The Most Unusual Gifts

Transcription

1 The Apmon trees were sagging with the weight of their fruit as Javin wandered among them. They would soon gather in the square for his return; but Javin continued to wander among the orchards and fields. The vibrant colors always left him feeling happy. Opposite the yellow-red Apmon trees were the blue-gold of the Lilush. A tall sturdy tree whose leaves were quite tasty and whose golden sap made wonderful syrup for cakes, the Lilush bloomed all year round. Beyond the Lilush trees and closer to town were the gumerry bushes. A short squat bush with bluish-black fleshy leaves stood in contrast to the colorful trees. But the small berries that it bore shone brightly as if with an inner fire. People came from far and wide to trade with the villagers of Goldeye for the wine they made from them. Rows upon rows of bright green Chulilo stalks lined the road that led to the main square of the village. The stalks grew to their full height of 3 meters in a matter of days after planting and provided a sturdy meal to make bread. Javin took all this in as he sauntered into the village. He would have stayed to wander longer, but the morning was fast approaching and he could hear sounds of people rising. It was time for another Tale. The village was growing in leaps and bounds, Javin noticed. Every year there seemed to be more and more people and it took longer for him to reach the square. We ll have to have it outside of town next year, he thought to himself. It s becoming a little too crowded for my taste. As he approached the square, the crowd grew still. There were many faces that he knew and stopped to shake their hands. However, there were many new faces as well. He nodded and smiled to them as well. Javin arrived at his usual spot and donned his robe of storytelling. He sat cross-legged before the masses. He reached into and pulled three items from his travelsack. The first was a large pearl, the second a feather, and the third a leaf. As he spoke, his voice deepened and grew stronger so that all may hear him. Listen to my tale and remember what you have heard. For every tale that is told, is told for a reason. It is up to you to decide for yourself what the reason is. I have before me three items. These three items played an unusual part in the crowning of a simple man into royalty. It was a long time ago and some of the places and animals no longer exist, but that s not important to the tale. Listen as I tell the Tale of the Unusual Gifts. Once Upon a time... The Most Unusual Gifts...there lived a King. King George was his name. Now King George had a daughter Princess Dawn. She was the most beautiful woman in all the land. When Princess Dawn came of age, the King decreed that whoever brought before him the three most unusual gifts he had ever seen, would have the hand of the Princess in marriage. The

2 word went out and princes began to arrive by the dozens. Even young Kings from other lands began to show up, for the Princess beauty was known far and wide. Meanwhile, in a small village on the far boundaries of the land lived a poor farmer with his wife and three sons. His first two sons, Ian and Io, were smart and strong young men. They tilled the land with their father and managed to produce a fine crop from the tired, overworked land. They were the pride and joy of the farmer and his wife. Then there was the farmer s third son, Ier. Ier was not very strong, nor was he very bright. And it wasn t that he was lazy, it was that he wasn t very good at anything he did. The farmer would always have to help Ier with his chores, or remind him that he needed to do his chores. This would frustrate the poor farmer and his wife. Ier s brothers would laugh and tease him continually. Word came of the King s decree and Ier decided that he was going to find the three most unusual gifts and marry the Princess. He shoved his few belonging in a sack and went to see his father and brothers. He found them toiling in the fields. I am off to find the three most unusual gifts and marry the Princess, father Ier said. He was hoping to have his father s blessing. But instead, his father grew angry and his brothers laughed at him. You are a complete fool, Ier, his father said. You won t find three unusual gifts; for you can t even find your head with your hands. Besides, the Princess would never want to marry a simpleton like you. Now, go back to your chores. His father turned his back on Ier. His brothers laughed and said to Ier, Yeah, simpleton, go back to work. You re no good. And with that the brothers also turned their backs and returned to work. Ier, however, did not go back to his chores. His mind was made up. He did not hate his father or his brothers for not believing in him. He just shifted his backpack to a more comfortable spot on his back and off he went. Days passed and Ier roamed the countryside looking for anything that might be considered unusual; but he found nothing. Ier soon found himself to be very hungry. Never having hunted or fished before in his life, Ier knew of no way to get food. After his stomached growled loudly for the tenth time, Ier started to search the bushes for any berries or nuts for him to eat. As he searched, he saw a rather large snail hiding under one of the bushes. Though having never seen a snail before, Ier decided that he was too hungry to not take the chance of missing another meal. He picked up the snail by it s shell. I m sorry, Mr. Snail, but I am very, very hungry and I must eat you, Ier said aloud to himself; and, of course, the snail. However, he was surprised when the snail spoke back, Please do not eat me, kind Sir, and I will give you a most unusual gift.

