Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2006 19:56:59 +0200 From: Harry Anders Subject: Little-Harrys-youth-5 MY FIRST BOOK 'LITTLE HARRY' IS FOR SALE... Please have a look at it and buy it. It costs only $ 19.95, and it's helping lots of people to cope with their feelings! Please copy this link into your webbrowser: http://www.harryanders.com and have a look. Thank you very much! ============================ LITTLE HARRY'S YOUTH The end of chapter 4 said: I sat up in a shock, feeling several small animals running across my naked body and nibbling at my toes. RATS! I yelled at them, swung my arms and legs, and they scrabbled away in a hurry. Obviously they were more shocked than I was. I didn't feel too happy with their visit, but closed my eyes with a deep sigh and tried to get some sleep... Something sniffed the air and growled at me. I sat up, and looked at a big porcupine that stared at me with faintly glowing eyes. I yelled at it, and it hurriedly disappeared into nowhere. The coward! I closed my eyes with a sigh and tried to sleep... Again the rats disturbed me, and this time I didn't care any longer. I yelled with my eyes closed, and they scrabbled away. Soon they were back, and again I yelled. That was the last thing I was aware of, before a deep sleep finally overtook me. ----------------- Chapter 5. Saved, orientating, warning, and a decision. I woke up, feeling itchy all over my body. I wormed myself out of the cave, and was delighted to see the sunlight peeking from beyond the mountaintops. I had survived my first night in solitude! I felt very stiff, and my body was covered with small fleabites. Apparently that porcupine hosted a small army of bugs, but fortunately they didn't like my taste too much and immediately stopped the biting after they discovered I wasn't an animal to their taste. Soon the itching disappeared, while the sun started to shine and warm the surroundings. I collected a couple of berries and seeds, to try to fill my empty stomach; and drank some more water from the pothole. I thanked the porcupine in my mind for building such a nice shelter; and went on, on my way to our camp, again following the ravine. My feet were still sore, and my legs cramped and felt stiff. I thought of my Dad, teasing me with my 'baby-stiffness', and sniffled. Would my people already miss me? Would they go for a search into our woods to try to find me today? Would Micha accompany them? Did Micha feel guilty for not following me through the forest? Had I been too good at sneaking away noiselessly, and couldn't he hear me any more once I followed that stupid porcupine? That wasn't Micha's fault, and he couldn't help it. It was my own stupidity. I followed the ravine for a long time, clambering on and on, biting my lips to be able to bear the pain in my cramping legs and feet... I thought I heard something, sounding like a yelling human voice, coming from a far distance. Were they looking for me? I hasted to the ravine and yelled into it, but the only things that came back were my own echoes. Maybe I had imagined a voice? I went on following the ravine, and after a few minutes I heard the same yelling voice again. They WERE looking for me! I used my hands to amplify the sound, and yelled into the direction of the waterfall: "I AM HERE! I AM HERE!" My voice echoed back and forth through the ravine for a long time. After the echo finally stopped, I heard a faint human voice calling me: "Harold, where are you? Harry, please answer me, where are you?" My Dad was looking for me! Now everything was all right, and my worries were gone. My Dad would find me and take me home! "I AM HERE, DAD, ALONG THE RAVINE. PLEASE COME AND GET ME." After the echoing stopped I heard his answer, sounding from far away: "I'm coming. Keep shouting from time to time, and I will find you. Stay where you are." "I WILL, DAD, I WILL." I sat down onto a flat boulder, felt very relieved, and started to cry. Everything turned out for the best, and now I could let myself go. I cried until my tension vanished and I felt better. From time to time I shouted into the ravine to let my Dad know where I was. I kneaded my cramped muscles and sore feet until the blood restarted to flow into them and the pain slowly diminished. I tried to divert myself by throwing small pebbles into the ravine. Now and then I was lucky and hit the stream, and I could see the pebble plunge into the water. Again I shouted for a moment, and resumed my play, waiting for my Dad to come and get me. A crow landed onto a rock, and looked at me for a long time, keeping its head askew as if it was thinking 'stupid little boy'. It flew away the moment I started to shout again. It dived into the ravine, and