but we took a short walk down the mud path into the village. Groups of giggling
neighborhood children waved from their compounds, and a few barefoot old men came up to shake our hands. We
stopped at the common, where one of Lolo's men was grazing a few goats, and a small boy came up beside me holding
a dragonfly that hovered at the end of a string. When we returned to the house, the man who had carried our luggage
was standing in the backyard with a rust-colored hen tucked under his arm and a long knife in his right hand. He said
something to Lolo, who nodded and called over to my mother and me. My mother told me to wait where I was and sent
Lolo a questioning glance.
"Don't you think he's a little young?"
Lolo shrugged and looked down at me. "The boy should know where his dinner is coming from. What do you think,
Barry?" I looked at my mother, then turned back to face the man holding the chicken. Lolo nodded again, and I
watched the man set the bird down, pinning it gently under one knee and pulling its neck out across a narrow gutter.
neighborhood children waved from their compounds, and a few barefoot old men came up to shake our hands. We
stopped at the common, where one of Lolo's men was grazing a few goats, and a small boy came up beside me holding
a dragonfly that hovered at the end of a string. When we returned to the house, the man who had carried our luggage
was standing in the backyard with a rust-colored hen tucked under his arm and a long knife in his right hand. He said
something to Lolo, who nodded and called over to my mother and me. My mother told me to wait where I was and sent
Lolo a questioning glance.
"Don't you think he's a little young?"
Lolo shrugged and looked down at me. "The boy should know where his dinner is coming from. What do you think,
Barry?" I looked at my mother, then turned back to face the man holding the chicken. Lolo nodded again, and I
watched the man set the bird down, pinning it gently under one knee and pulling its neck out across a narrow gutter.