3 me? Ier put down the snail and said, Okay, Mr. Snail, what gift do you have for Please kind sir, call me Sam. I m Sam the Snail and I have been protecting the Pearl of Perfect Love for many, many years. I now give this to you, the kind gentleman who has spared my life. With that, Sam rolled a large, shiny, white pearl to Ier with his head. The Pearl was once owned by a very powerful magician. When one looks into it, their perfect mate is shown. Ier picked up the Pearl and put it in his backpack. That is a most unusual gift, Sam. I thank you for it. Take care now. And Ier continued on his way. Another day passed and Ier once again found himself to be hungry. He saw a wild orchard off to his right, so he walked in that direction. As he approached the trees, he saw a parrot lying on the ground. Its usual bright green and red feathers darkened by the dust it was lying in. Ier knelt down to it. said. I m sorry, Mr. Parrot, but I am very, very hungry and I must eat you, Ier The parrot looked up and spoke, Please do not eat me, kind sir! My wing is broken and I have been laying here for quiet some time. If you will help me, I will give you a most unusual gift. Ier shrugged his shoulders and smiled good naturedly. He picked up the parrot and gently wiped the dust from him. Ier then bandaged the injured wing and placed the parrot back in the tree. Okay, Mr. Parrot, I will not eat you. What gift do you have for me? Please, kind sir, call me Paul. I m Paul the Parrot and I have been protecting the Feather of Gold for many, many years. I now give this to you, the kind gentleman who has spared my life. With that, Paul took out a rather large feather from under his good wing and passed it to Ier. This feather was once owned by a very powerful genie. All one has to do is wave the feather twice over an object and that object will turn to gold. This is most certainly an unusual gift, Paul. I thank you for it. Ier placed the feather in his backpack. As an extra favor to the kind Ier, Paul picked some fruit from the tree for him. Ier thanked Paul and bit into the fruit. Munching happily, Ier continued on his way. Yet another day passed, and Ier once again found himself to be very hungry.

4 He saw a field of wild corn growing to his left, so he walked in that direction. As he approached the stalks of corn, he saw a strange sight. On the ground before the corn lay what looked to him to be a small bear. It was whimpering and crying. Ier knelt to it. Hello, Mr. Bear Why are you crying? The bear turned to him and spoke, My name is Kim. Kim Koala. I am crying because I have hurt myself. I was trying to reach the trees on the other side of this wild cornfield and have twisted my ankle. If I do not get there before sunset, the wild creatures of the ground will eat me. Kim started to cry again. Ier took pity on the little Koala. There, there, Kim. I will help you. I will take you to your trees. Ier then lifted Kim and walked through the cornfield. In a short amount of time, Ier and Kim reached the other side. Ier placed Kim beside the large trees growing there. Oh, thank you, thank you Ier! I am safe now. I don t know how to repay your help, Kim said. Ier replied, Think nothing of it, Kim. I was just helping a fellow creature. Kim shook her head. No, I must repay you for your help. But I don t have any...wait a minute! I do have something. It is must unusual. Here From her pouch, Kim produced a little green leaf. This is the leaf of Lamon. With this leaf, one can turn water into the sweetest wine. All you have to do is dip it twice into the water. It was once owned by a very powerful Emperor. Take it, Ier, with my thanks. Ier took the little and thanked Kim. He placed it in his backpack and went back through the cornfield to the road and continued on his way. I have my three unusual gifts now, Ier thought to himself, now I can go and visit the King! And off he went. Many days passed for Ier, but he finally reached the Castle of King George. He saw the many finely dressed princes and knights waiting to have their audience with the King. Ier took his place at the end of the line. The princes and knights turned to see the badly dressed, simple boy. They all laughed and turned their backs on him. They knew he would never have the hand of the Princess! One by one, the hopeful suitors entered to stand before the King. And one by one they were sent away. None of them had anything that the King had not seen before. After many hours, it was finally Ier s turn to see King George. Ier entered the hurge audience chamber of the King. There were many people

5 standing off to either side of the throne. Many were there to catch a glimpse of the princes and knights; others to see the unusual gifts; and still others to see the princes and knights fail. Ier walked down between them with hardly a glance to his left or right. The villagers having seen this simpleton walking down the aisle, began to laugh and point at him. The laughter grew louder and louder. Soon even King George was laughing at him. Ier not knowing that they were laughing at him, laughed along with the King and the crowd. The only person who was not laughing, was Princess Dawn. She seemed to be really looking at Ier, as if judging him. He finally reached the front steps to the throne, and bowed. King George, it is an honor to stand before you. fool? King George, trying not to laugh, responded. And what have you for me, Ier reached into his pocket and pulled out the pearl that Sam the Snail had given him. Why nothing but this pearl. King George could not help himself but to laugh. I have seen many pearls in my lifetime, fool. From the giant red pearl of Kothos to the tiny blue pearl of Muling, What makes this one unusual? Why, King, Ier said, If one were to look into it, one can see his or her perfect mate. Here, look. Ier tossed the pearl to the King. The King caught the Pearl and peered into it s surface. An Image looked back at him. In shock, the King pulled back from it. Th-th-that s my wife! King George sputtered. He sat back in shock. Finally, Princess Dawn took the Pearl from his frozen hands. She peered into the surface of the Pearl, smiled, and placed it to one side. King George finally recovered from his shock and looked at Ier with a little more respect than he had previously. That is indeed one unusual gift, fool, but what else do you have to offer? Ier reached into his backpack again and pulled out the feather that Paul the Parrot had given him. Only this golden feather, King. The King glanced at the feather and laughed. I have seen the wondrous Feather of Foosan, which is the size of a standing man and much more golden than this one. What makes this one so different? Ier replied, Toss me that pillow, your Majesty, the one by your chair, and I will show you. The King did so. Ier passed the feather twice over it. The pillow