seemed to be gone. I grinned and resumed my play. I heard my Dad's voice, this time sounding louder and echoing along the ravine: "Harry, my precious son, you are still here? Please answer me." "YES, DAD, I'M STILL HERE AND WAITING FOR YOU." "I think I know where you are. Be patient and wait for us, because we are on our way." "OKAY, I WILL BE PATIENT." He said 'WE are on our way'... so he wasn't alone. Who would accompany him? Was Micha with him? Would Micha be very mad at me? Suddenly I felt a pang of fear. Would my Dad be very mad at me, for leaving Micha alone and getting lost? The other boys HAD warned us not to get lost, and my Dad had told me to always listen to them. Supposed my Dad thought I had proven to be too young to be into our woods, and decided to let me wait for another year... I nearly started to cry. What if Micha was mad at me now, and stopped being my friend? Everything was the fault of that stupid porcupine! The next time I saw it, I would KILL it and slowly roast it over our campfire! Suddenly I started to laugh because of my stupid anger. I couldn't even CATCH it... I resumed my play and threw the next pebble into the ravine, nearly hitting the same crow or one of its little friends. After a long time I heard my Dad's voice again, sounding from quite nearby: "Harry, where are you? Can you hear us?" "Yes, Dad, you are very close now. Just keep walking." I heard a couple of sounds coming from the forest, branches cracked, and two grinning men appeared along the ravine... I jumped up, and threw myself at them with a loud Indian howl: "MICHAIL! And DAD! Finally you've found me! Sorry for being such a nuisance..." My Dad and Michail both tried to suffocate me, by throwing their arms around my small shoulders and lifting me into the air. I started to cry from all the emotions, and they both tried to comfort me and tenderly kissed my forehead and nose. I cried for quite a while, until finally I had released all my emotions and calmed down a bit. We sat down on a flat boulder, and I crawled onto my Dad's lap and trustingly put my feet into Michail's lap. Michail looked at my poor feet, and winced a bit at the sight. He spitted into his hands and started to massage my sore feet and legs, and that felt good. My dad had tears in his eyes, and slowly cradled me: "Boy, never in my life have I felt so worried! How did you get lost?" "Micha and I were playing a game, to train our trapper skills. He walked into a dense forest, and after twenty seconds I tried to follow and catch him. At first everything went well, but the third time I heard him rustling in front of me, and followed the sound. I tried to catch up with him, but every time he was too fast and hurried away. After a long time we reached a clearing, and there I saw I had followed a stupid porcupine! I think I was sneaking away too noiselessly, and Micha couldn't hear me any more. I'm so sorry..." "There's no need to be sorry, as you didn't do anything wrong. You couldn't know Micha had changed into a porcupine, could you?" "Of course not! But I'm afraid Micha will be mad at me, and not want to be my friend any more..." "Micha is devastated and crying his heart out. He thinks you fell into a ravine, and he's sure everything is his fault..." My Dad lifted me onto his shoulders, and together we walked home through the dense forest, closely followed by Michail who looked relieved and happy. Within an hour I recognized our own surroundings, and twenty minutes later we entered our camp. A loud cheering told me everybody was very relieved to see me back alive and healthy. My Dad put me onto my feet, and all the children immediately surrounded me and overwhelmed me with hundreds of questions. My Mom made her way through the growing crowd, and tried to suffocate me by nearly crushing me into her safe arms. I certainly didn't object... After she had put me back onto my feet, I had only one question: "Where is my friend Micha?" Michail went to a caravan, and after a moment a very pale looking boy hesitantly approached me, looking at his feet: "I'm so sorry... It was all my fault; and I shouldn't have left you alone in that dense forest. I was so stupid..." "Micha, please shut up and listen. You are my FRIEND, remember? It was ME who did something stupid by following a porcupine, and not you. I should have known better, but I was too stubborn and didn't give up until it was too late. Now don't try to steal away MY attention by playing the victim. It's ME who is the poor victim here, and I LOVE all the attention I'm getting from it. Now I want you to give me a hug!" Micha looked shocked, and a few children started to laugh. Soon the others joined the laughing, and Micha couldn't keep a