The Singing Sack

A pleasant morning to the honourable judges, accurate time keeper, teachers and all
my fellow friends. Allow me to share my story entitled, “The Singing Sack”.

Otilia was a young and beautiful girl. She has a younger brother and a younger sister.
They lived with their parents in a small village near a river. Otilia took good care of her
brother and sister. She loved them very much.

One hot afternoon Otilia took her younger brother and sister to the river to swim.
Before she went into the river, she placed her necklace on the riverbank. The necklace
belonged to her mother. She had given it to Otilia as a birthday present.

When Otilia and her younger brother and sister gone home, she found that she had
forgotten to take her necklace. She quickly went back to the riverbank.

The necklace was no more there. Then she heard a deep voice. “Is this what you are
looking for?” Near a big tree an evil-looking man was holding her necklace. Otilia was
frightened of him. “Do not be afraid,” said the old man to Otilia. “Come, take back your
necklace”.

As soon Otilia stretched out her hand, the old man caught hold of her. He quickly put
her inside a big sack.

“Help... somebody help me!” Otilia cried out for help but there was no one around to
help her. The old man ordered Otilia to keep very quiet. “You must sing when I tell you to,”
the old man told Otilia angrily. “If you don’t, I will beat you and beat you. And you will
never see your family again”. The old man then carried the sack and went round the village.
“Heh...heh...heh...heh... I am going to get rich!”

When the old man arrived at the village market, he told everyone about his singing
sack. He hit the sack three times with a stick and Otilia knew it was time for her to sing. She
started to sing. (Sing).

Her voice was so beautiful that people began to throw coins for the old man.

Then the old man gathered up the coins and carried the sack from hut to hut. “Heh!
Heh! Heh! Money, money, money”.
 Soon, he came to Otilia’s home. Otilia’s mother was at the front door. The old man
beat the sack three times with his stick. Otilia sang out in her best voice. Her mother was sure
it was her daughter’s voice. She knew something was wrong.

Otilia’s mother invited the old man into the hut for a meal. The old man left the sack
in front of the hut.

Otilia’s brother and sister quickly untied the sack. Sure enough they found their sister
in the sack. Otilia told them about the evil, old man. The three of them put a dead goat into
the sack.

After his meal, the old man went to the Sultan’s palace. He told the guards to take him
to the Sultan. He wanted to show the Sultan his singing sack. The guard then let him into the
Sultan’s palace.

The Sultan was happy at first to see the old man. He was curious to see the singing
sack.

The old man beat the sack three times with a stick. The sack did not sing. He beat the
sack three times again. There was no sound from the sack.

The Sultan became very angry. The Sultan ordered his guards in. They opened the
sack and found the dead goat inside.

The Sultan became very, very angry. He was curious and cross. The old man had tried
to cheat him.

The Sultan told his guards to take the old man away. The evil, old man was put in
prison for many, many years.

Friends, the moral lesson from this story is “Those who do evil will have evil befall
them”. So, remember to always be kind to others or else we will reap what we sow. Thank
you for listening.