Billy Goat and the Price of Indiscipline

By: Joe Bartuah

Boston, MA: 7/30/10--Some of us didn’t grow up in this age of electronic wizardry, in which the marvelous magic of the Internet--texting, e-mailing, face-booking, you-tubing--are now a global phenomenon. Specifically in my case, I hail from one of the remote parts of Liberia, Kaipa, in Yarwin-Mensonon District in Lower Nimba County.

Since we didn’t have the luxury of electronic gadgets, story-telling was one of the primary modes of communication in those days in my part of the world. It was through such medium that the elders endeavored to pass on the words of wisdom, which had been passed on to them by our forefathers, to the younger generation. Admittedly, at this point in time, I can’t remember most of the fireside stories that were so captivating to me during my childhood; they have largely faded into oblivion. I, however, feel obliged to narrate this short story which I can still vividly recollect, especially for the benefit of the younger generation, because it was through these stories that some of us used to quench our thirst for knowledge and guidance from the fountain of wisdom of the old folks.

Basically, the story is about Billy Goat’s inability to leap—to jump or spring to his desired capacity. Billy Goat had long been an over-ambitious animal, very anxious to achieve; he refused to acknowledge that his weakness, his incapacity outweighed his potential. All along, his foremost aim had been to be capable of leaping from tree to tree; to be as acrobatic as monkeys are. For numerous years, Billy Goat intensively trained and rigorously practiced, but to no avail; the highest peak Billy Goat could jump to or climb was a mound hill, a termite hill or “bug-and-bug hill” as we often label it in Liberian parlance.

As time went by, Billy Goat began to worry; the specter of failure, of under-achieving began to haunt him.”You want tell me I’ll continue to be an object of mockery in this town; what will be my legacy?” Billy Goat thought. In the end, he decided to swallow his pride and seek favor from monkeys. And so, Billy Goat quietly planned a pilgrimage to the Monkey Kingdom. By that time, the white people had already introduced the single-barrel guns in Africa; energetic hunters were fiercely disturbing the hitherto joyful, ecstatic tranquil world of monkeys, as a result of which monkeys resolved to relocate their kingdom to the nearly impassable, impenetrable depth of the virgin tropical rainforest.

Despite the daunting nature of such trip, Billy Goat was not deterred, for his obstinate ambition fueled his yearning for the trip; he was inordinately confident about his potential that no amount of coaxing could have dissuaded him. And so, Billy Goat embarked on this onerous trip; he tramped for more than eight hours, arriving at the Monkey Kingdom just when twilight was relieving daylight

In those days, there was no cell phone; telex facility in that part of the world was non-existent. The consequence was that guests or visitors arrived unexpectingly. That was the case