straight face any more. The sun returned into his eyes, and suddenly he lifted me high into the air and we hugged each other. We were friends again! Our Wise Woman turned up, and carefully smeared my feet with a stinking brownish paste. She smeared my legs with another paste, to help my muscles recuperate from the strain. I had to swallow a cup of sour tasting tea, and burped a few times. Of course everybody wanted to know what had happened, and I started to tell them how we played a game to hone our sneaking skills, how I followed a porcupine instead of Micha, and how I spent the night in its reeking lair full of nasty bugs, disturbed by legions of rats. When I had told them my story, Micha told us how he couldn't find me, and thought I was teasing him by hiding myself. He started to sneak around in circles, determined to surprise me. After a while he started to feel a bit nervous, and called me to give up. I didn't answer, and now he panicked and shouted my name for a long time, looking around everywhere. At last he thought I could have fallen into a ravine, and hurried to our camp to get help. Everybody went into the woods to look for me, until it was too dark and they had to give up. Early in the morning the men resumed their searching, until suddenly my Dad heard my voice answering him from a far ravine. My Dad had followed our conversation, and asked Micha to come over to us. Micha went very pale, and started to tremble all over. Obviously he thought my Dad would punish him for not looking after me, and I prepared myself to defend him if necessary... My Dad beckoned him to sit down next to me: "Micha, I want you to teach my son how to orientate himself in our woods and in the dense forest." "But... but I LOST him! I'm not good enough to teach him anything..." "Well, I think you ARE good enough, and I'm trusting you. You're an excellent trapper, and I'm sure my son will learn quite a lot by looking at your skills and practicing under your supervision. But I'm not ordering you; I'm only asking you a favour." I saw Micha looking at me, very unsure and hesitating, and leaned into him: "Please, Micha, I WANT you to be my teacher..." Micha looked into my eyes and hesitantly nodded, and I threw my arms around him and tried to suffocate him. My Dad laughed, and looked at us with little fun lights in his eyes: "Micha, the next time you're turning into a porcupine, please lead my son back to our camp instead of to a ravine..." Everybody started to laugh, and we all went our own ways to resume our daily rituals. The Wise Woman told me not to leave our camp for at least three days, to let my sore feet and legs heal. I wasn't too happy with her advice, but fortunately Micha decided to accompany me all the time, and tell me everything he knew about how to orientate yourself in the dense forest. That way I could prepare myself for my practical lessons once my legs and feet had healed sufficiently. Soon I loved to be his pupil, and he stimulated me to ask him as many questions as I could think of. He told me to look always at where the sun was, and keep in mind the sun was moving slowly from east to south to west during the day. He told me to look for orientation points as soon as I reached or left an open space, preferably the position of huge mountaintops, deep ravines, or water streams. He told me to listen to the sound of the wind, which always blew from the same direction and could be heard rustling through the highest tree tops... "But... what should I do when it's too cloudy and the sun isn't shining? Or when a thunderstorm is raging and the wind seemingly comes from everywhere? Or when you are near the waterfall and its sound is drowning all the other sounds?" "You are an excellent thinker! Fortunately there are lots of other things that could help you to orientate yourself. The tree branches tend to grow towards the sunlight, so you can see a difference between the northerly and the southerly branches. The same thing counts for the moss, that tends to grow more onto the north side of the trees and the boulders. When there are flowers nearby, they are always pointing to the sunlight, even when the sun isn't shining. And last but not least a lot of people are able to feel the energies around us." "What about those energies? Is that the same energy shift I'm feeling when Michail is planning to visit our caravan? Everybody was amazed I could do that, except for our Wise Woman who seemed to know how it works." "You can feel that? Well... I don't know. Maybe it's the same energy. I'll tell you what I know about those energies once we are in the woods." The next day Micha took me outside our caravan, and let me look at the surrounding mountains: "Look at