DEMETRI AND HIS MAGICAL TRINKETS
Demetri ran away crying. He was sick of being scolded and punished for a mistake he never made. Sure he couldn't do the chores perfectly, but he tried the very best his small hands can do. Chopping firewood was an enormous task for a 5-year-old kid like him.
Right now, he has one place in mind, his eternal solitude, the daisy field.
He arrived there for just a short time and knelt crying to the heavens. If it was for him, he would leave the house and look for a better place to stay. But who would accept a small, dirty kid like him?
When his tears ran out, he sat on the ground and picked on some daisies, casually talking to them like they were his playmates. Demetri didn't have any playmates.
Suddenly, a small thing caught his attention. He stood up and when he was near, he found out that it was a tiny, purple flag.
Thinking that something might be buried underneath it, he started digging.
His hands were now grimy and his nails full of soil, but he didn't care. He pressed on digging.
Just then, his hands hit a hard object. He quickly removed the soil and found a dirty, old axe.
Dejected, he kept on digging to find much more valuable things.
But no matter how much he dug, there was nothing more to find.
He went home feeling down as the first sign of rain came. He brought the axe and threw it in a shed near their home, muttering on how useless it is.
The next day, his mother ordered him again to chop wood. He went to the shed and took the wood outside. When he came back, he noticed the axe he found yesterday, still dirty. He shrugged and looked for their axe but it couldn't be found. Resigning to his fate, he picked up the old axe.
He chopped and chopped and chopped. The sun was prickling his back, a sign that it was almost noon. He stopped and wiped away his sweat and found out for the first time the perfectly chopped firewood.
His eyes widened. He then looked at the axe and tried observing how he chopped. The manner was still the same but he could now chop it in one smooth motion unlike before where he would chop it many times producing uneven cuts.
When his mother arrived, he patted him on the head and instructed him to chop some more. She said he was getting better at chopping wood and that maybe he could now help her do more household chores.
The next day, after another round of chopping wood, his mother instructed him to get inside the master's house and sweep the floor.
He swept and swept and swept. But no matter how many times he swept, there were still dust left and he would get scolded by the master.
Once again, he went to his daisy fields and cried. And then he found yet another purple flag. He dug once more and found an old broom.
He tried using it the next day and all the dust were gone. Just one stroke and every dust in the master's house disappeared.
Over thr next few days, Demetri gathered a lot of his magical trinkets - a rag that could wipe away all the dirt on every surfaces, a soap that could remove all the stains, a cooking powder that could make all dishes very delicious and a knife that could chop vegetables and fruits in perfect shapes.
Due to this, Demetri's time for work lessened and his leisure time increased. He now had time to make friends and meet playmates.
Finally, school began. And what was worse for the children that time was learning how to read and write.
Demetri learned reading at an early age since he always read the recipe in the master's kitchen. The cooks helped him in the task. But as for writing, he does not have a single clue how to do it.
He realized it was a difficult thing to do and so decided to visit the daisy field once again.
True enough, a purple flag was waving at him. He dug and found a dozen of papers.
When he used it the next day at school, he was amazed that he could write very good. His teacher praised him while his classmates envied him.
He did not practice writing anymore at home and remained idle.
One school day, the teacher announced that they would be having an evaluation. She handed out test papers where the pupils will write.
Demteri sweat buckets. He can't use his paper and the purple flag did not appear in the daisy field anymore.
The test started but all he could write were gibberish. He couldn't even write a perfect single letter.
The teacher scolded him and his classmates ridiculed him.
He ran to the daisy field, crying. But there was no more daisy field. The whole land was cleared. All that was left was barren soil.
He went home so down. He reached the shed first and went inside. All his magical trinkets were gone!
He knelt down and cried and cried. There he realized that he would probably start from the beginning once more, but this time, he would work on it diligently and more focused. He would practice and practice until such time he could do it perfectly.
From then on he promised to never rely on things and trust more on his own capabilities.