Write a story which ends with the words:... I really agree than a patient dog eats the fattest bone.

Answer Details

The Long Wait

When the new computer company opened its office in our town, hundreds of us rushed to apply for the few available jobs. I was among them, a fresh graduate with an empty pocket and a hungry ambition. The manager interviewed us in batches and then gave us strange news: only those willing to work for three months without pay, as trainees, would finally be considered for permanent employment.

My friends laughed the offer to scorn. "Three months of free labour?" Chidi hissed. "They want to use us and throw us away." One by one they walked out, and within a week most of them had drifted off to other things, some to okada riding, others to endless waiting at home. I too was tempted to leave, for the days were hard and my shoes wore thin from trekking to the office.

Yet something told me to stay. I reported early every morning, swept the office before others arrived, learned every machine, and asked questions until the technicians grew tired of me. The pay was nothing, but the knowledge was gold. Some evenings I went home too tired to eat, wondering whether I was wasting my time.

The three months crawled by like a wounded snail. At the end, the manager gathered the few of us who had remained. Of the dozens who started, only five were left. He looked at us with a smile and announced that the company was expanding and needed managers for its new branches. Because we had shown patience and commitment, we were to be trained and promoted ahead of new applicants who now flooded the gate.

That evening, I met Chidi at the junction. He was still searching, still complaining, still counting the money he had refused to lose. As I told him my good fortune, he shook his head in regret. Looking back at all I had endured and all I had gained, I really agree that a patient dog eats the fattest bone.