A
Rat Tale
or How
Rat became a hero.
Everyone
has a story and this one is about Rat; The Gambian pouched rat to be exact, his
special
skills and his very important job.
Rat had seen people, animals,
stories and Gods come and go from his home lands. He'd witness the joy of his
land's people in plentiful times or with a new arrival and the ensuing sadness
that came with bad times or as the people of the land left for pastures new.
He'd watched the dramas unfold like the blooms on the savannah pastures as others
from all over the world came and took their place. With these newcomers came not
only hope and joy but many new ideas and things like chickens.
Chickens, a new animal which
apparently the humans said tasted like rat only less gamey. Rat thought
Chickens were a good thing and hoped it would save him and his many brothers
and sisters from the pot. However it was not to be, chicken was costly and rat
was cheap and easy to find. Then of course there was the fact that everyone
really seemed to like to eat Rat...a lot! But Rat held his hope that one day his
kind would be saved from the pot and Mans curses.
As time had passed Man had not only
travelled and learned, his technologies had also advanced. However this
advancement was not only for the good, new problems came too. New diseases, new
stories, new beliefs, new hates, new words like poverty and riches. These ideas
and words became problems dividing the people of the land, and soon their differences
grew into divisions which grew into hates. These problems caused sadness, anger
and eventually war. It was not long before the people were using all they had
to make war with their neighbours, they used their money, their knowledge, and
their hearts, just because they were different. Rat wondered how Man could be
so blind as not to see how alike his neighbour and he were; how similar all
life could be no matter how different, we all make the same mistakes, we all
have mothers and fathers; but he was blinkered by his own views and greed.
Rat grew sad as he watched the wars
develop and spread. He observed the fighting and saw how the land lost many of
its young and old. It was not long before many villages stood empty, animals
left with no carers, children with no parents, the sick, injured and infirm
left without aid. Eventually after many years Man stood back and looked around
at all the war had brought him and he found he was empty handed. He'd come to
see the futility in fighting his fellow Man for land or honour, and the wars
stopped. Both Man and Rat were relieved and thought that life would go back to
the way things had been. Little did they know how wrong they were, both Man and
Rat discovered the after effects of war linger on long after the event. You see
the problems of war did not just vanish... they lay exactly where Man had left
them. Man’s wars had cursed the land with many problems one of which was
landmines.
Landmines were cruel devices; they
lay hidden from the eye. Disguised, they did not discriminate as to who or what
they would hurt or kill. The young, the old, cattle and dogs; if you were big
enough you’d set them off. They were often hidden in by ways and roads, near
villages, in fields wherever they could cause the most harm. Rat came across
many damaged homes and people missing their limbs. No matter how angry Rat was
at Man for his unfair treatment these sights made him sad. He was especially
disheartened when he saw a child missing an arm or a leg; it reminded him of
the damage Man’s traps left upon his own children. However Rat had advantages
over Man when it came to landmines. He was small enough not to trigger them and
his kind could smell the explosives inside. So even if they were buried deep in
the land all rats knew where they were. So Rat and his kind were able to avoid
their reach. Unlike the children of Man, the children of Rat could play and run
safely throughout the land. Rat was thankful for his good sense of smell and
sensitive nose, for not only did it feed him and his family, it kept them safe.
Man was deeply saddened by his own
actions and sought to right his wrongs. He chose to help rebuild the villages
and to repair the bonds of friendship with his fellow man. Man wanted to free
the land of the curse he’d placed upon it but Man was left poor from all of the
fighting. And so he had to rely upon the help of others not only to rebuild the
villages, but to provide care for the sick and injured, as well as to remove
the landmines. Man asked his fellows across the world for assistance and although
many came, it is hard expensive work and takes a very long time to clear the
mines. The job of clearing the mines is a dangerous one and involves Man
searching the area with special expensive machines to find them. Now although the
machines are good at their job they are neither cheap nor thorough. This is because
the machines can only find mines which are made of metal, unfortunately they leave
all of the plastic landmines behind. Man had a dilemma, he had to come up with
a plan if he was going to find all of the landmines. Man knew that the explosives
mines contained smelled; not so as he himself could find them, but he knew Dog
had a very good sense of smell; Dog’s nose was so sensitive Dog could find many
things hidden deep inside all kinds of places. Man also knew that Dog was a
loyal friend and liked to help him. So he asked Dog to help him to find the
mines, Dog always wanting to please Man agreed but for a price. After all it
was a dangerous job. Dog knew from his own experience that his kind could
accidentally set off the mines and get hurt or killed. So he asked that Man pay
him for his work not only with kindness but with food, not just any food but
dog food, and that meant expensive meat. And so the arrangement began dogs are
good at finding mines but it takes a lot of expensive food to feed Dog and a very
long time to train Dogs to find the hidden mines. Rat could see the struggle
Man had to clear the land of the mines. He admired Man’s courage and attempts
to correct the mistakes of his past. However for Rat life carried on as it
always had watching from a distance to avoid Man’s curses and the threat of the
pot. Little did Rat know how his life was to change.
One fine evening as the sun’s rays
began to dip below the horizon Rat came out to find food. For he knew that as
the shadows grew longer, all of the day creatures, Man included, would be readying
for bed. So, just as he did every evening, Rat wandered up to the nearby village
to seek out a tasty morsel. He was safe in the knowledge that there would be no
one around...or so he thought. Rat was
startled by a cry as he was going about his business foraging for food.
