The Knowledge Stone Read online

  The boy looked at the man wide-eyed. He knew that Old Malik knew about these things for he had seen him reading and writing. He had seen him counting numbers in a big book and he knew that this man knew many things about the world. An image of the peculiar bullock carts of olden times flickered briefly in his conscious mind. A sudden rush of joy coursed through him: ‘Yes,’ he thought, ‘maybe I could do this if I tried my hardest. If I worked hard at my studies maybe I could do it. Maybe I really could learn about farming and people and words and numbers and writing.’

  The boy’s words of reply tumbled out: ‘Yes, Master, of course I will do this – and I will make you proud of me, I will work so hard at all these things.’

  The man smiled: ‘I know you will, Joachim.’

  At the other side of the table, Maretta smiled too, warmly and gently.

  ‘There is one other matter,’ the man continued, ‘you are to leave the barn. You are to make your home in the shack next door that we use as a store; it is the house that the Mistress and I lived in when we were first married, when my parents were still alive and lived here in the farmhouse.’

  Joachim was astounded. A house of his own? How could he be so lucky?

  ‘Master,’ he stammered, ‘you are too good to me …’

  ‘No,’ Maretta replied, speaking for the first time, ‘it is the right place for you and we want you to live there. You should realise that you are almost a man, now.’ It was true. Many years had passed since the little boy Joachim came to the farm and now he was a tall, increasingly sturdy young man only several years from adulthood.

  ‘The decision is made.’ Old Malik spoke. ‘Tomorrow, we will clear the stores from the house and you will live there. I will make sure you have what you need. You will be able to study there and I will come to you to teach the things I have spoken about.’

  Once again, Joachim’s mind was is a spin! Moments ago he had thought he was being sold as a slave and here he was now, being given all these wonderful gifts. In his mind, he listed them: special teaching from Farmer Sistas to become a very good farmer; teaching to read and write – anything he wanted to! teaching to be able to count numbers and know money; information about the world, the skies … all the things the Master knows about. And a house of his own, to live and study in.

  The boy sat quite stunned but deeply elated. His mind raced back to the day of the “accident” several weeks before. Then, he lived a closed, precarious life of worry and deprivation, a life which stretched into the infinity of time, unchanging, going nowhere; just the constant prospect of fear and pain every day. Now, his life path was gleaming in front of him like the rays of the sun, filled with hope, joy and purpose, dazzling him with its very brilliance.

  He turned to the adults with shining eyes: ‘Master and Mistress, I will not let you down. You may ask anything of me and I will do it. I am such a lucky boy to have such a good master.’

  As he spoke the word “lucky” his brain instantaneously connected him with his earlier spoken words “lucky charm” and he remembered the beautiful stone nestling deep in his pouch. ‘No,’ he concluded immediately, ‘nothing as good as this could be created by a lucky charm!’

  His master was speaking again. ‘Listen, Joachim, from now on you will eat here with us in the farmhouse, here at the table. This is what the Mistress and I want.’

  ‘Yes, Master.’ Surely the ultimate honour. The boy was awed – but also just a little worried. He had always eaten his food alone and was concerned that his manner of eating might not be satisfactory in front of his Master and Mistress.

  Maretta, watching him closely, said with a smile, ‘Don’t worry, Joachim, we will not be watching you eat!’

  He looked at her gratefully. ‘Thank you, Mistress.’ He felt much better. However he resolved to be very cautious and watch how they ate their food; then he would copy them exactly.

  The following day, Old Malik was as good as his word.

  ‘Before we start the day’s work, we will clear your house.’ Working quickly, the small house was soon cleared and Joachim seized a brush to give the small room a very vigorous sweep out. When he had finished, he looked around in pleasure and wonderment.

  ‘What a beautiful house,’ he said out loud, ‘I will be so happy here.’

  Old Malik heard him speak and smiled. The man felt very happy about this, too. He was confident that the decisions he had made about the boy were absolutely correct. Now he found himself thinking: ‘Why didn’t I think of all this before? It is so obvious that I must plan for the future.’

  In fact, Old Malik had never planned for the future. Down the years, he had never even thought about the future once.

  Later that day, after the farm work was done, Old Malik said to Joachim: ‘Now we must prepare the house for you to live in.’ They went to the barn and set to work building some of the basic items of furniture that the boy would need. Using some smooth wooden planks and stout netting, Old Malik constructed a generous bed and then made a large soft mattress, stuffing it with large quantities of fine wool. Meanwhile, Joachim constructed several simple seats. These items were taken to the house along with several large boxes to be used for storage.

  Finally, Old Malik, who was quite a skilled craftsman in wood, made a large table, sturdy yet elegant, carefully planed to be absolutely smooth on top and then polished with oil. ‘This will be a good study table for you,’ he told the boy, who was very impressed by the quality of Old Malik’s work.

  ‘I never knew he could make such very good furniture,’ the boy thought before answering his master. ‘Master, this table is very beautiful and I am sure I will work upon it with great happiness.’ He was surprised when the man’s face flushed with pleasure.

