The Flummoxed and Distressed Ram

Notwithstanding the miracles that occurred, the ram was so confused and saddened. He realized that at the aftermath of the struggle that happened in the forest, the animals who have been there for a long time and were expected to be caring and protecting one another resorted to backstabbing.

This was the result of the efforts of the hippopotamus to harass those who took part in the struggle. Some animals stood their ground when the hippopotamus tried to bulldoze them into submission so he could squeeze information about the struggle that took place – the struggle that resulted into the transmogrification of the monkey into a golden deer and the hippopotamus into a mad dog. Unfortunately, there were some animals, upon smelling the stinking whiff emanating from the hippopotamuses’ big mouth, were hypnotized into submission and unwillingly offered or perhaps even invented some information.

It was sweet victory for the animals to see a complete transformation, gone is the monkey and in his place is the golden deer – the golden deer so loved and admired. On the contrary, the hippopotamus – now a mad dog – has turned from bad to worse. At least, it was still a victory for no matter how mad the dog is she would only bite those whom she thought were hostile to her. Unlike before when she was still a hippopotamus, that she would just growl, with her stinking mouth wide open, at any animal standing on her path.

The real problem, however, was no longer the mad dog but some animals in the forest who have gone mad as well, as if infected by the mad dog’s rabies. That was what was making the sheep perplexed, he was unhappy seeing the animals in the forest, most of whom were close to him, extinguishing the flames of their friendship. The forest used to be a haven of spirituality where the animals, notwithstanding their differences, would gladly embrace one another. Unfortunately, the hippopotamus came and has successfully devastated the moral landscape in the forest. The ram remembered what the horse said sometime ago, “I was told by a gorilla, someone who knows the hippopotamus very well, that the hippopotamus has the propensity to ruin anything that he handles.”

The ram contemplated. All the more that she became sad. She became afraid as well, not of the hippopotamus-turned-mad dog, but of the thought that that forest which many animals worked so hard to turn into a haven of spirituality will now become a sanctuary of hatred and distrust.

The sheep retreated to the chamber of reflection. In times of troubles, he knew that the Almighty One is the best refuge.

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Chapter 12 – In The Grassland of Reconciliation