STORY MY MOTHER TOLD ME BY NOEL OGADIMMA ONYEULO

STORY MY MOTHER TOLD ME

BY

NOEL OGADIMMA ONYEULO

This is a story from a time when the gods walked on earth and looked as human as you and I. They meet with people in their language and time and sometimes award reward or punishment to them. 

Once upon a time in Greece there was a certain city whose king was Midas. Incidentally the King Midas who appears in this story is the same Midas who had the touch - he could turn everything to gold.  But actually it ended badly for him because all he touches turn Gold including his food and daughter. That however is another story. This one is called “King Midas has ass’s ears”.  I learnt it at the toutledge of my mother Sabina when I was about 9.

In those days: Pan, the god of shepherds, challenged Apollo, the god of music to a musical contest. Pan insisted his flute of reeds could produce a more beautiful melody than Apollo's silly harp. The two agreed on a contest with judges. One of the judges was King Midas, a mortal chosen by Pan.

After hearing the two melodies, all except one of the judges chose Apollo as the winner. But the one judge who preferred Pan was King Midas because Pan is his friend.

Furious that anyone could prefer a reedy pipe to his musical lyre, Apollo disputed angrily, "I see the problem. It's your ears. They are too small to hear properly. Let me fix that for you."

King Midas felt his ears vibrating and behold his ears sprang out, and out, and turned into the large furry ears of an ass (donkey). King Midas was horrified. He grabbed his ears. "Pan, help me!" he cried. But Pan, with a quick nervous glance at Apollo, turned his back leaving King Midas. You can imagine a King with ears like that of a donkey! How will he feel before his subjects and fellow Kings. What a tragedy! One of the most revered and influential king in the Greek Polis with ears like that of a donkey.

King Midas tried to hide his ears from his subjects by wearing a variety of huge hats, heavy helmets, and bulky scarves. The only person who knew about the ass's ears was the Royal Barber who came every week to trim the King’s hair and keep it neat. King Midas made his barber promise he would never tell a soul.

His barber kept his word. But keeping such a huge secret to himself was driving him crazy. On the third occasion that he cut the King’s hair, there could be no doubt he could not bear the mental truant.  He said to himself: “MIDAS THE KING HAS ASS’S EARS”. Walking home afterwards he was in confusion.  I am the only person who knows the King’s secret he said to himself.  How can I carry this burden?  I must find someone to share it.  But who?  I know so few people; and no-one well enough to tell this dreadful thing. Finally, the barber went up a mountain and almost to the edge of a cliff. He dug a hole in the midst of some reeds. He looked about, to make sure no one was near. Then, he whispered into the hole severally, "King Midas has the ears of an ass. King's aaaass ears! King's aaaass ears!" Having gotten his secret off his chest, he felt much better and relieved like a penitent after a penitential service. He returned home, sure that he had kept his word.

Unfortunately for King Midas, the barber had dug right into a “piece of Echo”. You've heard of Echo, right? Pieces of Echo were scattered all over the mountainous kingdom. In fact, pieces of Echo were scattered all over the world which reverberates.

Although I suppose some people might think it was only the sound of the wind in the reeds, it was really a piece of Echo, whispering over and over, "King's aaaass ears, king's aaaass ears".

Sound travels well in the mountains, even whispers. It was not long before the entire kingdom knew the king's secret. What a world hidden under the sun! And so I asked “What sort of secret could be hidden under the Sun?”