You Are The Company You Keep – A Son And His Hyena

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You are the company you keep, misery and joy are both very contagious. So be mindful.
Christine E. Szymanski

One day, a skilled, successful hunter entered the forest of Sompa in a bid hunt. While tracking a herd of buffalo, he noticed a cackle of hyenas stealthily following the herd. In Kwampa’s vast experience as a hunter, he knew the presence of the hyenas meant a much bigger predator was also probably stalking the herd, whose catch the hyenas intended to hijack. Or that the hyenas had gone long enough without successfully stealing any food, enough to push them to hunt. Whatever the case was, the good hunter knew to respect the balance of Nature and give the hyenas a chance to feed. So he fell back.

Along the way, in a little shallow burrow, tucked behind dense shrubbery, Kwampa chanced upon three baby hyenas, likely left behind to keep each other company while the adults hunted. Remembering his son’s request for a pet, the hunter skillfully trapped one of the cubs, bound its mouth shut with the twine of a honeysuckle, and put it in his hunter’s satchel. A gift for his precious, only son, an exotic pet indeed. He happily muttered under his breathe,

“You are the company you keep. Buffalo with buffalo, an obstinacy of prey. Lions with lions, a pride of hunters. Hyenas with hyenas, a cackle of thieves. Baby hyenas with baby hyenas, a defenseless cackle.”

Okoto, the son of the most famous and successful hunter in the village of Sompa idolized his father very much and he was thrilled with his little pet hyena. Ofui, he named his pet. Okoto and Ofui soon became inseparable, the latter warming to the former as it became accustomed to the cow’s milk and eventually, the choicest parts of meat offered.

be mindful of the company you keep quotes — Photo Courtesy: Canva

As both boy and hyena grew, their friendship blossomed. And every sane person in Sompa and surroundings, regarded the pair with some trepidation and concern, all except Kwampa.

Kwampa’s wife and the mother of Okoto was the first to voice her misgivings, but of course, her husband and son brushed her off, telling her she was paranoid. Ofui they said, was well trained and tame.

Perhaps, the good hunter should have thought, “you are indeed the company you keep, a grown hyena and a boy, maybe foolishness?”

Soon the villagers began to voice their misgivings about the hyena to their chief. A farmer said his chickens were being stolen at night, and each morning, he woke to paw prints much unlike those of his dogs, it was certainly the hyena. The young women said Ofui had a habit of sneaking up behind them at the riverbank, in the most menacing and manner.

The chief summoned Kwampa to his palace and questioned him:

“What is this wild animal you’ve brought among us?”

“It was a harmless cub, now it is a tame hyena. Just like a dog.” answered Kwampa.

“Kwampa, a female spotted hyena, one that still has the sense to laugh to warn off dogs cannot be tamed. An animal that threatens others with laughter is nobody’s friend. This strange companion you brought from the forest to your son will be his undoing one day,” the chief warned.

“It is just a tame hyena, no need to overact with the rest of the village.” Kwampa answered.

“Have you heard the elders say, you’re the company you keep?” The chief asked

“In which case my son is to become a ferocious hunter.”Kwampa retorted, dripping with sarcasm.

“Hyenas keep company with hyenas and with prey. Your son is to become one or the other,” the chief replied and added, “that hyena is banned from all public places.”

The more the village ostracized them, the better friends Okoto and Ofui became. They spent every waking moment together, playing, fetching water and firewood and eating.

They even hunted together at the edge of the forest. Ofui taught Okoto stealth, how to use the direction of the wind to his advantage, and how to hunt without expending too much energy.

You are the company you keep; the boy became a hunter.

One fine Saturday morning, boy and hyena set off for the river bank to stalk antelopes. Ofui had gone without a proper meal for several days, because Kwampa had returned home empty handed from several unsuccessful hunting expeditions.

The pair walked along a deserted path toward the outskirts of the village, as they went Okoto playfully kicked the leaves along the path, which in turn sprayed the dew that had collected on them into the air. Ofui bared her teeth snarled furiously when water droplets landed in her nose. “ Easy, easy, I was just playing,” said Okoto. And noting his friend’s cold demeanor, he added, “Papa will bring you food soon enough. Cheer up.”

TEARS OF A CROCODILE AND LAUGHTER OF A HYENA- EPISODE I

The riverbank was deserted and quiet, as it was every Saturday morning. Only a two women sat washing and chatting away. Okoto and his hyena made for the other end of the riverbank, away from the women. Whiles walking away, Okoto turned to check on Ofui who was following slowly behind. As he turned, he tripped on a rock and fell on a dead bamboo stump. The bamboo cut him deep in his palm, blood splattered on a nearby plant, coating its leaves red.

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Ofui the hyena hurried to his fallen friend, but something irresistible demanded his attention, the smell of blood. She licked the leaves, it tasted heavenly, like nothing she’s ever tasted before. She licked some more, and just like that, something primal and dormant began to rise in her. The hairs along her spine arose, her teeth bared, and she took slow menacing steps toward her friend.

The hyena’s companion was not a hyena so it had to be prey.

you will become the company you keep — Photo Credit: Canva

The boy and the hyena’s eyes met. Okoto didn’t have time to scream. Snap went his neck and the hyena became red in tooth and in claw.

It was one of the two women who saw the ghastly scene first and raised an alarm. Ofui ran into the forest, she instinctively knew life as she knew it had changed.

As a crowd gathered, Kwampa was sent for, and so was the chief.

Upon seeing his mutilated son, Kwampa asked furiously, “which offspring of a woman did this to my son?”

“It was his friend, Ofui, the hyena. She ran into the forest.” The two women explained.

Kwampa sank to his knees.

The chief met Kwampa’s eyes. No words were spoken between them, there was none needed. The two men dispersed the crowd and began cutting bamboo leaves to cover the body, salvaging the last embers of the boy’s dignity. Still no words were spoken, they worked in the silence of their own thoughts; one regretting his choices and the other regretting a prediction that had come too true.

Someway somehow, you will succumb to the company you keep.
Adwoa Korang

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