PIRIN

The page of a very rich prince

The page of a very rich prince CHAPTER V

After dinner Theoson was going to leave the inn and continue his journey, since now, thanks to his magical flute, he could travel in the dark without fear. He had barely managed to close the door behind him, though, when he was reached by a boy who vehemently implored for his help.

“What can I do for you, little boy?”, Theoson asked him, and he said: “My dad has been threatened with death by his creditors! Please, milord, help!”

“Explain yourself better”, Theoson said. The child continued: “My dad lost a lot of money to some gamblers and now, having lost everything and being unable to repay his debts, he is being taken by those rascals in a deserted place, out of town, so that they can kill him, I suppose. You look like a honest man, sir. Please, help me!”

Theoson was moved by the child’s request and decided to help him. “Did you see which direction did they go?”

“Yes, milord. I eavesdropped their talks while I was hiding. I think they want to take my dad to the river and drown him”.

“So they went West, did they not?”

“Yes, sir. To the river. I heard them mentioning the dock of the pot-traders’ boats. The dock belongs to one of the creditors”. Theoson took the child with him and got out of the Western gate of Duhjum. The sun had almost disappeared behind the horizon. They walked swiftly, until they saw the dock. Hiding behind some bushes, they observed what was going on. They saw the boy’s father, badly injured, and whose arms were tied behind his back, being held still by two rascals before the owner of the trading dock, who threatened to drown him unless he paid his debt before the next week. The man was shaking, and he implored his creditors, by saying he did not know where to find all that money, but the trader seemed unmovable…

Theoson was concentrating in an effort to find a way to solve the problem, when he had an idea. He got up and told the bandits he would pay the debt of the poor man as soon as they let him free. The owner of the dock was satisfied by that offer, since, he said, the child’s father was a friend of his, and it would have been a pity to have to kill him for some silly gambling debts! However, before setting him free, the trader asked Theoson for some guarantee.

The goldsmith said: “I am the page of a very rich prince, travelling East. My master owns lands and goods in each corner of the known world. Nevertheless, at this very moment, I do not have much: this child asked me to intercede for his pitiful father, therefore I came here in a hurry. I only have brought a few items of small value”, and he showed the rascal the silver mirror, the golden bee and the lapis lazuli flute. “Anyway, if you are patient, as soon as my generous lord comes back from his journey, he shall repay you four times the debt of this man. If everything goes as planned, my lord should be here by the end of the year. Meanwhile, if you do not trust my word, you can keep the child’s father as a hostage, and take his life if you see I am not a man of my word. Yours is the choice, pot-trader!”

The greedy trader coveted the precious items shown by Theoson, and was tempted to content with those, because he knew that, probably, by selling those few jewels he could have gotten more than his due as a creditor. Yet, the idea of earning even four times more led him into accepting the proposal of the would-be page.

“Alright, boy. I will do as you say. I will keep this man alive until your master returns from the East. But I warn you, if you are not here by the end of the year with the riches you promised, this wretched miserable shall drown in the icy river!”

“Then it is agreed”, Theoson concluded, heading back to town alongside the child.

He took the boy back home, and, before coming back to his mother, he asked Theoson whether he truly was a prince’s page, and whether he truly might repay his father’s debt. “No, son. I am no page. But I think I can find enough money, if the Gods assist me”. The child asked him to wait a moment before going, he got upstairs and came down again with a little wicker basket covered by a blanket.

“What is in there?” the man asked.

“Cheese, ham and dried fruits. But there is magic in this basket: its content gets always refilled”. Theoson wanted to refuse. “You and your mother should keep this magical item: by selling the food it contains, you might repay part of your father’s debt”. The child was not convinced: “No. The food it produces cannot be sold, but only granted as a gift. We could never use it to get money from it”.

“Then keep it to have something to eat”.

“Do not worry for us, milord. We will manage. But I want to repay you for your good intentions, and we wholeheartedly offer you this gift”. Theoson thanked the child, telling him to also give his greetings and thanks to his mother. “Do not fear”, he added, “you shall see I will come back and pay your father’s debt”.

And, having said so, he left, taking the road to the Eastern mountains.