Weep Not, Child

'Njoroge, Njoroge!' the woman called. The little boy, dressed in nothing but a piece of calico, ran up to his mother. The woman smiled. Her small eyes were full of life and the smile lit up her dark face. She looked at the child with pride. 'Would you like to go to school?' she said. Njoroge gasped, but said nothing. 'We are poor, you know that,' his mother went on. 'Yes, Mother.' The boy's voice shook a little. 'You won't get food at midday like the other children.' 'I understand.' 'And you must never bring shame on us by refusing to go to school.' The thought of going to school was like a bright light in Njoroge's mind. 'I want to go to school,' he said quietly. 'I will never refuse to go to school.' 'All right. You'll begin on Monday. When your father gets his pay, we'll go to the shops. I'll buy you a shirt and a pair of shorts.' 'I thank you, Mother, very much.' Njoroge wanted to say more, but he could not. His mother looked at his eyes and understood. She was happy because her son was happy. In the evening, Njoroge told his brother Kamau the news. 'Kamau, I shall go to school. I'm glad. Oh, so glad. But I wish you were coming too.' 'Don't worry about me,' Kamau said to the little boy. 'I'm being trained as a carpenter. It's a useful trade. You'll get your education and I'll get a trade. Then one day, we'll have a better home for the whole family.' 'Yes,' Njoroge replied. 'That's what I want. I think people get rich because they are educated.' Ngotho, Njoroge's father, was proud that his youngest son was going to school. Njoroge was the second son of Ngotho's second wife. Njoroge was the first of Ngotho's sons to go to school. A man was always proud if one of his sons went to school. It was important for the boy and his family. Ngotho had two wives, Njeri and Nyokabi. They had given him five sons. Njeri was Njoroge's mother. She had had another son Mwangi but he was dead. All the other brothers were friends and they often sat together in one hut. They loved to hear stories from Ngotho or the women. That night, all the young people sat together in Ngotho's big hut. Ngotho told them a story. It was the story of the first man and woman and of the land that God had given to them. 'God showed the man and woman the land and said: "This land I hand over to you, O Man and Woman. It's yours to keep and to look after for ever."' There was a strange light in Ngotho's eyes as he spoke. When he told this story, he forgot his wives and sons and all the young people in the hut. Njoroge listened to the old story of the beginning of the world. He wished he had stood next to God and seen all the land. At the end of the story, he cried out, 'But where did our land go?' Everyone looked at the little boy. Ngotho answered his son slowly.