They Say The Darndest Things

I live with my cousin and her family. Her kids are nine, seven and six years old(boy, girl, boy) and most times, when I need a laugh, I simply listen to them talk.

They are hilarious.

"Mummy, when are we going to go to Nigeria?" Seven asked my cousin once.

"One day", her mom assured her.

"What?!" Seven complained, "Just for one day? Aww men!"

On another occassion, my cousin took Six and I to her office and introduced us to her colleagues. When we were about to leave, one of them said bye to Six.

"Bye!" Six replied, "See you when I'm old!"

This is an example of a conversation I have with Six almost everyday:

"Aunty, can I- can I ask you something?"

"Yes".

"You know how...you know when, like, you know...Aunty, can I ask you something?"

"Yes".

"This is my playstation game".

".....okay".

I hear things like these on a daily basis. I'm used to it now. But sometimes, kids can surprise you.

Last Wednesday was my cousin's birthday, so the kids and I cleaned up the house and made dinner to surprise her. We bought a card, baked macaroons (there was no margarine or butter to bake a cake, macaroons were the only thing in the cookbook that didn't need butter) and arranged the dining table all fancy like. By now, Six was fretting about how hungry he was. Usually they ate before their mum came home. But he waited.

When she came home, she was happy (the house was clean, of course she was happy).

After all the greetings and picture taking, we finally settled down around the table. Six reached out to grab a spoon.

"Can we pray first?", my cousin asked. Six groaned and sat back. "Come on, Six pray for us".

He groaned again, "Aww men! Why can't Nine do it?"

"I'm asking you, Six", she replied.

"Okay", he said. He closed his eyes, clapped his hands together and bowed his head. I waited for the usual 'Bless this food, Oh Lord' that they normally said.

But, in the calmest, most innocent, most solemn voice and in a surprisingly adult manner, he said,

"Jesus taught us to pray

Jesus taught us to love one another

Jesus taught us to help each other...every day

Jesus taught us to [always be together]

Jesus taught us to ()

Thank you Jesus for my mommy

Thank you Jesus for our food
Jesus is our only father and

God is our only father and- and

Mary and Joseph are our only Mum and Dad.

Thank you Jesus for this meal. Amen".

"Amen", we chorused and opened our eyes. For about five seconds, no one said anything. We just stared at him.

It wasn't just what he said, it was the way he said it. He wasn't reciting something he was taught, he was actually talking to God. Yes, some parts of it are funny but mostly, it was genuine.

"Six, that was so good!" his mum said.

"I know!" I said.

"Yeah, where did you learn to pray like that?" Nine asked, looking at his brother like he didn't know who he was. If you knew Six, you'd understand why we were so surprised.

As we praised him, he just sat, uncharacteristically quiet, looking at his plate.

"Six, where did you learn that?" his mom asked.

A small frown formed on his face as he looked up.

"Can we eat now?" he asked, returning to the six year old we knew.

So we ate.

When I was writing this post, I asked him to say the prayer for me again.

"I can't remember", he said. I urged him to try and remember.

"I can't", he said, "I don't know, I just said it".

In adult lingo, "It was straight from his heart".

Maybe it's not such a big deal.

Maybe it's normal for six year olds to pray like that without being taught.

But for me, that was a first. It was the most honest prayer I'd ever heard from...anyone really, not just a child.

True, kids say the darndest things. But they can also say the sweetest things.

**** Permission was taken from their mother to write this.

****The () and [] mean I can't remember what he said.

Something to Look Out For

With all the nonsense that we are known for nowadays - yahoo, 419, silly underwear boy...Jos - it feels good to find something positive coming from Nigeria.

I love mythology and legends and fairytales and all that kind of stuff. Greek and Norse mythology are great obviously and everyone knows that. From 'Percy Jackson' and Thor' to 'Clash of the Titans' and even 'Lord of the Rings', their stories have been used in all kinds of ways and they never get old.

Still, nothing beats a good Nigerian folktale. I miss 'Stories my mother told me' and 'Tales by Moonlight'

The tortoise was always cunning, the lion was always hungry and the forests were always filled with evil spirits (and maybe one who took the form of an old woman who changed her mind about eating you because you were nice and helped her carry her heavy water pot to her hut, and so she gave you riches and showed you the way home - remember that story?)

But in recent times, the popularity of folktales has died down and there is no home grown story that the new generation of Nigerian kids can get excited about.

Until now.

I was invited to this group on Facebook called Chicken Core and I'm so glad I checked it out. It is amazing!!!

Basically, its a folktale/fantasy cartoon series about the animal kingdom (because you know Nigerian stories are not complete if the characters are not animals, lol) and how the smaller animals are treated as inferior by the larger carnivorous animals. Nature wants to rewrite this and a prophecy about a Chicken warrior called Kiki, that will rise against the oppressors to rule the animal kingdom is about to come to pass, so the chicken race is being killed off (of course, Kiki survives and...the battle begins).

Chicken Core is the name of the group of surviving chickens that join Kiki in the war against the higher animals.

You have to admit, it sounds good. It's creative and modern without sacrificing the main elements of Nigerian storytelling. And with characters with names like 'Ngozi One Connect' (pictured above), 'Ojekiri' and 'Pius Ogadinma', you know it cannot be dry, lol.

The character whose storyline interested me the most was 'Skinned Yellow Monday' and I thought I'd put it here, just to give you an idea:

According to Chicken Core's facebook page, "Monday is the enigma of 'The Core'. Although little is known about his origin, rumors say he is the only surviving member of the Iragule Clan, a highly specialized rebel unit; whose luck ran thin when they were ambushed, chained in their hideout and set ablaze. Monday's feathers were torched, burning holes into his pores. Hearing the anguish of his comrades, he broke free from his shackles shattering his beak in the process. His captors noticed his escape and hunted him to the edge of a cliff. He was rescued by Kiki who was training nearby. Monday swore his allegiance to Kiki for saving his life.

He uses a scarf to hide his broken beak and his choice of weapon is a pot cover branded 'Made in Aba' ".

Honestly, I think it sounds so brilliant and if you can, please support How Now Studios by joining their facebook page or watch their sneak peak videos on Youtube or watch the series when it comes on TV in Nigeria.

Good job, by the way, to the creators of Chicken Core.

Good job and Good luck.

This is a goat called Nnkpime. I don't know what his storyline is, this picture just makes me laugh. I hope he is the clown of the show, lol.

Do you remember your favourite folktale? What was it?