  Maretta and Giana appeared with various other items for the house; blankets for the bed, lamps to light the room, water jugs, basins, etc. and all these items were placed on the table. The woman looked around with pleasure at what had been her home for a number of years.

  ‘It’s good to see my old home being used again for its real purpose. Did you know that this house was built by the Master? He did it all himself and in only a few weeks, too.’ Joachim had not known this although, after seeing Old Malik’s skill in constructing the bed and the table, he was not at all surprised.

  While everything was being made ready, the boy noted that Giana was solemn and withdrawn, avoiding his eyes and looking rather upset. Joachim wondered why. When he had smiled at her and thanked her for bringing essential items for his house, her response was minimal and she left at the earliest opportunity without saying goodbye. This disappointed Joachim, because he wished to share his happiness and good fortune with Giana. She was, after all, the only person at the farm who was near to his own age and whose status as a servant was similar to his.

  However the boy now remembered that he and Giana did not know each other very well. Since they had received permission to speak to each other, the two young people had spoken on only a few brief occasions and those conversations had tended to be rather stilted and hesitant. A relaxed and genuine friendship would take more time to develop.

  ‘Maybe that’s the problem,’ he thought, ‘maybe she still feels awkward talking to me.’ Yet he felt there was something more, almost as if the girl was unhappy and resentful at the turn of events on the farm. ‘I don’t know why she should feel unhappy,’ the boy mused, ‘after all, her life has changed very much for the better, just like mine. The Mistress is not unkind to her and doesn’t punish her any more when something goes wrong. So why isn’t she happy, like I am?’

  Joachim was very puzzled and resolved to raise the matter with Giana at an appropriate moment.

  ‘The trouble is, she’s always working with the Mistress and I rarely see her alone. We need to have a private conversation about this and it cannot be in the farmhouse with the Master and Mi
stress listening in. The first time I see a suitable opportunity, I will talk to her.’

  So the new routine of Joachim’s life soon settled down into a comfortable rhythm. He and Old Malik continued to work together on the farm but the farmer was now quite friendly towards him, praising good work and calmly correcting him when this was occasionally necessary. The boy worked hard and applied himself intelligently to the tasks he was given, rarely making mistakes.

  During breaks from work, they now sat together. Old Malik was not a man who said a great deal but sometimes he would recount a story from his youth or tell the boy some facts about the world. Joachim would listen to the old man with rapt attention and marvel at his knowledge and experience.

  After that “serious conversation” in the farmhouse, the weekly visits to Farmer Sistas had commenced. On these days, Joachim would get up especially early to give himself time to walk to the neighbouring farm just as the morning light was beginning to fill the sky.

  ‘I wonder why the sky is so beautiful and filled with colour?’ the boy thought. ‘I must ask the Master about this. He is sure to know.’

  On arrival at their neighbour’s farm, he was always received in a most friendly and informal way by Farmer Sistas. ‘Holat, young Joachim,’ the man would say, shaking Joachim’s hand vigorously and smiling broadly, ‘come in, let’s get started with the good work.’

  The teaching had started with a comprehensive tour of the farm. Joachim was very impressed. Everything was neat, clean and in good repair. The crops in the fields were strong and healthy and Joachim noted that the condition of the soil was excellent. Likewise, the farm animals were all in peak condition, whether these were work animals or those that were kept for their milk, eggs, wool, skin or meat.

  Over the weeks and months of Joachim’s visits, the farmer taught the boy everything about the proper care of all the animals, in terms of feeding, shelter and the maintenance of their health. After detailed instruction, the boy was given the task of caring for each type of animal and his work was supervised carefully by the farmer.

  At the end of this process, the farmer was pleased with Joachim’s progress. ‘Right now, he would make an excellent livestock farmer,’ the man thought.

  As the seasons progressed, the farmer taught Joachim the essential principles of modern arable farming, showing the boy how to choose the best fields for growing particular crops and how to look after the crops as they grew. He also taught him how it was necessary to rotate various categories of crops around the different fields while leaving one field unplanted for a season. The unplanted field was referred to as “fallow”. ‘It allows the soil to rest,’ the farmer explained.

  When the farmer was satisfied that the boy had grasped all the principles of agriculture and could manage fieldwork to a high standard, he turned his attention to farm maintenance, general management and employment practices.

  Meanwhile, Old Malik had started to teach Joachim to read and write, coming to his house on several evenings each week. Joachim proved to be an apt and enthusiastic pupil and Old Malik, who had struggled with these things as a boy, was astonished and impressed by his rapid progress.

  When he complimented him on his good work, the boy would answer: ‘It’s because you are such a good teacher, Master,’ and Old Malik would need to turn his face away to hide the tears of joy filling his eyes.

  In a remarkably short period of time, Joachim could read and write to a good standard, partly because he was a bright and intelligent pupil who was desperate to learn and partly because he practiced these skills so assiduously in the evenings when he was alone. Old Malik now turned his attention to figure work and, over the following months, taught the boy about the meaning of numbers and how to manipulate them by means of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. These were difficult concepts for Joachim to grasp at first but he persisted with great determination and finally understood exactly what the various mathematical manipulations achieved.