those mountain tops over there, and see the differences between the nearby tops and the tops far away. When you are shifting your position, the nearby tops are moving more than the tops far away, and that can help you in determining where you are." He drew a picture in the sand, and let me see how perspective and point of view are working. Suddenly a whole new world opened up for me. I knew nothing about mathematics, but this was my first lesson in it, and I was elated. I wanted to know more! "The same thing counts for the stars? Are there nearby and far away stars too, to help you to orientate yourself at night?" "I think the stars are too far away to look for the point of view shifting, but they can help you to see where the north is. That's valuable too." He drew another picture of the sky at night, and pointed to the polestar: "That's the north star that's always in the same place all over the world. Look at that star, and you know where the north is." That night I crawled out of bed, and silently looked at our stars for a long time; until the sleep overpowered me. Finally my feet were healed, and we went into the woods together. From the first moment, Micha checked my abilities to know where the sun was, from where the wind was blowing, had I spotted that water stream, could I feel those energy changes? "Do you feel the sun radiating through the foliage? You can't see it now, but you can always feel it, even when it's cloudy. Just feel its energy. And listen carefully at where the sound of this water stream is coming from. Keep its direction in mind." We walked on until we weren't able to hear the water stream any longer, and Micha paused again: "Now listen to the wind, blowing through the treetops. Do you hear its sound rustling from here to there? Now you know where our camp is, as you should have noticed its direction when we entered the woods." I nodded, and looked up at the treetops. Micha was right; there was a difference between the north side and the south side of the trees. I walked around a tree, and saw the moss pattern changed too. I found some flowers, and they all looked into the same direction, towards the sun. I was more and more enthusiastic, and started to feel like a real explorer. Now how about those energies? Micha let me pick up a forked twig, and taught me how to hold it so that it reacted to my muscle-tension: "Your unconscious mind always knows where home is, just like all the other animals. That's why we sometimes use doves to send messages. The dove knows where its nest is, even from a far distance. You can train yourself to feel that too, but until that time you can use a dowsing rod." "What is a dowsing rod? Does a dove use one too?" "I think a dove doesn't need one, just like some trained people. A 'dowsing rod' is the forked twig you are holding in your hands. Try to twist it, to build some muscle tension. Now let it point downwards, think of our waterfall, and slowly turn around until the twig moves upwards." I thought of our waterfall, strained the twig, turned around, and suddenly my twig moved up! "See? The energy of the waterfall called to you and did tense up your muscles, and they were moving the twig." A proudly looking Micha let me follow my twig, until I really reached our waterfall. I was on cloud nine, and wanted more! I thought of my trap, slowly turned around, and my forked twig jumped up. I followed its direction, and it flawlessly led me through the dense forest to the end of the ravine where we had set up our traps five days ago. I thought I had reached cloud ten! Micha followed me, displaying an enormous smile on his face: "I'm really amazed! You are a natural. I think we should switch places, and from now on you are going to teach me..." I crawled into the bushes, and looked with open mouth... There was that stupid porcupine in my snare! I HAD CAUGHT IT! I forgot to be silent, and danced around Micha like crazy. Now I could roast it over our campfire, as I had promised myself! Micha grinned, and went to his own trap that held a fat marmot. He carried both animals, while I proudly let my forked twig led the way to our camp. That evening we shared a delicious roasted porcupine and a marmot. The next day we went into the dense forest, and again Micha let me think of our waterfall. I started to twist my twig, but suddenly I could FEEL the waterfall, as if my body was drawn towards it. I KNEW in which direction it was... "Micha, I can feel our waterfall without using my twig! It's as if I'm being drawn towards it. Isn't that strange?" "That's not strange at all. A few more children and grown-ups in our camp are able to feel those energies. I am, for example. I think your father knew you would be