Transcription
A long time ago, in the village of AI, there was a princess named Ago. She was the first daughter of King Cheda. Unlike her three younger sisters, Ago was unmarried because of her body size. She was not getting any suitors because she was extremely fat. Some villagers began to sing songs to mock her behind her back, and the issue of her weight was always on the lips of gossips. Some of them would say, "I heard that they tie three rappers so it can go around her waist." Others would say, "Did you hear that she finished one whole goat in a day?" King Cheda and his wife were troubled about their daughter's weight. Several times they tried to set up arranged marriages for her, but nobody was interested.
Ago, on the other hand, had given up on herself. Because she was so addicted to food, she could not imagine becoming slim in her lifetime. And she believed marriage would probably not be an option for her because any man that agreed to marry her would be doing it for her status and not because he loved her. Ago had always desired to be loved by whoever she married. Although she was generally unhappy with her life, she was able to find a bit of happiness from dancing. The princess was a fantastic dancer. Often times, she would hide in her heart and begin to dance to the beats she made from her mouth. Whenever there were festivals, Ago would look, look for a lonely spot close enough to hear the music and dance to her heart's content. She was always hiding because she did not want anyone to mock her.
Well, it was the end of another successful year, and it was time for the Annual Festival between the four neighboring villages. And as usual, everyone was vibrating with excitement. Some people could not wait to showcase their best dresses; some polished their dancing steps and practiced endlessly with their musical instruments. While others could not wait to enjoy the variety of meals that will be served on that day, Ago, on the other hand, was only interested in finding a lonely spot that would give her the freedom to express her dancing steps. Finally, she found a spot where she could hear the drums and flutes clearly. Then she began to dance with a wide grin on her face. However, she soon noticed the sound of a drum becoming louder and louder, but she ignored it because she was engrossed in her dancing. Suddenly, the festival music stopped, but the sound of the drum continued. She immediately turned her back and saw a man playing the drum with a huge smile on his face. The man stopped playing and asked, "Why did you stop dancing?"
Ago immediately began running, and the man followed her. But because she was too heavy to run fast, he caught up with her. "Leave me alone," she said, panting. "Go and look for your comedic relief somewhere else." The man looked at her kindly, wondering why she thought she was a joke to him. "I got lost trying to get to the market square, and I was trying to find my way when I saw you dancing over there, so I decided to support you with my drums," he said. Ago took a better look at the color of his attire and realized that he wasn't from her community. She thanked the man for drumming for her, then directed him to the Market Square. But the man insisted that he would rather continue to play for her, and without Ago's approval, he began to drum again, urging her to dance. When Ago saw that he was not going to give up, she began making small hip movements to the tune of his beat. After all, what did she have to lose? He was a stranger whom she would never meet again, and she had the opportunity to dance like she always wanted. After a long while, Ago stopped dancing. "Thank you, Mr. Drum. I really enjoyed myself," she said to him. "My name is Arin, not Mr. Drummer," he answered. Ago told him her name, then said she had to return home. But Arin pleaded with her to come back the next day, and Ago agreed.
On her way home, she thought about the man, wondering why he was so nice to her and even wanted to spend more time with her. "Of course, he's not attracted to me," she thought to herself. All night she couldn't stop thinking about him, but she tried her best, best to not get too excited. In the evening of the following day, Ago set out to meet her new friend, Arin. When Arin set his eyes on her, he was so excited, and Ago was excited to see him too. They talked for a long time and got to know each other, and afterwards he drummed for Ago to dance. Days turned into weeks, and they kept on meeting each other at their spots, and to both of them it was always the best time of their day. Finally, Arin told Ago how he felt about her. Although Ago suspected he liked her, she did not want to jump into any conclusions, but she was happy when he finally voiced it out because she felt the same way too. "I can come with my people in the next Market day to see your parents," he said. So the ball was set rolling. Ago quickly informed her parents that a man from the next village would come and see them to ask for her hand in marriage. The king and queen were very happy; they never knew a day like this would come.
