Hear You
From SPARK
One-sentence summary
How God answered Ori's call for help in time of danger.
Description
Hear You an eleven page Papua New Guinea legend, is mainly pictures. Each page has a sentence or two telling the story. It is a story about Ori, the best hunter in his Papua New Guinea village.
Story Overview
The dry season has been long and gardens are all dried up. Ori’s people are hungry. Ori goes off into the rain forest to hunt wild animals with his well-oiled shotgun. He shoots a small bird, but it is not enough to feed everyone. Then he sees a large pig big enough to feed his village for many days. Ori gets excited and fails to look around carefully. Suddenly a large python snake drops from a branch and wraps around him. The snake begins to squeeze. Ori is frightened! He tries to remember what his father had taught him. After a short prayer asking God's help, Ori remembers! He manages to reach a stick and breaks it. The snake thinks Ori's ribs are breaking and he will soon die. Loosening his coils the snake drops off and Ori reaches for his shotgun and shoots. The snake dies. Now the snake will fill Ori's cooking pot instead of the other way around. Ori decides to carefully teach his children the lesson found in Proverbs 4:1.
Considerations
- Elementary age children love this story and sit spellbound especially if it is acted out, with props, alongside the flipchart pictures.
- Children in the South Pacific, or who live in tropical surroundings, will be able to identify with this story and its simple black and white sketches.
- For children who live in other climates, it will help them understand what it is like to live in a jungle.
- The Bible lesson is very simple, and is one all children need to learn: “Children listen to your parents and obey them!”
- Most illustrations are front-facing and show the whole scene; pages four, five, and ten only show portions of Ori. This might confuse children who are not picture literate.
- In some cultures snakes or snake skins may be considered evil. They may be used as fetishes or used only in traditional religious ceremonies. If this is true, then have the children imagine a snake.
Limitations
Guidelines for Use
- This story could be told using a flipchart.
- It could be a brief radio program.
- It could be available on audio cassette.
- Copies of pictures could be taken home to help children recall the lesson learned.
- This would be a very easy story for one to act out using simple props such as:
- a stick
- a toy rifle
- a toy snake
Where to Obtain
Link to Producer or Source Organization
Cost
Producer/Owners
Author/Artist/Producer
Current copyright owner
- Copy the story by printing this page