one too, and that's why he asked me to train you. I'm glad you are one of us!" We hugged each other, and danced around for a long time, both enjoying our special friendship. Many years later I discovered that not everybody accepted those abilities. Many people didn't even believe in them... but it's how Bedouins know their ways through the desert and find their oases in the sand dunes without getting lost. It's how Native Africans find their ways through the rain forests. It's how Eskimos find their igloos in the ever-changing and blinding North pole snow... Everybody who is able to FEEL the energies around us is able to train this ability. Unfortunately too many people are 'living in their heads' and don't 'feel' anything any more. They have lost their natural abilities, and those are ruling our world... The 'normal' people amongst us are called 'alternatives' nowadays, and too often made fun of. Micha helped me to extend and perfect my abilities, and every time it seemed to be a bit easier to orientate myself. However, there were a few restrictions. My abilities didn't work when I had a fever, or when a thunderstorm raged that disturbed the energies. In certain places the earth itself was radiating too strong energies that sent me into the wrong direction. It was nearly impossible to trace other people or animals, as they naturally tend to protect themselves against 'energy intruders'. That's why a forked twig wasn't enough. I also had to look at the sun, orientate myself, and listen to the wind; to check, recheck, and double-check everything... At last Micha was satisfied, and we went to my parents to tell them I was ready. My parents were very proud of me, and took me to the Wise Woman. She looked at me in doubt for a long time, and at last blindfolded me. She let me feel the energy of a little pouch, and then hid it somewhere in the bushes: "Go and get it! And don't cheat." I felt the energies around me; and soon could feel the energy of the pouch, as if it pulled at me or called me. I went into its direction, but felt the warmth of our campfire and had to avoid being burnt. I rounded the campfire, felt around me again, and went straight to the bush where the pouch should be. I felt the branches of the bush, and now I had to find that little pouch... I grabbled around on the ground beneath, but couldn't find it. Where was that pouch? I stopped the grabbling, and felt around me again. NOW I knew where it was! I stood up, reached for it, and took it away from the branch where it hung. Got it! I rounded our campfire, and went back to where I felt the Wise Woman, still blindfolded and feeling very proud of myself. Everybody started to applaud, while the Wise Woman took my blindfold away and directed me to sit down: "I know you should be way too young to be a real trapper, but you ARE ready. Our ancestors are with you and guiding you, because you have an important task to fulfil in your life. Always listen to the inspirations they are giving you, and you will be protected." From that day on I was allowed to enter our woods ALONE, being the youngest boy ever that was a real trapper. The next morning we joined the others, and went to our clearing in the woods to split up as usual. Micha looked at me, and hesitated: "Now that you are allowed to go on your own, do you still want me to accompany you?" I looked at him, and playfully punched him in the ribs: "Maybe now it's my time to teach YOU something? Come on, let's go!" Micha looked relieved, and I took his hand. He grinned back and squeezed my hand, and together we went through the dense forest to our traps without saying another word. Of course I was proudly leading the way, and soon we saw the end of the deep ravine. I stopped, felt the energy around our traps for a moment, and whispered into Micha's ear: "I think I've caught a small marmot, and you've caught a hare. Can you feel them?" "How do you know those things? Are you a clairvoyant too?" "Concentrate on your snare, and feel the energy around it." Micha tried to feel his snare, with a confused look in his eyes: "I think I can vaguely feel a dead hare, but I'm not sure. Maybe I'm making it up..." "Let's have a look..." We went to our traps, and soon returned carrying a small marmot and a hare, both grinning. "You were absolutely right. I'm always impressed by your strange abilities." "I'm always impressed by your wanting to be my friend." We set up our new traps, and went home skipping all the way with our arms around each other. One morning my Dad looked rather serious, and took me onto his shoulders. Together we went outside, and he took me to the secluded spot where our cars and spare caravans were. He put me down, and sighed a few times. He