A sample of the myths told in the novel

Every world has its mythology. The myths explain much about the people and their beliefs. Throughout the novel a storyteller presents some of their myths. The first story is a rather long one called Roosia Spring. Two of the gods are part of the story, All-Mother and All-Evil. You learn such things as All-Evil likes to travel in the form of a Nic-Nic bird. It is a rather large black bird. The story also explains the source of disease in the world of the Reini. What follows is a myth told rather late in the novel. It is called “True Farmer.” It is purpose is not clear from this excerpt. It explains the importance of a scar our hero has acquired.

“Reini. Welcome to Reini.”

Suracha slowly looked around before continuing, “Through our legends we remember our history from the dim dim past. It is even more important now since we have none of many works available in Nepalle for teaching.” She smiled at a group of children and asked, “Are you ready for the story of the ‘True Farmer’?”

“Yes,” came the answer as if from a single voice from the children.

Suracha smiled, “This story comes from a distant time when All-Mother had finished much of her work with Reini and the Reini. Nepalle was little more than a half completed castle and most of the Reini still lived along the coast fishing as Wib and Losi had with just a few farmers inland. This story is about two of those farmers, Soka and Puzi. Like all farmers they raised many things, plants to feed all the Reini, animals for fibers to make their clothing, and meat for their tables, but then unlike now they both raised a very special crop, Whole-Fruit. They were good friends and often helped each other at the harvest times. In fact, they had married great-great-great-great-great granddaughters of Wib and Losi. As is true of any of the Reini, they were better at some things than others. It so happened that Puzi was better at growing all things than Soka. Puzi would try to help Soka with his farm, but still Soka’s farm was always a little little little bit greener and his animals always gave a tiny tiny tiny bit more fiber, meat, or fat. For a long time, this did not bother Soka who was content with his farm and Puzi’s help.

As you know, All-Evil is always looking for ways to undo whatever All-Mother has done. He particularly hated Whole-Fruit because the Reini had magic thanks to it. One day All-Evil as a Nic-Nic bird watched Soka and Puzi working together. They were trying to get one of Soka’s fields to green up. Now All-Evil knew some Reini are better than other Reini at certain things, so he gave it little thought as he flew home to his dark dark deep cave. He went as far into the darkness as he could to get away from the light of First-Father. All-Evil does his best thinking in the dark. He thought of everything he had seen that day trying to find some way to annoy All-Mother. The more he thought about Soka and Puzi the more he imagined he might be able to use Puzi’s skill as a farmer against him and help in a nasty sneaky tricky plan forming in his twisted mind inside his twisted skull. He could hardly wait for morning.

He went back beside the field to perch in a Bloo-Bloo tree as a Nic-Nic bird when Soka and Puzi started their day’s work in Soka’s field. All-Evil then worked some of his dark twisted magic, so Puzi would hear a Nic-Nic bird and Soka would hear another song. Do you know what Soka heard? Do you know what it sounds like when one child teases another by repeating the same thing over and over?”

The children around Suracha nodded yes.

“That is why you must never do it. All-Evil can use it, but back to Soka and Puzi. Soka heard this All-Evil’s song this way, ‘Puzi is a better farmer. Puzi is a better farmer. Puzi is a better farmer.’

All-Evil knew All-Mother would hear his words among the bird songs if he continued too long, so he flew back to his dark dark deep deep cave. All-Evil was in no hurry because as he is fond of saying, ‘time means little to a god.’

Everyday All-Evil would return and find Soka and sing him the same song over and over, ‘Puzi is a better farmer. Puzi is a better farmer. Puzi is a better farmer.’

When Puzi would come to help Soka, Soka began to find his looks disgusting and his help demeaning. All-Evil watched and smiled because his twisted evil was doing its work on Soka, but to be sure he changed himself into the form of a Reini. He walked up to Soka who was looking at his fields beside Puzi’s and said, ‘Hello.’