But unfortunately, calamity soon struck. A week before the arranged meeting, an airborne disease spread round the entire four villages and its surroundings. To prevent people from spreading the disease, each village closed their border, and their rulers also instructed them to stay indoors. Ago was very sad that her future husband would not be able to see her. Every day, as usual, to make matters worse, some days after the borders were closed, Ago contracted the airborne disease. For more than three months she struggled to stay alive. The illness greatly affected her appetite, making it very difficult for her to finish half a plate of food in a day. As the months went by, a herbalist found the cure, and people gradually began to feel better. When Ago fully recovered, the first thing she discovered was her massive weight loss. She could not believe it; she was almost as small as her three sisters. It was a dream come true. That wasn't the only thing that changed; her face had also become more defined, and her beauty was evident for even the blind to see. She realized that wherever she went, she was stared at in admiration by men who never glanced a second look at her in the past, and the wealthy men amongst them also began to approach her for conversations about marriage. Ago began to feel on top of the world, and all of a sudden she felt too good for Arin.
When the borders were finally open, Ago went to her and Arin's spot to wait for him because she knew he would definitely be there waiting. When Arin set his eyes on her, he almost did not recognize her. "Wow, my princess, I missed your beautiful smile," he said. Ago gave him the cold shoulder; she felt too mighty to be in his presence. Arin thought she was only acting up because she had missed him so much, so he began to play the drum for her to dance. But she shouted at him, ordering him to stop the noise. "Mr. Drummer, I am not interested in whatever you are playing. I only came here to tell you that I am not interested in marrying you anymore." Arin was alarmed at her change in behavior. "I know you have never been with a princess before; that is why you're always smiling like a goat," she stomped out of the place, warning him never to reach out to her as they did not belong to the same caliber.
Weeks passed, and Arin kept sending messengers to Ago so she could have a change of heart, but she ignored all of them. Instead, she was entertaining the long line of men who were interested in marrying her. One day she came up with an idea. Ago decided to host a wrestling competition for the eligible bachelors in the village, and anyone who emerged the winner would be crowned as her husband. The competition was set and it went beyond the borders of her village. A lot of men signed up to win the heart of Ago, the first daughter of the great King Cheda. The king even invited royalties and affluent people for the event. Ago decided to stay indoors for the next four months to receive the best beauty treatments to woo her suitors. But she failed to recognize that it was the illness that made her slimmer; her old eating habits remained the same. So while Ago was indoors, she kept eating her large portions, and day by day the weight began to pile on again. When the four months had elapsed, Ago had returned to her previous size. She was disappointed in herself and tried her best to cancel the event, but her father refused. "I'm sure you will find a suitor regardless of your present situation," he said to her.
On the day of the event, warriors, farmers, traders, and many eligible bachelors made their way to the Village School Square, preparing to win the heart of Ago. But when Ago was called out to greet her visitors, the men stared at her in shock. She wasn't what they had bargained for, and one by one they began to walk away, making their way home. Ago had never been so embarrassed. When she was about to leave the place in shame, her eyes caught a familiar figure. It was Arin, but it wasn't the Arin she was familiar with; he was dressed like royalty, very different from the basic material he wore to their meetings. They looked at each other for a while, and a voice soon interrupted their gaze. "My prince, your father is ready to leave now." Just like Ago, Arin was royalty; his father was the king of one of the four villages. But because of his love for music, he would usually disguise himself to play with everyone during the festivities because he did not want to be treated specially by the other villages. As Ago watched Arin turn his back and begin to walk away, she realized that she had lost a good man who loved her. Regardless, it is such a pity because she never got the opportunity to find love again, and eventually she had to settle to be the tenth wife of an old chief.
The moral lesson of this story is that you should never neglect those who were there for you when you were at your worst because these types of people are getting quite rare these days. And if you treat them unfairly, you might never get the opportunity to be in their lives anymore. Thank you for watching this story today. Please comment on what you learned and do not forget to like and share with your loved ones. Till next time, bye.