Secret of the Basenji

The African basenji looked like all other dogs, yet while others barked, it yodeled. A Roman merchant had captured it, intending on selling it for a great price, for he was a man of opportunity. But in front of the temple of Diana, goddess of the hunt, the dog escaped and hid beneath the altar, where it became stuck.

The emperor came to that temple the next day, on his way to make offerings to the gods/goddesses. With heavy footfalls, he woke the basenji, who began its yodel.

“What’s that!” he yelped.

The merchant who owned the dog realized the commotion’s cause and merged with the crowd gathering below. “It’s a message from Diana herself!” the merchant called.

The emperor listened and said to his courtiers, “Send the fastest warships to Delphi and bring back the priests that can decipher the oracle there. Let the wisest in the empire come here! We can’t overlook this message! I’ll give anyone who can read it accurately great riches.”

All the soothsayers flocked to the temple, creating commotion throughout Rome. Some left, disappointed, but most, seeking a way to wealth, spun false prophecies that didn’t deceive the emperor, landing themselves in prison.

The merchant disguised himself. No one recognized him when he returned to the crowd. He learned that in his absence, the warships returned, saying that the priests from Delphi had refused to leave their shrine. Even the emperor could not make them. The merchant went up into the temple where the emperor was sulking.

“What are you doing here? No one that isn’t born a reader of divine messages can decipher this puzzle!”

“But, Emperor, I saw something exactly like this years ago. Do you remember Pholybus of Athens? The great hunter? Diana sent him a great dog that barked that way.” The merchant revealed the basenji. Happily, the emperor unstuck the basenji and piled many gifts upon the merchant. And the secret of the basenji was never told.