lion then started to look for a way out.

The warriors reasoned that the lion had eaten too much to run fast and that the muddy ground would slow him up. They thought they could run after him and kill him. They were wrong. As soon as they took their positions, the lion surged forward and took off running. The warriors were left behind. There was nothing they could do except pray that they would meet this lion again.

From that time on, I knew the word in the village was that I had run away from the lion. There was no way I could prevent it.

“You know the young Lekuton warrior?”

“Yeah.”

“He was afraid of the lion.”

My brother tried to support me, but in our society, once word like that gets out, that’s it. So I knew that I’d have to prove myself, to prove that I’m not a coward. So from then on, every time I came home for vacation, I went to the cattle camp on my own. I’d get my spear, I’d get my shoes. Even if it was 30 miles from the village, I’d go on my own, through thick and thin, through the forest and deserts. When I got there I’d take the cattle out on my own. Always I hoped something would attack our cattle so I could protect them.