“Rat! I can see you.”
Rat stopped dead in his tracks, his
heart raced as he tried to decide whether to run or fight.
“Don’t you worry Rat I’m not going
to hurt you.” The voice from the long shadows cried out.
Hurriedly Rat sniffed the air and
his fears were confirmed, it was Man. He looked around, sniffed and listened to
find out where the man was, after all there’s no point running into a trap. Rat
turned to face the shadow figure of Man as he began to approach him. He could
not help but cower away from his long standing enemy as the man drew out of the
shadows and came towards him, continuing his speech as he did so.
“Rat I’m not going to hurt you,
truly. I’ve been watching you, and all your kind. You’ve a very special secret
don’t you?”
Confused Rat looked Man in the eye
before replying.
“Secret?”
“Yes the secret that you hide from
us and I think I know why. I’m ashamed to say I’ve helped build your fear. It is true I thought you were nothing but a
pest, a thief, and a scoundrel. Yet it seems I have misunderstood you. I admit
that unfortunately I have enjoyed the odd roast rodent, but I’m truly truly sorry.
Please believe me when I say I mean you no harm. You’re a very special animal I
only wish I’d seen it sooner. I think we got you all wrong. See I’ve been
watching you, learning about you, getting to know you, so to speak. Your small light
body lets you fit in many places and because you do not trigger the mines your
children can play across the land. Your nose is so sensitive, like Dog’s, it
can find the hidden mines unlike my own. But these are not your only gifts, no...
I’ve watched you raid the stores using your intelligence and patience to get
through my traps. You my friend are truly blessed.”
Rat sat astonished as Man continued
to speak. His mouth was open in disbelief as he cowered away from his long
standing enemy. Yet intrigued by the words of Man Rat did not run, he stayed
rooted to the spot. He could not believe his ears as Man praised his skills.
Then Man stooped and sat down beside him looking out to the horizon. As he did
so he pulled a meal from his bag and began to share his meal with him, Rat now could
not believe his eyes or nose. Rat sniffed at the bread Man had placed in front
of him and as Man took a bite so did he. Rat’s philosophy on food was a simple
one, never turn up free food that was safe to eat.
“You know my friend I’ve been
mending a lot of friendships lately, fixing the bad things I’ve done and I’m
not too proud to say that I was wrong about you. You are just as an important
part of the land as the lions the trees, and me. We are all in this together
and I am ashamed to say I have another reason to talk to you. You see I need
your help to put things right. I need your help to remove the mines, the machines
are costly they cost many years wages where as you need only a small amount
food and shelter. As for Dog he takes a long time to train and will only work
with one Man well, they do not learn as quickly as you do nor are as willing to
work with others, friend. I know you
have no reason to trust me or help me and I don’t have much to offer but I
thought we could chat and maybe come to some accord.”
Rat continued eating in silence and
pondered upon Man’s proposal. On the one hand he was sat sharing food with his
long time enemy and yet he wondered if he could forget that fact. He questioned
why should he help, after all of the things Man had done to his kind? On the
other Rat had a chance to make a difference, to be seen for who he really was and
to help heal his land.
It was a conundrum and so he sat in
silence thinking, with Man by his side until the moon rose over the distant
hills.
“You know” Rat started, still
looking into the distance. “I would like the land to be free of mines and
explosives, but... I don’t want a return to the way things were.”
“You don’t?” Questioned Man.
“No” Rat paused for a moment before
he continued. “No I don’t....you see I quite like talking to you Man. I enjoy sharing
your food with you, it’s nice to finally make your acquaintance and to be seen
for the animal I am. I think I’ll help you but in return for our efforts I ask
for a small payment.”
Man’s heart rose upon hearing Rat’s
words and then sank again fearing what he would ask for in return. After all
Man was poor and had little to give or share. So Man turned to Rat and tentatively
asked, “what would you like?”
“Kindness, respect, a safe place to
live, food, and..... oh yes maybe some bananas or peanuts as a treat. I would
very much like us to be friends and for our children to have a happier future
together.”
Man smiled and laughed a deep
hearty laugh. “My friend you will work for peanuts? You have an accord! In
return we will give you a safe home to shelter in, friendship and as many
peanuts as you can eat.” And with those words man swept Rat up into a huge
embrace. “I shall tell the world about you and your work my little friend!”
And so the deal was struck and Rat
entered into a new career and became a true hero.
With Rat’s help Man could find the
mines quickly easily and cheaply.
Rat and Man are still working
together today to free their home lands from the curse of the landmines and
will be for a long time yet.
Man kept his promise and tells the
world of Rat’s heroism via the press and internet. He has even set up an
organisation to fund Rat’s work; APOPO
Rat and Man are also working
together on other projects to help the people of their homeland, by furthering
Rats special sniffing skills. This is done by giving Rat new challenges like
sniffing out diseases like T.B. and accurately diagnosing the problem faster
than lab technicians. Together with Rat’s help they hope to make their homeland
and the world a better place for all of their children.
This tale is based
upon the real life day to day efforts of APOPO and the Hero Rats
Read it at www.apopo.org
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