Just like how flowers have bright colours and sweet scents to attract butterflies, birds and bees, Gbevu had his smile. All smiles have the same shape but you should look closer. It was not always easy to see that Gbevu's smile was not the good kind of smile. Gbevu, you see, was always waiting for someone to fall into his trap. Chickens, little children, kind-hearted grown-ups, and other people who trusted without thinking twice were Gbevu’s specialty.
Every once in a while some dear old lady would meet Gbevu and tell Gbevu how he reminded them of their husbands when they were younger. Of course one would think an old lady who had had enough time to see everything under the sun would be wiser, but maybe some of these ladies had left their glasses at home. It only made Gbevu smile even more sweetly, as he thought of the coins he would get from selling their wedding rings. Gbevu is always waiting so to him it was just a matter of time until these old ladies fell asleep. A good (or rather, bad) trickster always has all sorts of magic up his sleeves. Out would come the grease that Gbevu kept hidden. Off the fingers the ring would slide, with Gbevu blowing soothingly on the poor lady's hands to keep her sleeping deeply. In short, even among rascals, Gbevu stood out as rogue.
Grinning gleefully, greedy Gbevu greeted girls selling with stories of how he had left his money in his other shorts at home … They believed him, thinking that he would soon be back to pay for his groundnuts later. Gbevu could be charmingly convincing and the girls were usually generous to this tall stranger with the flashy teeth. They give him heaps of what turned out to be a free lunch!
Chickens suffered the most. The ones who refused to read and get Smart, that is. Whereas other victims lost their savings, their earnings or promised away their next pay-cheque, chickens lost their entire future when they came too close to Gbevu and the brown sack he always kept hidden somewhere close. Even their bones were never seen again. Gbevu liked chewing bones to polish his teeth and make them stronger!
Gbevu’s trickery worked best when he kept his lips together. With his jaws together, it was not easy to see how sharp his teeth really were. Luckily for many little chicks, Gbevu liked talking just a little too much … a flash of the fangs had alerted many victims, but the unfortunate ones could not recognize the truth until it bit them …Not smart Tall Fowls like Charley Chicken, of course. Charley Chicken could read and not only books. Charley Chicken Chicken’s Mama Henrietta had taught him how to read people’s characters as well!