This story is about how a goat stealer changed his life |
V.C In the town of Gosen lived a man named Vrai ChrĂ©tien (True Christian). He was short, strong, of robust constitution. He was very knowledgeable in geography. It is possible to say in a Haitian manner that Vrai ChrĂ©tien had the map of Gosen in his palms. He knew all of the caves in town. He knew how to run and hide at the same time. During his youth, Vrai ChrĂ©tien dedicated himself to rob. He did not rob to eat like some people did in Gosen. To rob was his profession. He was fast and skillful. Nobody could catch him. After a robbery he always escaped. When his pursuers would scream: “thief, help please!” the chased one would repeat the same phrase: “thief, help please” in order to confuse people. Vrai ChrĂ©tien robbed everything. But his expertise was in stealing goats. In fact, you could hear the barkings of the dogs, the songs of the roosters, and even the meows of the cats in Gosen. But goats were missing little by little and their shouts were heard less and less. By then the shepherds began to complain constantly about the disappearance of their goats. The town mobilized to capture the thief. When Vrai ChrĂ©tien finally got caught and arrested, the rural police put a seal of V.C on his forehead. This means VolĂ© Cabrit (goat stealer) in Haitian Creole. Everybody knew Vrai ChrĂ©tien by that nickname. Hence, everybody called him that way for many years in Gosen. A pastor came into town to preach the gospel. During his stay in Gosen, the minister heard the story of Vrai ChrĂ©tien. One day he saw him passing by; he approached him and spoke to him about religious matters. Vrai ChrĂ©tien began to attend church services and decided to change his way of life. Since then, whenever they would call him VolĂ© Cabrit (goat stealer), he emphasized that his name had changed to Vrai ChrĂ©tien (True Cristian). |