24/10/2025
The Havoc of Mr. Trouble – The Goat with No Chill
It started one quiet morning in Mercy’s neighborhood — the sun was calm, the birds were singing, and everything seemed peaceful… until he arrived.
Mr. Trouble.
A tall, lean, brown goat with eyes full of mischief and a beard that shook with pride after every bad deed.
No one knew where he came from. Some said he belonged to the old farmer at the end of the street; others swore he came straight from the forest. But one thing was certain — wherever Mr. Trouble went, peace packed its bags and left.
First, he attacked the laundry lines. One by one, he pulled down everyone’s freshly washed clothes, chewing them like salad. Aunty Joy’s wrapper, Baba Tunde’s trousers — even Mercy’s favorite bedsheet! He looked so proud standing on top of the pile like a king on his throne.
Then he moved to the gardens. The tomatoes? Gone. The flowers? History. He didn’t stop there — he broke into the backyard where the kids kept their snacks, snatched a loaf of bread, and dashed off like a thief in the night.
The whole neighborhood teamed up to catch him. They tried traps, ropes, even buckets of water — but Mr. Trouble was smarter than all of them. He’d wait until everyone gave up, then strut out again, bleating loudly as if laughing at their failure.
One day, Mercy had an idea. Instead of chasing him, she decided to outsmart him. She left a bucket of ripe mangoes (his favorite snack) right in the middle of the compound. When Mr. Trouble came sniffing, he stepped right into a soft net trap hidden under the fruits.
Caught at last! The whole neighborhood cheered. But Mr. Trouble didn’t seem worried — he just gave Mercy a calm, almost respectful look… as if saying, “You’re the first human smart enough to beat me.”
The old farmer came later to collect him, apologizing for the chaos. But deep down, everyone missed the excitement a little. The compound was quiet again… maybe too quiet.
And sometimes, at night, Mercy could swear she heard a faint bleat in the distance — “Meee-ehhh!” — like Mr. Trouble was planning his next grand escape.