Willard Middle School - Target Yearbook (Berkeley, CA)

Page 8 text:

Man Yoo and the Sacred Beads HE quiet of a sultry African day was broken when a line of chil- dren burst from a white building. The heat of the day was heavy over the land but the children did not mind. Each wended lis way to the hut which was home. In the midst of this procession Man Yoo, an African native, slid into the forest which enclosed the village. Slowly, silently he wended his way. Hardly could he be distin- guished from the thick undergrowth. The wind was blowing toward him. Suddenly he crouched, for his keen nostrils had detected a warn- ing smell. A little ahead of him in a tree was a huge gorilla. Man Yoo waited quietly until this hairy creature moved on and then he proceeded on his course. He had not far to travel and soon came to a spring. Here he rested and reaching into the hollow of a tree he brought out several pieces of ivory. For a minute he held up a string of beads of the finest workman- ship. Man Yoo did not look at his finished product long but began im- mediately to work on another. As he was busily working, a piercing cry rent the quiet of his surroundings. He sat motionless. The cry was repeated and accom- panied by the steady beat of drums. The boy thrust his hand in the tree ' s hollow and deposited the ivory. Then he glided through the brush in the direction of his village. As he ran into the village, a cry of rehei was raised. Here he is ! Man Yoo, Man Yoo, hurry! Why did you frighten us so? We thought the neighboring tribe had captured you, for they are on the war path. V arious other cries greeted him as the men and boys gathered to decide what was to be done to protect their homes. He wended his way toward the center of the crowd. There the white men seemed to be leading the natives. Let Man Yoo, our chief ' s son, decide what shall be done in his father ' s absence, spoke an aged man. The natives turned to Man Yoo as their leader. Silently he stood, weighing in his mind the several propositions he had heard. His eye swept over the crowd and finally rested upon the most trusted missionarv. He regarded him thoughtfully. Let our ' White Father ' decide, he said. Thus the crowd looked for guidance to an elderly man. This man had come with his wife to teach at their school. It had taken them a long