The Boy and The Man - Offer R (fiction book recommendations .txt) 📗

through the air, but the leopard didn't seem to care. Its narrow, intense eyes were locked on The Boy's like a hypnotist.

'He can see the fear in my eyes', The Boy thought. So he changed his expression and stared at the leopard as if it were a little boy that he could easily overpower. But even this didn't deter the stubborn cat, and it was preparing to strike. Now, though, the boy was in combat mode and he was ready to fight back.

The leopard sprung with fantastic athleticism, much fast and higher than The Boy had expected. But The Boy responded with a surprise strike of the stick to the side of the leopard's open jaw. It was a mistaken strike, as the boy had aimed to put the stick into the leopard's mouth to occupy the ferocious incisors, but a very effective one. It threw the leopard out of balance, and it collapsed to the side and was dragged on the dirt. The Boy was thrilled by his success, and turned to face the leopard and prepare to deliver another blow. The leopard, too, still had wind blowing in its sails, and it nimbly got back to its feet and homed in on its target again. It flied like a taut spring again, but this time The Boy's counterstrike was even stronger, and the savage cat lost again.

"Surrender, leopard!" The Boy exclaimed triumphantly. "You can't beat me!" There was no more fear in his voice because he didn't know that he'd been fortunate the first two times, and the next time he might die. Fortunately, the leopard didn't know it as well, and it retreated with great frustration.

Again The Boy skipped through the woods, his joy now even greater than before. He wasn't only a wonderful son, but the jungle's bravest warrior!

Chapter 2

 

"Mother! Mother! You won't believe what happened", he exclaimed when his mother came out of the house to meet him.

"I see you have made the delivery. Thank you, my darling! What a treasure you are to your father and me", she said.

"But I didn't just deliver it!" He bellowed excitedly. "I ran faster than anyone ever has, and father was so proud of me! He said you would be to. And then on the way back- you won't believe this, mother." His hands were flailing in the air without demonstrating anything in particular. They simply couldn't be controlled.

"What? What happened on the way back?" His mother asked with a great deal of concern. But he was now already out of danger, so what she was concerned for only a mother could understand. The Boy was so excited that he could barely speak now. There was a spark in his eyes as though he was now seeing the sun set for the first time.

"I met a leopard", he said, and the words chose to come out in a whisper. "And it tried to-"

"You what?" His mother shrieked. "Dear Lord, how could this-"

"Mother, please! Hear me out", The Boy insisted. "And we looked at each other, and I was scared at first, and then it tried to attack me. Everything around us was quiet; it was just the two of us. There was nowhere to run- its legs were so fast." The look of horror on his mother's face only urged him on:

"You wouldn't believe it, mother! It was this high, with claws this long and teeth double the size, all sharp like knives." To indicate the leopard's height he marked his own chest, which was significantly higher than the real one. To show the length of the claws he put both his index fingers at a distance twice the real length. It was a minor embellishment, and he immediately regretted he hadn't shown larger sizes.

"It was growling and baring its teeth; you know, like dogs do to each other. Then it jumped at me, and I know it was going to bite my head off. I just know it!"

At this point his mom was almost at the point of fainting and The Boy was raving, throwing his hands dramatically to illustrate the story. Even his voice was fluctuating rapidly, and his eyebrows were dancing on his face.

"Its massive jaws were already open and ready to swallow me. I think its mouth was larger than my whole head! Not even father- not even a soldier from the Guard could fight such a savage thing! But then I took my stick- I'd just found a stick on one of the trees- and I went like this-" he made a giant arch motion with his right arm that was holding an invisible stick- "and hit it right on the head. Bam! The poor thing crashed on the ground. I think I hit it so hard that I almost broke the stick, mother!"

"Oh, thank God!" His Mother yelped.

"Wait! It wasn't over just yet. I tell you, mother, this leopard was no ordinary cat. It was a monster! After hitting the ground it got right back on its legs and went for round two. But this time I wasn't scared, even though it was even fiercer than the first time. It was angry. And the jaws- they somehow opened even wider! I can almost swear that the claws were longer too. But I didn't blink, mother, and when it came close enough I went like this-" he thrust the stick forward like a sword- "and hit it again. And you should've seen the great animal, mother! It was so desperate- it looked like a little kitten that you just want to go and pet. I felt sad for having struck it so forcefully. Well, mother, what do you think?"

"I can't believe you left the river, young man! Never do it again, do you hear me?" She bellowed, and she slapped her boy for his disobedience. But then she hugged him so tightly that she stopped the blood flowing in his veins and exclaimed: "My boy is a hero! A hero, I tell you!"

