An effective lie; how I became a scared cat.
Children can be very stubborn, many of us were naughty while growing up and there are times when our parents, guardians, and even a random elder would need to devise a means just to make us stop a particular habit we were addicted to. Serving punishment use to be the drill but at some point, many of us got used to the punishment and just for them not to hurt us, many of them came up with another system of keeping us in check.
Coming up false stories came to their rescue can and somehow, these stories did instill fear in us.
I don't know who started the idea of telling children lies just to prevent them from doing things they shouldn't do but the person deserves an accolade because that simple system did put many of us in our rightful place as kids.
After we relocated to a rural settlement as a kid, I developed an interest in picking snails after it rained. My mom didn't like it but she was not always home then and we were out of school so it was difficult for her to track us.
She has punished me and my brother several times but it didn't work. After it rains, our neighbor's kids and some kids in the neighborhood would call us to go hunt. We usually go into thick bushes and swampy forests which were dangerous but we didn't bother. We were fearless and always depended on our ability to run, I and my brother were fast runners.
On a particular day, after it rained. A senior brother in the neighborhood joined us for the snail hunt when we walked passed his house. He asked where we were going and after we told him, he said he would join us because he wanted snails badly so we weren't bothered that someone of his age was hunting for snails.
We left as usual and after filling a few bags with snails, the brother that went with us vanished. We only talked about it for a few minutes before continuing our search for the snail.
We were doing our thing when he suddenly ran out of nowhere screaming that he saw a human skeleton. He flung his snails into the air and ran as fast as he could, I tried dragging my snails as I ran but it wasn't convenient so I dropped the bag and ran as well.
Every other kid did the same and after we got out of the bush, he repeated the same thing that he saw a skeleton in the bush. He claimed that it could be the work of a lion or tiger and it made us terrified.
He warned us to stay away from the bush and we all returned to our respective homes.
I couldn't tell my mom about what happened when she returned home because it will only make things worse, she might punish us which wasn't necessary because the fear of the wild animals I harbored in my heart was enough punishment for me.
After that day, we didn't hunt for snails anymore. None of the kids that were in the bush that day ever suggested snail hunting again and the fear didn't end with just picking snails for me.
Running errands at night became a problem for me and my mom would have to threaten me with dinner if I refuse to go. Our toilet and bathroom were detached from the house, going there once the sun is down was another issue and I suddenly become a good boy.
The once fearless me became a scared baby, I became someone who always run all my errands and do my chores before nightfall.
Years passed and we left that environment to a developed area, somewhere far from the thick bushes and it made me happy but it didn't make me return to picking snails. Even when I see people doing it in uncompleted buildings, I always warned them to be careful.
I was in SS3 when we went to that area where we lived before, I accompanied my mom and was surprised to see how much the place had changed.
"I wonder where all the wild animals here went to or did they kill them", I asked my mom and she just looked at me like I was drunk or something.
I continued, "When we use to go and pick snails, we saw someone skeleton in the bush and there must be wild animals there".
"Maybe", she answered but as we were going, she paused and started laughing.
"Did you see the skeleton?", She asked me and I replied, "No".
The moment I mentioned who saw it, she laughed more. She explained to me that there was no skeleton and that brother actually helped parents who were complaining about their kids entering the bush because of snails.
She said the discussion started when she went to make her hair, the guy was working near there and he promised to make the kids in the community sit at home after seeing how concerned the women were about the safety of their children.
Yay! 🤗
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Lie can be dangerous but in some situations, it is very necessary especially because it helps to keep kids safe. Who knows what would have happened if you guys kept going to the bush, someone might get bitten by a snake or other dangerous creatures
Yorubas call those lies Iro Funfun, a white lie because it is harmless and it was told to prevent something terrible.
That's it, we didn't know the evil that was averted by what the guy did. Something terrible could have happened to us later.
😂😂😂😂😂
What a smart way indeed...
Honestly little things scare us as children but wait oh... I would also run away if I hear that oh😅😅
It sounded little to you as an adult but it wasn't little as a kid, I was really scared of lions and tigers even though I have seen one in real life.
😂😂😂😂
I really understand...now we're all grown up and we think
Everything is different now because we are wiser, if we were adults then, we would have insisted on seeing the skeleton ourselves.
Exactly
Haha... Very hilarious 😂 so what if it was indeed a skeleton or lions that ate humans? 😭😂😂💔 I cry laugh..
Most of these lie as a child were mostly to teach us one or more lessons as a child. Well-done bro
There was actually no skeleton, we were only fooled to prevent us from going there to pick snails again.
The lie worked and who knows if there was really something that could kill us in that bus.
Yes.. that is my point exactly. you wrote a great write.
Thanks for the visit, good to meet you outside the city.
Lols i only imagine how terrified you are about the ghost 👻 Lies you fell for just so you won't pick snail in the bush. Am sure you felt angry and laugh at yourself when you realise it all a lie to stop you from going into the wide.
I didn't laugh immediately, the lie my mom exposed kept playing in my head over and over again but I felt stupid. Today, it something to really laugh about.
I like your mother. Should I say serves you right?😂😂, But I'm sorry though.
I love love snails and if I had the opportunity to hunt too, I'd have joined.
On a contrary opinion, I think whoever invented telling children lies to make them not do certain things needs to be found and beaten up 😂💔.
Almost every kid do hunt for snail in that community back then, so we move in large numbers. If someone had the intention of kidnapping us, he or would have done it in quietly in one of those bushes and that was why our parents were worried.
The lie was very effective and I feel silly after knowing the truth.
Haha, the brother did well playing tricks on you stubborn children, that was the only way out 🤣🤣🤣
It was indeed the best way to make us stop the snail obsession and it worked. Some kids still picked on the street but I didn't join them anymore.
So you were afraid of skeletons? Hehe... Have you had some white lies too when you were a kid? It's fun remembering those moments.. !PIZZA
Skeleton meant evil to us as kids and even though we haven't seen one before, talking about it wouldn't make any kid scared. It was really scary then but now, we can look at ourselves and laugh.
$PIZZA slices delivered:
@jane1289(1/5) tipped @george-dee
George the good boy 😅😅😅
See how your little brain worked in Ur mum's favour then
Lol...that was a fun memory.. children with their innocent mind, they believe so many lies.. lol
Lolz, it really worked for us because if we weren't kids, one of us would have least checked the skeleton. The brother actually did us a lot of help, it was hard to hate him after I discovered the truth because his lie could have been the reason why many of us from back then are still alive today.
We could have lost our lives as kid just for the sake of snails.
It was a lie that made a difference to you guys life. The sweet part is that you started running Ur errands in the day time 😂😂, scary George
That brother really did well. That was the best he could do to scare you guys away from entering the bush in search of snail. Kids are funny though.
He hadn't done that, we won't have stopped going there and we know what might eventually happen to us one day will going about picking snails.
Wow! That shows how wise the brother was to show concern for children whose parents found it difficult to make them sit at home and obey their parents. I guess if your mom had told you of such, you might not believe her, but such a thing coming from someone, not your family created the fear in you and it worked.
Those lies are what made us grow to behave well and learn good morals.