pointed to a small and ugly looking caravan, attached to a very old looking car: "Listen carefully, my son. Whenever I tell you to flee, you have to go immediately to this caravan and hide inside. It is very important you always remember this. There are people outside our mountains who hate us gypsies, and sometimes they want to harm us. They especially want to get me, as I am the King; and you, as you are our Prince. Do you understand?" "But why, Dad? I don't understand why they hate us?" "I don't understand either, my boy. But the past has taught us to always reckon with the possibility of a new witch hunt. One of our friends in the gadjo world warned us to be very careful during the upcoming months." "What's exactly the meaning of that word 'witch hunt'?" "A 'witch hunt' is when people are believing we are bad, and they want to harm us or punish us, by chasing us or even worse." I promised my Dad to keep this in mind, and enter the caravan immediately when he would tell me to flee, even if I didn't understand why. My Dad let me have a look inside the old caravan, and in awe I looked at all the lockers that were filled to the brim with all sorts of goods we could need if we had to flee to a foreign country for a while. Both the car and the caravan were maintained very well, and the fuel tank was filled to the brim. A special hidden locker held a small sum of money, and contained a couple of passports and other papers to allow us to cross the borders without too much trouble. I secretly hoped we would have to flee some time, allowing me to see the gadjo world, but I didn't tell my Dad... We went back to our own black-and-golden caravan, where I thought about what my Dad had told me for a long time. Would those 'people outside' really want to harm or punish us? I could hardly believe it. Why would they want to do that? We weren't 'bad' at all... After a while I went to our gang in the woods, where I joined Micha and forgot to be concerned. Again fall set in, and one morning we didn't have enough food left to feed everybody. Our children had been crossing the woods and setting traps; searching for fruits, carrots, or nuts, but couldn't find any. Deeply disappointed, and nearly crying from hunger, we returned to the campfire; where the grown-ups hung around with empty stomachs and dejected faces. They had been chased away from every gadjo town, and couldn't find any work to earn some money to buy us foods. We had to do something... My Dad beckoned the children over, looking at us with sad eyes: "Tomorrow you will have to dress into your neatest clothes. We will take you to a gadjo town, where you have to beg for food or money." I remembered all the fascinating stories the older children had told us about 'gadjo' towns, where the people lived in very big two-story caravans without any wheels on them, and where even the smallest children wore beautiful dresses during the whole day. Would my dad allow me this time to accompany the others to such a town? I was nearly six years old now, very independent, and already a real trapper! I was very disappointed when my Dad told me I had to stay home with the toddlers again... "But I WANT to go with them! I KNOW I can beg even better than they can. I'm nearly SIX years old now, and I'm a REAL trapper!" This time my parents looked at each other, and went to my grandmother to get her advice. I crossed my fingers, and hoped... Soon they were back, and my Dad sat me next to him on the couch: "Look at me, Harry, and carefully listen to what I want to tell you." Now I knew he would allow me to go, and my heart jumped in my chest with pride. When my Dad called me 'Harry' instead of 'Harold', I knew he was very proud of his big little boy. My Mom smiled at me, and I knew she agreed too. I leaned into my Dad, and he put his safe arm around my shoulders: "You know we are always honest with you, and we know you are a very clever boy. That's why this time we want you to decide for yourself. Those gadjo's are very different from us in their behaviour, and many times they do stupid things we would never do. They could spit at you for example, or kick you across the street without any reason. They could call you very bad names, especially because you have blond hair and blue eyes unlike the other gypsy children. They will look at you first, even before they see the others. It's quite possible they will humiliate you or bring you to tears by accusing you or your parents of things you never thought of... "However, being a blond boy with blue eyes also has an advantage. When gadjo's are good-hearted, they will give you more foods or money because you are very young and can look at them with those innocent puppy dog eyes... "Now