things that go baa in the night

Marc (Brit), Swenja (German) and I were out one day, and when we returned Marc stared, mough agape, and just pointed.

There about three feet from my bedroom, lying peacefully and chewing its cud, was a huge sheep with big horns which Marc named Boris.

Things were fine with the sheep until the next morning at 5:00 when he began baaing and baaing and baaing as if it were already Tabaski and Maguey were coming towards him with a knife.

The only thing that would comfort the damn mouton was if I zould sit with him and pet him. The sheep was lonely, but I got so sleep deprived that Tabaski was about to come early in the Sy household with the knife in my hands. The good part of it was that the 4 year old demon seed Cheik and I bonded. He actually listened to me, pretending he understands French, and we would sit together begging the sheep to stay quiet. I even took Cheik out to the boulangerie for my morning demi baguette and he was very well behaved. Wonders never cease.

But today I could take it no longer and told Maguey I need to move. There are several reasons I would like to move, including that I can't stand Maguey, but the straw breaking this camel's back was the sheep.

The sheep is gone and I'm still there. Maguey hired the neighborhood horse drawn cart (they're everywhere) to carry the sheep to his father's house, where he will stay until Tabaski.

It wasn't just the baaing; it was the barnyard stench and everybody tracking sheep shit around the house until Absa came to clean up. And it's the problem of bonding with dinner. Can I eat food that kissed my fingers hello?

Boris is a good sheep and it makes me sad. If I were a good Muslim I would say he is a good sheep, patient and kind, because he is happy for his fate of being sacrificed. I would say that he bleats because he is eager to sacrifice himself.

But I'm not, and I do not want to watch his throat slit this weekend. If it were up to me, I'd run off into the sunset with Boris and sacrifice both Abraham-Maguey and the son Cheikh.