©
7 The Bottomless Bucket
Early next morning, Clever John saddled Rocinante,
and rode to visit Crazy Jane. She was still pulling her bottomless bucket
through the river and making gestures as if she were pouring the water from the
right side of the river to the left even though her pail was empty.
The Sun continued to show no signs of
rising, and the light that covered earth was like that during an eclipse, dusky
and without shadows. When Rocinante stood with the boots on her front legs in the
river, Clever John dismounted, took the boots off her, and approached Crazy
Jane.
“Good morning, Jane,” said Clever John.
“Look what I brought you. Your mother said you might want them back.”
“What happened to make your heart overflow
with such goodness?” asked Crazy Jane with considerable, but taking the boots.
“I’m on my way to ask for the hand of the
King’s daughter,” replied Clever John, “and want your and your mother’s good
will and blessing.”
“Did you speak to the Sun?”
“Yes. Look, she gave me a present. A bear
skin rug to put under my saddle.”
“My mother always has a sense of humor,”
replied Crazy Jane; then added: “But if you want my blessing, you better give
me the other pair of boots, too.”
Clever John realized that this was not a
time when being clever would work for him and went to take the other pair of
boots off Rocinante. These were the one’s on her hind legs. “That is what I
love so much about you, Clever John,” said Crazy Jane as he passed the boots to
her. “You’re so forthcoming. If you ever need my help, just call. I only hope
that my mother will stop wanting to lope off your head.”
Clever John then pulled the bridle and
tickled Rocinante’s ribs with his spurs. The mare neighed and galloped off as
if she had the Devil’s boots still on. It was not long before Clever John came
to the sea and the great fish. He slapped the wet sand, and whispered into the
ear of the fish magic words only the fish would understand.
The fish thanked Clever John: “Clever John,
if you ever need my help just call, and I will come and do what I can.”
Then Clever John came to the raven. He found
the unburied child and buried it. The raven flew off, cawing after her: “Clever
John, if you ever need my help just call, and I will come and do what I can.”
8 I Want Your
Daughter for Wife
After Clever John had visited all whom he
had promised to visit, he rode for the court of the King. The King’s name was
John. He was the same John whose name is sometimes pronounced as Yengis Chang. It
was the seventh day since Johns Eve and the Sun was still behind the clouds.
Yengis Chang was walking in his Para-dise Garden
“What can I do for you, Clever John?” asked
Yengis Chang.
“I have come to ask you for your daughter’s
hand,” answered Clever John. “I hear said that she is a great beauty,” he added
flatteringly.
“Well, truly,” answered Yengis Chang, “if
you are that Clever John of whom I lately have heard so much about, before I
give you my daughter, I would like you to bring me a wagon full of gold. If you
bring it to me, the Princess—by the way, her name is ‘Complete Satisfaction’—will
be yours.”
Clever John thanked Yengis Chang and asked
him to wait a minute. Then he went to think the offer over. The King’s ablerequest
was no ordinary one and not easily realizable.
For where can one find a big pile of gold
on short notice? After all, Clever John did not wish to spend the rest of his
life scraping for gold; life is too short for that. It would be good, if he
could have it at the snap of his fingers.
As he thought about where to find the gold,
Clever John turned to the north, the south, the east, and the west. But no
answer came. Just as he was becoming desperate, Clever John began to rub the
golden brooch that Crazy Jane had given him after their nap together at
Roadsider’s Inn .
The answer came instantly. A voice—Clever
John recognized it as belonging to Crazy Jane—whispered: “Go to the seashore
and call the raven. When it arrives, both you and Rocinante climb on her back.
The raven will take you to the pile of gold. It flies over it every morning.”
Clever John called for the raven. No sooner
had he called out “Krah, krah!” than the raven arrived.
“Why are you looking sad, Clever John?” the
raven asked.
“Well, my dear friend, I must find a wagon
full of gold right away.”
“That is no problem,” answered the raven.
“You and Rocinante simply climb on my back and I will take you both to it.”
Clever John was surprised of how easu it
was, and therefore began to worry that he was being tricked or being made the
but of a joke. He again began to twist his fingers about the golden brooch.
9 Crazy Jane as An Angel
This time, Crazy Jane herself appeared. She was like a sunbeam coming from a pocket in a cloud. Crazy Jane listened to John, then touched his ear and whispered:
“Don’t worry, Clever John. To tell the
truth, my mother is the gold bug and has been preoccupied with gold since I
came of marriage age.”
“I believe I can understand why,” replied
Clever John.
“I should’nt maybe be telling you this, but
she has always been worried about marrying me off to someone.”
Clever John did not ask more questions. Crazy Jane, too, thought better of it, and continued with instructions of what to do.
“When you are in the air and can see over
the mountains, the raven will ask you: ‘How big is the sea?’ You answer it: ‘As
big as a largest lake.’
“When you will see the setting moon rise, the
raven will ask: ‘How large is the lake now?’ You answer: ‘As large as the
largest puddle.’
“When you think that you can almost touch
the throne of Cassiopea (it will be right over your head), the raven will ask:
‘How large is the puddle now?’ You answer it: ‘As large as the eye of a dead
horse.’
“May your dreams true, Clever John,” said
Crazy Jane and disappeared.
Clever John, still on the back of Rocinante,
was lifted by the raven into the air. It flew high, then higher, and then
higher again. Clever John feelt the cold seep through his jacket and took the
bear fur from under the saddle bag and puts it around his shoulders.
Then—just as Crazy Jane had said it would—the
raven croaked: “Clever John, how large is the sea below us?”
“As large as the largest lake,” answers
John.
“Kra, kra,” croaked the raven and flew yet
higher. After a while it asked: “Clever John, how large is the sea now?”
“As large as the largest puddle,” answers John.
“Kra, kra,” croaked the raven and flew yet
again higher. The mustache of Clever John froze solid. Rocinante began to
tremble until it trembled no more.
After a while the raven asked: “Clever John,
how large is the sea now?”
“It is as large as the eye of a dead
horse,” answered Clever John his lips turned blue and nearly frozen stiff.
“We’re as good as there,” croaked the
raven, and shook her wings from side to side, and did a somersault. Clever John
and Rocinante fell off its back.
No one knows where Rocinante went, but Clever
John fell into the dunes by the seashore. Sand flew in all directions and to
his surprise, much of it shone bright and had many stars in it.
Apparently some pirates had buried and hid gold
in the dunes. They forgot to think that the treasure would not escape the eyes
of the Sun. Therefore, after she gave birth to Crazy Jane, she anchored the
gold to the dawn sky.
Clever John did not know for how long he
lay in the dune, but it must have been for all of the eight day. He was
awakened by the Sun shining direct in his eyes.
As Clever John thought of what to do next,
the big fish came to his help. With a flip of its tail, it sent Clever John and
the entire dune and the pile of gold to the very gate of Yengis Chang’s castle.
………………
No comments:
Post a Comment