Copyright © 2020 Catherine J. Johnson
All rights reserved
First Edition
Fulton Books, Inc.
Meadville, PA
Published by Fulton Books 2020
No part of this book may be duplicated, copied and/or
scripted without the permission of the author.
ISBN 978-1-64654-000-6 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-64654-002-0 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-64654-001-3 (digital)
Printed in the United States of America
Table of Contents
The Glittering Cheerleader Starlite
Inside and Outside
Inside and Outside
A Story of Thazur
In a village in Africa, in the land of Zaramay, lived a family of many people and villagers. In this village, there lived many children of all sizes and ages. Well, this one village child, who was very funny, decided he would play in the Land of the Animals. Many of the animals were big and ferocious, and the village chief always told the children to stay away from the Land of the Fearful.
The animals were very beautiful and one day would grow into brave, territorial, strong warriors of their land. The animals traveled in packs and lived in beautiful prides.
Thazur was a curious child, and even though the village chief had told all the children and warned them many times and said, “Do not go near the village edge because just beyond the waters are many fierce animals who live in the Land That Belongs Only to Them.”
One day, Thazur decided he was bored with playing with the other children and wanted to seek adventure on his own. Even though he knew he was forbidden to ever go into the outside world and he knew that he should not, he decided to let his curiosity get the best of him.
“Baba, may I go to the Garden of Plenty and play with the other children? I have finished my duties for the day, and I wish to join them for fun.”
“Yes, Thazur,” Baba said. “You may go now, but remember to stay within our bounds.”
Thazur laughed to himself and never joined with the other children in the garden. Just as his father was going about the daily chores and Thazur thought that no one was watching, he left for the outside land to the Land of the Fearful. Thazur had been to the Land of the Belong only without the knowledge of his parents a few times. One extremely warm and sunny day, he was walking by the stream much too close to the Land of the Fearful, and he shouted to all the villagers, “Roayah, roayah,” for a couple of times.
All the village warriors and families came running to his rescue, and Thazur shouted again but in a laughing tone.
Thazur said again and again there ain’t no lion over here, there ain’t no lion out here, and he said there ain’t no lion over here roayah, roayah! Thazur laughed and laughed and headed back toward the village.
All the warriors and families went stomping back to the village to attend to their daily work and chores. The chief said, “I have told that boy many times to stay away from that land and that one day he will only hear the sound of one hand clapping.”
Thazur’s family was angry too. He had taken them away from their work because it was harvest time, and the work had to be completed before the Time of the Falling Season.
The villagers all spoke at the same time, “One of these days, Thazur will cry out loud, and no one will answer him. We are a village of faithful people, but faith and tolerance can only abide when the truth is being told.” Everyone gathered and whispered in the chief’s ear about what they were going to do about Thazur.
The chief gathered all the children.
“Come, my children, I have something to say to you. Once upon a time, there was a boy that cried wolf. He played also in a Land of the Forbidden. One day he was playing near the mountains, and he called upon the villagers crying, ‘Wolfa, wolfa,’ and he cried, ‘Wolfa, wolfa,’ and he cried again, ‘Wolfa, wolfa.’”
The children speaking to the chief, “What happened to the boy that cried wolf, Chief? We would like to know.”
The chief speaks, “One day, I shall tell you what happened, but right now all of you have to do is to obey your parents and do as they ask you. Your time on earth shall be long and fruitful in the Land of the Plenty.”
“Okay, Chief, we shall obey and attend to our duties.”
All the children sang and danced as they went about their chores. It was a happy time for all the villagers because all their labor brought a precious harvest, and it was a time for celebrating their hard work. The drums beat, wooden horns sounded, and the patter of many feet were dancing throughout the entire village. It was time to feast. Thazur loved dancing and wearing his time-to-feast clothing, but he was nowhere in the Land of the Inside.
Weeks had passed, and no one had seen Thazur playing or doing his chores with the village children. All of a sudden, a loud noise came from the Land of the Outside.
Thazur came calling again, “Roayah, roayah,” and he shouted, “Roayah, roayah, roayah, roayah!”
All the warriors and the villagers came running. “What is that sound we all hear? Is someone outside the village in some kind of harm’s way? We shall see,” said the villagers and warriors, and they all came to the rescue.
The village people all looked around. No one ever went to the Land of the Outside unless it was necessary. The warriors went only to hunt for food and to check on stray animals that may have gotten lost from their families. No one could imagine what anyone else would be doing outside the village.
“Roayah, roayah!” he shouted. “Roayah, roayah!” he shouted again. “Haw, haw, haw. There ain’t no lion over here. There ain’t no lion over here. I fooled you all, didn’t I?”
All the warriors and villagers again headed back to the Village of the Inside and continued with their daily lives.
Charma said, “One of these days, Thazur will call for help, and he will hear the sound of silence. Why does he play tricks on everyone and keep calling for help when there is a Time for Rescue is not needed? Thazur seems to think this is funny, but who has the time to always come to the Place of No Rescue when there is no one to rescue.
“Yes,” said the chief, “one day Thazur will go to the Land of the Invisible Place, and he will not be able to see the Land of the Inside.”
Thazur’s mother called upon him to finish his harvesting, but he could not be found in the fields or near the River of Joy and Play where all the village children often gathered. She wondered where he could be. He certainly was not outside the Land of the Inside. Oh, where can he be, she thought to herself. Surely, he did not go to the Land of the Outside as he had been told many times that could be dangerous for untrained warriors because Thazur had not reached the age of the Trained Ones.
“Roayah, roayah!” he shouted. And he shouted out again, “Roayah,