6 took on a golden hue. He tossed the pillow back to the King. The King, expecting it to be as light, tried to catch it with one hand. THUNK! went the pillow as it fell through the King s hands and onto the floor. It was much heavier than it was a few moments before. In fact, it had tripled in weight. It had become solid gold! With this feather, I can turn any object into gold, Ier said. Enough gold to provide for the villagers of the kingdom, to help ease their burden and to help provide education for their children. I would not want their children to be as foolish as I. Now the villagers began to murmur to themselves. Did you see that? they said to themselves, He turned that pillow into solid gold. The villagers were truly impressed and were now on Ier s side. King George was impressed as well, but did not want to show it. He did not want his daughter to marry a fool! Even if he could provide for the Kingdom! He looked angrily at Ier and growled. That too is an unusual gift; but what of the third gift, fool? Ier reached a third time into his backpack. He pulled forth the green leaf that Kim the Koala had given him for his help. Just this green leaf, King, Ier replied. The King knowing by now that it was too much to ask that the leaf be a regular leaf, asked Ier, And what does this leaf do? Ier replied, Bring me 30 jugs of water, King, and I will show you. The King continued to look angrily at Ier, but clapped his hands. In moments, 30 jugs of pure water stood before Ier. At once, Ier began to dip the leaf twice into each jug. When he was done, he began to pass out the jugs to the villagers. He passed the last one to the King. The villagers did not dare drink before the King did, so they waited anxiously and looked expectantly at him. King George sniffed at the jug, frowned, then took a sip. The sip became a drink; then the drink became a gulp. He continued to drink until nearly half of the jug was empty. He smacked his lips and looked at Ier. By far, this is the best red wine I have ever drank! The villagers needed no other prompting. With shouts of glee, they began to drink from the jugs. It was indeed the finest wine ever tasted in the land. Ier now stood before the King with his hands on his hips. I have accomplished what you have asked, my King. Now, may I have the hand of your lovely daughter? The King was still set against not having his dauther marry this person

7 belfore her station in life. A simple fool was crown prince to the Throne?! Absurd and preposterous! The crowd continued to whisper amongst themselves, but quickly quieted as the King rose. However, before he could speak, he felt a hand on his arm. It was the Princess Dawn. The King bent down and the Princess whispered something in his ear. The King shook his head, but the Princess seemed insistent. Finally, the King turned back to the villagers. The Princess Dawn will now speak The King said, and sat down grumpily. The Princess Dawn rose, looked at the villagers, then to Ier, and smiled. My father feels that I should not marry one such as yourself, Ier, but I knew as soon as I saw you that you were the one for me. I was the one who convinced him to set up this test in the first place. The test was not really to see who could present he most unusual gifts, as my father thought, but rather a way for me to see what sort of person the bearer would be. Many who came here showed pure vanity, bringing gifts having to do with themselves. Others were convinced we were only after money, and so brought very expensive gifts. And still others thought only of war, and brought gifts of death and destruction. But only you, my dear simple Ier, only you have brought me more than something that is unusual. You have brought me what the others could not give me your heart. And to have even further proof that you are the one for me, there is this. The Princess was now holding the Pearl. When I first held the Pearl, your image, Ier, was on its surface. You are truly for me. The Princess then smiled and held out her hand. Ier took her hand and smiled back. The crowd rejoiced and shouted hurrahs for the happy couple. The King could only look on in disgust. But slowly a smile spread across his face. The land prospered under the happy couple. They lived for many, many years and had many, many fine, strong children....many fine, strong children. Javin ended his story. The villagers applauded for some time. Javin smiled and nodded his head in thanks. As they finished clapping, a small child in the front blurted out. Are those the real items from the story, Storyteller? Javin looked at the small child and laughed. No, no, my child, these are not the items of the story. These are simply items I picked up in my travels to better tell the story. I wish that they were the items, though, so I wouldn t have to drink only water on the road. All the villagers laughed at this as well. Days later, Javin stood at the bank of a gently, flowing river. His wineskin had finally

8 been drunk dry earlier that morning. He stooped to fill his clay cup with the clear water of the river. He drank the cold water down and filled his cup again. From his pouch he pulled forth the little green leaf. Gently, he touched it to the water; then again. The water took on a reddish tinge. He drank it. A smile came to his face. Only the water and the creatures of the forest heard Javin laugh as he drank the best wine he had ever tasted.