whenever a child expresses surprise at how the crops on their farm had grown taller since they last visited the farm, parents would always remind them of this incident or story. They would conclude, "Only God knows."