Amos Daragon_ The Mask Wearer - Bryan Perro [28]
Hearing these last words, Beorf began to cry.
“You see, ssss, we’re alike,” the naga went on. “We’re both victims of humans and we must join forces, ssss, against this powerful enemy. Can you imagine, ssss, the bear and the snake united in the humanimals’ revenge! Side with me and I will be your new, ssss, father.”
Having regained some assurance, Beorf looked Karmakas straight in the eyes. “It’s true that my parents were killed by humans,” he said. “It’s also true that humans are sometimes stupid and refuse to accept the things they don’t understand. But my father told me many tales about humanimals, and he always said to be wary of snake-men. He claimed that it was because of them, because of their lies and thirst for power, that humans started to persecute humanimals. I had a father and he’s dead now. I need no one else to take his place. All you want is to pacify me and gain my trust to get your pendant back. Beorites may not be as intelligent as nagas, but we know to distinguish between good and evil. The pendant is hidden and you’ll never get your hands on it!”
The magician clenched his teeth and tightened his muscles. “I’ll find a way, ssss, to make you talk, you insolent bear.” He rose on his huge tail and shouted, “You just signed, ssss, your death sentence!”
—10—
THE STORYTELLER
An old man was seated on a bench.
“Once upon a time, long ago,” he started to tell the children who surrounded him, “there was a young boy named Junos. He lived with his mother in a small cabin in the forest. This boy didn’t have the slightest talent for anything. He was a little soft in the head, and his mother didn’t know what to do with him. His father had died many years before, and the poor woman had to take care of everything. From the cooking to the washing to working in the fields, she did all she could to ensure her survival and that of her good-for-nothing son. Junos spent his days smelling the flowers, strolling in the fields, and chasing butterflies. One day, as he watched his mother hard at work, he told her, ‘Mother, I’m going to town to find a job. With the money I earn, you’ll be able to rest.’ His mother answered him, ‘But, Junos, you’re hopeless with your ten fingers, and you always do stupid things.’ The boy told her, ‘Just wait and see. I’ll show you what I can do, Mother.’ ”
The storyteller had the children’s rapt attention. Amos, who was passing by, stopped to hear the end of the story.
“Junos left for the city. He stopped at every farmhouse and at every craftsperson’s shop along the way. He asked everyone for work, but each time someone asked him what he was capable of doing, Junos answered honestly, ‘I can do nothing.’ Of course, upon hearing this, nobody wanted to hire him! At the last farmhouse where he inquired about a job, Junos thought of his mother and how she often reproached him for doing any old thing. When the farmer asked him what he could do, Junos told the truth: ‘Sir, I can do any old thing!’ He was hired on the spot.”
In the small town square, the old man had attracted more and more curious listeners. Several grown-ups were waiting with interest for the end of the tale.
“The whole day, Junos and the farmer spent their time splitting wood and weeding the vegetable garden. In the evening, as a reward for his labor, Junos was given a nice coin. On his way back home, happy with his first day’s work, Junos played at tossing the coin in the air and catching it on the fly. A clumsy throw made the coin fall into the stream that ran along the path. Saddened, Junos went home and told his mother of his bad luck.
“She told him, ‘Next time, Junos, take what the farmer gives you and put it immediately in