you will have to decide for yourself. Do you still want to accompany the other children?" Of course I wanted to accompany my friends to that strange gadjo world! However, I knew I had to carefully think my decision over first, because that's what all the grown-ups always taught us. Never decide anything without carefully thinking and rethinking, until everything is absolutely clear in your mind. When it wasn't, you had to ask somebody else to help you with the thinking; but only after you had really tried it yourself. I hugged my Dad and Mom, went outside, and sauntered towards our waterfall. There I sat down, looking at the sparkling water drops that displayed beautiful colours in the sunlight. I started to think... Why did I want to accompany my friends to such a hostile environment? Was I really sure I could stand their spitting at me, maybe kicking me across the street, and their name-calling and humiliations? I was NOT really sure, and only hoped they wouldn't be that vile... Was I really sure I could 'beg'? Or was I bragging, hoping the grown-ups would see me as a 'big boy' and allow me to accompany the other big children? The truth was I even didn't know how to beg, and only hoped I could do it right... Was there something else I had overlooked? Was it curiosity? 'Curiosity killed the cat'... Would those gadjo's try to kill me? I wasn't a cat with nine lives, but a vulnerable little runt with way too big a mouth... Supposed I accompanied the other children to the gadjo's, then I would be the smallest child and they would have to protect me. Would the other children WANT to protect me, or maybe they saw me as a nuisance that would hinder them in their efforts to beg and gather enough foods... Slowly I stood up and sauntered back to our campfire. "Harold, come and join us. Micha finally caught a big porcupine in his snare!" They had already skinned the animal, and were roasting it on a stake, putting oil and some of my herbs on it. I tasted the herbs, and shook my head: "Too many of those yellowish leaves, and you have to add a few of those crispy green needles." They did as I told them, and soon we all got a slice of the tasty meat to munch on and still our hunger. "You're right! Never in my life did I taste such delicious meat! We ought to call you 'Prince Cook'." "Thank you, my beloved subjects; but I think 'Prince Harold the Great' will do for now." They started to laugh, and tickled my ribs until I begged for mercy. After we had washed our hands and faces, and returned to the campfire, I asked them: "Do you WANT me to accompany you to that gadjo town tomorrow?" Micha looked at me with amazement, and his eyes grew big: "Why do you think we should NOT want you to go with us?" "Well, for example, I look different; because I inherited my Mom's blonde hair and blue eyes. Thus the gadjo's will look at me first, and perhaps they don't like blonde gypsies with blue eyes and chase us away. And there's more. I don't know how to 'beg', as I've never done it before. I think I want to go with you because I'm curious, and that killed the cat... If I accompany you, you will have to protect me, as I'm only a small runt and surely can't defend myself from the spitting and kicking. The only advantages I have are my puppy dog eyes and my vulnerability..." One of the other boys protectively put his arms around my shoulders: "Wow, little man, you're using big words! Inherit, accompany, advantage, vulnerability... I'm nearly breaking my tongue over those words myself! But I have to agree: you are right. You ARE a small and vulnerable little runt, and we will have to protect you. However, this time we will defend YOU with our lives; and I am sure when you are grown up you will defend US with YOUR life! Do we have a deal?" I had never seen it that way... Now they would protect ME, and as their king I would protect THEM... I nodded, and rushed to my parents to tell them how I decided to accompany my friends to that gadjo town to help them with the begging tomorrow. ============================ Thank you for reading this chapter of 'Little Harry's youth'. My FIRST book, 'Little Harry', is for sale! It costs only $ 19.95 ... Please visit my homepage http://www.harryanders.com and buy it. It's helping lots of people to cope with their feelings! I love your emails, please send them to harry@harryanders.com . Maybe I will not be able to answer all of them, but be assured I will certainly read them all! I wish you lots of Love in your life, and Peace in your heart. And thank you, Nifty, for hosting my stories. Harry AnderS, alternative writer. I'm living in The Netherlands, and my native language is Dutch. Please have a look at my site: http://www.harryanders.com