Suddenly the neighbor from the house next door, Mrs. Jeffreys, who liked nothing more than to push her nose in the affairs of others, stepped outside. Perhaps she'd been alarmed by the noises and smelled a chance to get a whiff of some interesting news.

"Is everything okay? I heard your yelling", she excused her unsolicited interference. But you know how it is- in bad times everybody hates a gossip, but in good times they are extremely valuable.

"Joana! You wouldn't believe what happened to my son! He was delivering equipment to his father. Then, in the desert he was attacked by aleopard. That's right, a leopard! It was this big, with teeth this long and claws like swords. Do you remember the swords we saw Mr. Musashi using during his performance? They were that sharp!" The Boy's mother put her hand at her chest, which was considerably higher than The Boy's chest, to mark the leaopard's height. Then she made a gesture that showed teeth even longer than what The Boy had indicated.

"Believe me, Joana, it was a monster!" She continued. By this point Joana's big brown eyes opened like the mouth of a hungry leopard, cherishing ever moment of this fantastic story.

"What happened? How did he manage to escape?" Joana asked, glowing with anticipation.

"Oh, he didn't escape", The Boy's mother drawled, and it was clear that she thought escaping was a cowardly act that wasn't honorable enough for The Boy to do. "He picked a stick off one of the trees and challenged the leopard to a duel." Joana was now almost burning with excitement, and this generated even greater enthusiasm in The Boy's mother.

"The leopard jumped at him, expecting an easy meal. As well he should, as what else could a savage beast expect of a helpless little boy? But no, The Boy fought back! He swung the sting in perfect timing and struck the leopard away!" She demonstrated this action very dramatically, her whole body following her swinging right arm. "And the leopard didn't believe it. So it tried again. This time it was ready to kill and use all of its monstrous might. Look at me- I tremble just picturing it- but not my courageous boy. All he needed to do was give the leopard a little prick in the right spot and the leopard was done for."

"Done for? You mean dead?" Joana said in complete awe.

"Oh, who knows. But one thing is for sure: that leopard will never attack any little boy ever again."

The Boy, watching from the side, was regaled by this terrific version of the story. He was regaled even more by Mrs. Jeffreys's ecstatic demeanor. She looked like she'd just defeated the leopard herself.

Chapter 3

 

Evening fell upon the kingdom. But unlike the day, which doesn't survive the dark, the story of the leopard was only gaining rest for another day of growing in the mouths and ears of the people.

The next morning The Boy awoke with unusual vigor, and made the morning preparations to leave the house with remarkable speed. 'It's going to be a terrific day', he thought. And there wasn't a single boy in the kingdom who could keep his patience when anticipation of something terrific strikes. He'd only left for school under a brilliant sun when his feeling was confirmed: there was a group of people assembled without any kind of order just outside the neighbor's house. They were all silent, and there was only one high-pitched voice coming from the center of the group. He immediately recognized it as Joana's, and slowed down his pace so he could pick up what she was saying.

"The leopard was bigger than the poor boy, and it hadn't eaten for days. It was looking for a pound of flesh, and the boy was a perfect snack. What would you do, Daphne? Run away? Scream for help? Oh, but there was nobody around to hear!"

"Dear Lord!" A lady in the fascinated audience cried. "What happened to that poor boy? What did he do?"

Joana fell silent for a few moments, drawing her audience along. They were all itching to find out what had befallen the hero of their story. The Boy had to struggle not to skip all the way to school out of pride and self-satisfaction.

"He stood his ground and fought! You see, it appears our boy is an exquisite swordsman that can even use sticks to fend off the most vicious enemies", he heard Joana assert before he went out of earshot.

The accolades continued through the day, as he'd wished. Word of the story had somehow reached the ears of several of the kids at school, and soon the school was bustling with different versions of it. Every time he was asked to tell the story he filled it with new, imaginary details so even on the tenth occasion he found himself excited by what he might say. He was most creative when the principal called him for a private conversation and congratulated him for his outstanding bravery. The Boy was never a very good student, but he instantly became the teachers' favorite.

 

The sun hadn't yet set on that day when The Boy's tale already became a legend throughout the kingdom. His father was heartily congratulated by some very affluent clients from the north. His mother spoke of nothing else and couldn't stop grinning for the attention and admiration every woman in the south showed her. The house became a site of pilgrimage, and no man, woman or child south of the forest missed the opportunity to lay eyes on the heroic boy. Never previously had the kingdom buzzed with such zeal, and never before had The Boy been so pleased. Overnight he transformed from a nameless boy known to no one but the neighbors and half the kids at school into the finest swordsman in the kingdom. This is what the people said of him, though they'd never seen him before and though he'd never held a sword before. 'The Boy who fought