Why A Child Cries for Nothing

A long time ago, there lived a very rich man called Nothing. Nothing had a poor neighbour named Anansi, and one day, they decided to go to the neighbouring town to marry wives.

As a rich man, Nothing wore a very fine damask cloth, while Anansi wore a ragged cotton one. As they journeyed to the town, Anansi persuaded Nothing to change clothes for a little while, promising to give back the fine damask before they reached the town. He delayed doing this till they arrived at their destination. Anansi, being dressed in such a fine garment, found no difficulty in getting as many wives as he wished. But Nothing, with his ragged and miserable clothes, was treated with great contempt. He found it difficult to convince any woman to be his wife; at last, however, a woman took pity on him and gave him her daughter. The poor girl was laughed at very heartily by Anansi’s wives for choosing such a poor man like Nothing, but She took no notice of their scorn. The party set off for home. When they reached the crossroads leading to their respective houses, the women were astonished. The road leading to Anansi’s house was only half cleared, while the one leading to Nothing’s palace was well-trimmed. Nothing’s servants were there, awaiting him, with fine clothes for himself and his wife. No one was waiting for Anansi.

Anansi’s wives could not even get proper food; they had to live on unripe bananas with peppers. The wife of Nothing heard of her friends’ miserable state and invited them to a great feast in her palace; they came and were so pleased with all they saw that they agreed to stay there. Subsequently, they refused to come back to Anansi’s hut. He was very angry and tried in many ways to kill Nothing, but without success. Finally, however, he persuaded some bad men to dig a deep tunnel in front of Nothing’s door and lined it with knives and broken bottles. When he thought Nothing’s household was safely in bed and asleep, he called to Nothing to come out to the courtyard to see something. Nothing’s wife, however, dissuaded him from going. Anansi tried again and again, and each time she bade her husband not to listen. At last, Nothing, determined to go and see this thing, stepped out of the door and fell into the tunnel, where he was severely injured and later died.

Nothing’s wife was terribly grieved at his death. She boiled many yams, mashed them, and took a great dishful of them to every child she met around the district so that the child might help her to cry for her husband.

This is why, if you find a child crying and ask the cause, you will often be told he or she is “crying for Nothing.”

Business Lesson to be learnt
In the business world, envy can manifest itself as comparison and resentment, competitive sabotage and a lack of collaboration, while naivety can manifest as over trusting others, poor decision-making and unrealistic expectations.
Being self-aware, focusing on personal growth, viewing competition as an opportunity to improve, ramping up constructive communication, and seeking guidance and mentorship are ways to handle envy and naivety in the workplace.