By: Chioma Madonna Ndukwu
Africa’s Talking Drum: The Secret That Kept the Owl Awake at Night
“Why are you still awake?”
Owl opened his eyes and looked down from the old udala tree. It was well past midnight, yet Nwosu was standing beneath the tree with a small lantern in his hand.
“It is you again,” Owl said.
“Yes,” Nwosu replied. “I have been watching you for many nights. Everybody is asleep, but you are always here. Don’t you ever sleep?”
Owl turned his head towards the dark forest before answering.
“I used to sleep.”
Nwosu moved closer. “What happened?”
Owl remained quiet for a moment.
“That is a long story.”
“Then tell me.”
“You should be sleeping.”
“My mother says the same thing whenever I ask about you. She tells me that children who ask too many questions will grow old before their time.”
Owl chuckled.
“Your mother is wise.”
“But you still have not answered me.”
Owl looked at the boy and finally said, “Sit down, Nwosu. Perhaps tonight you will understand.”
Nwosu sat beneath the tree, and Owl began his story.
“Many years ago, I was not the bird you see today. I slept at night like every other bird. When the sun disappeared behind the hills, I returned to my nest and closed my eyes until morning.”
“What changed?” Nwosu asked.
“One night, I heard someone crying for help.”
“A person?”
“I did not know. The voice came from beyond the river.”
Owl explained that he had been flying home when the cry reached him. He immediately changed direction and followed the sound, but by the time he reached the river, the voice had disappeared. He searched everywhere until dawn but found nothing.
The next morning, he told the other animals what he had heard, but they laughed at him.
“You must have been dreaming,” Pigeon said.
Guinea Fowl shook her head. “Perhaps you ate something bad before sleeping.”
Owl ignored them. He knew what he had heard.
That night, he returned to his nest and slept. But shortly before midnight, the cry came again.
“Help me!”
Owl immediately opened his eyes and flew towards the river. Once again, the voice stopped before he could find its source.
The following morning, he told the animals what had happened.
Tortoise laughed.
“You are becoming too concerned about things that do not concern you.”
“But someone may be in danger,” Owl insisted.
“And perhaps there is nobody,” Tortoise replied. “You cannot spend every night chasing a voice you cannot see.”
Owl said nothing, but he could not forget the cry.
The same thing happened night after night. Just before midnight, the voice would rise from somewhere beyond the river.
“Help me!”
Owl would leave his nest and fly into the darkness, following the sound until it suddenly disappeared. He searched the riverbank, flew over the bushes and examined the caves along the hillside, but he could never find the person calling for help.
Weeks passed, and then months. Owl stopped sleeping properly. He became thin and restless because every time he closed his eyes, he remembered the voice. He began spending his nights in the trees, listening for another cry.
One evening, the king of the animals summoned him.
“Owl, what has happened to you?” the king asked. “You no longer sleep, you hardly eat, and every night you disappear into the forest. Tell me the truth.”
Owl bowed his head.
“I cannot sleep because I am waiting for the voice.”
“What voice?”
“The voice of someone who cries for help every night.”
The king looked at him carefully.
“Have you ever seen the person?”
“No, Your Majesty.”
“Then how can you be certain that someone is there?”
“I cannot explain it, but I know what I hear. I believe someone is trapped in the forest.”
The king was not completely convinced, but he decided to find out for himself.
That night, he and several animals followed Owl into the forest. They hid among the trees and waited. The moon moved slowly across the sky, and the forest remained quiet.
Then, shortly before midnight, the cry came.
“Help me!”
The animals looked at one another.
Nobody laughed this time.
The king turned to Owl. “Take us to the voice.”
Owl flew towards the river, and the animals followed. The cry came again, weaker than before.
“Help me!”
They searched the area until they discovered a small antelope trapped beneath the branches of a fallen tree. It had fallen into a deep hole and had been unable to climb out.
The king immediately ordered the animals to rescue it.
When they finally pulled the antelope from the hole, it was weak, hungry and covered in mud.
“I thought nobody would ever hear me,” the frightened animal said.
Owl looked at it sadly.
“I heard you.”
The antelope lowered its head.
“I have been crying every night.”
The king turned towards Owl.
“You were right. If we had continued to ignore you, this animal might have died.”
The animals took the antelope home and cared for it until it became strong again. From that day, they stopped laughing whenever Owl spoke about what he heard in the darkness.
But Owl had already made up his mind.
He went to the king and said, “Your Majesty, I want to continue keeping watch at night. There may be others who need help.”
The king nodded.
“Then let the forest remember that the eyes which remain open while others sleep are not always eyes that have lost their rest. Sometimes, they are eyes watching over everyone else.”
Owl returned to the udala tree and continued his nightly watch.
Years passed, and the animals became accustomed to seeing him awake while the rest of the forest slept. He listened to the rustling bushes, watched the paths and paid attention to every unusual sound. Whenever an animal was lost, trapped or in danger, Owl was often the first to notice.
Nwosu looked up at him after hearing the story.
“So you can sleep, but you choose not to?”
Owl nodded.
“I can sleep. But I remember the antelope. I remember how long it cried before someone finally listened. Since that night, I have believed that if I am awake, I may hear someone who needs help.”
Nwosu slowly stood up, holding his lantern close to his chest.
“I understand now,” he said. “You are not awake because you are afraid of the night. You are awake because you do not want anyone to cry for help without being heard.”
Owl smiled.
“Now you understand.”
Nwosu looked towards the sleeping village. Every house was quiet, and every family had gone to bed, unaware that the owl was still watching over the forest.
“Go home,” Owl told him gently. “Your mother will be wondering where you are.”
Nwosu smiled and began walking away.
“Goodnight, Owl.”
“Goodnight, Nwosu.”
As the boy disappeared into the darkness, Owl remained on the high branch of the udala tree, his eyes fixed on the sleeping forest.
He was tired, but he stayed awake.
Not because sleep had abandoned him, but because he had chosen to listen when others could not.
Moral:
Never dismiss another person’s cry simply because you cannot see the danger. Sometimes, the one who keeps watch while others sleep is the reason someone survives the night.
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