  Knowing how difficult all this was, Old Malik was once again delighted with the boy’s progress. Joachim’s understanding of numbers and their manipulation made his introduction to money very simple. Old Malik showed him all the coins that were used in their country and very soon the boy had completed with competence the various exercises and tests that Old Malik set.

  ‘I think you’re now a better money handler than I am.’ Old Malik laughed and regarded his pupil with pride.

  ‘No Master, I could never be better than you,’ was the boy’s reply. The two looked at each other with twinkling eyes of affection – two people linked by the common bonds of knowledge and respect.

  At the neighbouring farm, Farmer Sistas had examined Joachim’s knowledge of farm maintenance and found that the boy had been well taught by Old Malik. The boy was familiar with the maintenance and repair of the various pieces of farm equipment that were used to prepare the ground; also with the animal harnesses which attached the work animals to the equipment. The farmer set him tests and the boy passed these with flying colours. The farmer found also that he knew how to build a good, stout fence, driving the posts precisely into the ground and nailing the horizontal rails neatly. He could also build a secure gate and carry out repairs to the foundations, walls or roofs of any type of farm building. He could even build a fireplace and chimney.

  ‘You have taught the boy to do these things well,’ the farmer told Old Malik during one of his regular visits to report upon Joachim’s progress.

  Old Malik was extremely pleased to receive such a compliment, especially since it came from a man so well-respected in the community. Reflecting with pleasure on Farmer Sistas’s words later that day, Old Malik’s face darkened as he recalled how much of his earlier teaching of farm work tasks had been accompanied by anger, contempt and physical violence. He shook his head sadly as he recalled beating the boy and recoiled at the recollection of tender skin striped with purple wheals and crimson blood.

  ‘I was mad then,’ he whispered, ‘but I have changed, thank the Lord.’ He lifted his eyes heavenward.

  Sitting outside his house on a warm evening, Joachim was supremely happy with his life.

  ‘I have it all.’ His thoughts were filled with joy. ‘I live here in this most wonderful of houses. I enjoy my work with my Master. I’m good at my work but every day, I’m getting better and better. I can read, write and count numbers and I also know money very well.’ He thought affectionately about Old Malik. ‘He has taught me so well and now he is teaching me all the other things he knows about the world. And now Farmer Sistas will start to teach me about people and how to make them work with contentment.’ He felt he would burst with happiness and was desperate to share it with someone, because unshared happiness is an ache, an agony, almost physical in its intensity.

  A slight sound made him look around and there was the slim figure of Giana walking towards the farmhouse.

  ‘Giana,’ he called, ‘come and speak to me.’ He remembered his resolve to have a private conversation with her. Now he had found his chance.

  The girl hesitated, then replied: ‘No.’

  ‘Why not?’ he persisted. ‘It’s not yet time for the evening meal.’

  ‘No,’ she said again, ‘I don’t want to.’

  He was surprised. ‘Giana, please come and speak to me. I want to tell you about all the things that have been happening to me.’

  ‘I don’t want to hear about it.’

  He was taken aback by this forthright reply. ‘What’s wrong? Come and sit here. I want to speak to you about your sadness.’

  After a moment or two of indecision, the girl walked over slowly and sat down gingerly on the edge of the chair beside him.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ he repeated his question.

  Now she looked at him, a flash of anger in her dark eyes: ‘It’s all right for you, with your lovel
y house to live in and being taught to be a good farmer.’

  He was mystified.

  ‘But your life must be very good, too, Giana. The Mistress is kind to you, you have a bed of your own and everyone is nice …’ His voice trailed off.

  ‘Listen,’ she said, her tone now hard-edged, ‘your life has changed in so many different ways but mine hasn’t. My life is just the same. I’m still a servant to the Mistress. All day, every day, I have to do everything she tells me to do. She may not be unkind to me like she used to but I still have to be obedient, all the time. Unlike you, I’m still treated as a little servant girl. No-one gives me a house and beautiful furniture. And I don’t eat at the table or talk as an equal to them.’ Having said this Giana burst into loud and bitter tears.

  ‘I don’t talk as an equal …’ the boy faltered. He was dumbfounded at what Giana had said – but he was beginning to see the logic of it. ‘I’ve never really looked at it from her point of view. Maybe I can begin to see what she means, now.’ His thoughts were a revelation.

  ‘Giana, I never thought …’ Again his voice faded away and he leaned forward to comfort her.

  ‘Don’t touch me,’ she snapped, ‘I don’t want your sympathy.’ On saying this she jumped up from the chair and ran off towards the farmhouse. He looked after her sadly.

  ‘I should have known this. I should have been able to work it out.’ Joachim was blaming himself. ‘I must think what to do.’

  The following day, while doing his farm work, he thought about Giana’s unhappiness many times and racked his brains to see how he could best help her.

  ‘Maybe I should discuss this with the Master.’ He looked across at the old man and thought how he would approach the subject with him. At the same time, intelligently, he tried to work out what his Master’s reaction would be. ‘I don’t want him to be angry with me. He might say it’s none of my business and then I won’t have helped Giana at all.’