Soka was surprised to see someone walking the road, ‘Hello, where are you from?’

All-Evil told him he was from Nepalle and walking to visit a fishing village not far from the farms. They talked for a while and All-Evil turned the talk to the two fields and how different they were.

‘Puzi is a better farmer,’ Soka said.

All-Evil smiled inside at hearing his own words, but on the outside he frowned and asked, ‘Are you sure?’

‘What do you mean?’ Soka asked.

‘He might well be using magic to steal growth from your field and putting it into his field. I am a magician. Would you like to find out? After all you would not want to lose your crops to magic, would you?’ All-Evil asked.

‘Yes and I have heard there are great magicians in the city. Can you really do it?’ Soka asked.

‘Yes,” All-Evil answered and from his pocket he took out a clear stone and laid it in Puzi’s field. It glowed bright green. Then All-Evil picked up the clear rock and placed it in Soka’s field. It just barely glowed green.

‘What does that mean?’ Soka asked.

‘There is almost no growth left in your fields. It has been stolen and placed in that field,’ All-Evil said pointing to Puzi’s field.

‘But he has been trying to help me,’ protested Soka.

‘The stone does not lie,’ All-Evil said pointing at it on the ground. It might not lie, but All-Evil found it better than telling the truth.

‘What can I do?’ Soka asked.

As All-Evil picked up the clear stone he said, ‘I know little about grow magic, but I have something that might right this horrible wrong.’

‘What is it?” Soka asked.

All-Evil put the clear stone away and brought a tiny bag, ‘The powder in this bag will return the stolen magic to where it came from, but I have very little of it. You must sprinkle it over the crop of his that has the most magic to return as much as possible to your fields.’

‘That would be Whole-Fruit.’

All-Evil smiled once more inside, ‘That is true, but you need to do it right away. I will walk with you.’

When Puzi saw Soka and a stranger in his field of Whole-Fruit he went to meet them still carrying the hoe he was using. As he approached he could see Soka was sprinkling some sort of powder from a tiny bag onto the Whole-Fruit plants. Puzi asked, ‘What are you doing?’

‘I am getting my growth magic back you stole from my fields,’ Soka said.

‘Growth magic?’ Puzi was genuinely confused, as he had never heard of such a thing.

‘This great magician from the city showed me how weak the growth magic was in my field and how strong it was in your field by the road,’ Soka said.

There must have been something special in Puzi’s sight because when he looked at All-Evil he asked, ‘Are you All-Evil?’

Since all he wanted to do was done, All-Evil said, ‘Yes,’ and assumed his twisted black form.

‘Why are you doing this?’ Puzi asked.

‘I created something that will destroy all the Whole-Fruit and with it slowly all the magic in Reini will disappear. Best of all I got the Reini to apply it for me. All-Mother will truly be annoyed by this as she is the one who gave the Reini magic, and I am the one who took it away,’ All-Evil laughed and laughed.

Something in Puzi snapped and he swung his hoe as hard and fast as he could and hit All-Evil. It even put a dent into All-Evil, which is hard to do, but All-Evil pulled his dagger and stabbed Puzi in the chest.

When Puzi fell, Soka yelled, ‘All-Mother help us,’ so loud All-Evil knew she would come so he fled back to his dark dark deep deep cave. In those early days, All-Mother would often come when called for she wanted to see the Reini prosper in the new world she had created.

Puzi was near death when All-Mother arrived. She surrounded the wound with her finger tips and healed Puzi leaving the mark of All-Evil’s dagger and her finger tips as scars as a reminder to all she would aid anyone who fights All-Evil. All-Mother listened to the story and shook her head, ‘Whole-Fruit will disappear, but thanks to Puzi’s bravery in attacking All-Evil it will one day return to the Reini. However, Whole-Fruit will be lost again if the mystery that protects it is not solved.’

Suracha paused for the first time since she had begun and looked around at everyone and then said, “And so ends the story of the True Farmer.”