Alu was from the land of Trod. Trod had watched over the land for many generations. Trod was all seeing and when the people were good he provided them with good crops, ample fish, fruit and plenty of animals to hunt. When the people of Trod did wrong his angry eye would burn the forests, cause drought and make all life shrivel away.

The people of Trod were very thankful for all they received and felt privileged to be the people of Trod. Shortly after Alu was born he received his name from which that day forward he was called by family, tribe and Trod. Like all from the land of Trod Alu slept when Trod slept and awoke the moment Trod rose from slumber.

One night while Trod slept Alu was taken from Trod land and put on a boat. Many days passed while Alu lived in the belly of the boat and far from Trod’s watchful gaze. When Alu did leave the boat he reasoned that he must now be dead as he had arrived in this strange afterworld. Up in the sky where Trod once shone, was a weak impostor whose brilliance and heat were far inferior to Trod.

Yet, after a couple of days Alu decided that since he did not see any of his people in this land it could not be the afterworld and he himself must still be alive. Yet, without Trod, how could he be alive?

The sounds the other dark skinned people made sounded like words and soon Alu began to understand a little of what they said. The white people made shrill hideous sounds that Alu could not imagine contained any words. Yet, to his surprise after a few weeks he began to sense that these white folks spoke as well as ate, laugh and worked.

Alu was ordered to “fleece many tiny tree” and he worked hard and long. The god of this land was not in the sky, but seemed to be everywhere. Alu thought maybe the god was the air itself, for people spoke of his words and feelings often. They called their god “I”. They mentioned him often telling us that “I” needs, or I “wants” or when “I” is angry.

Alu learned how to fleece little tree well, and “I” was not only pleased but gave him increased gifts of food and water to make Alu stronger so that he could work better. Alu was grateful to have won the favor of I, and dedicated himself fully to praising him through harder and harder work.
While “I” often punished others for not working as hard as Alu, he did reward others too, who showed their obedience to “I” through constant labor. While Alu always revered Trod, he never before experienced a personal relationship with his god the way he did with “I”.

The white men began reading Alu stories from the “good book”, and Alu soon understood that he was living in the land of milk and honey. Alu learnt how to adore god by kissing the land that he had bestowed upon them. Alu, filled with joy and gratitude for “I” who gives him food and rewards his devotion, ended most days of work by bowing down and kissing the land of “I”.