The Pebble Thrower
Once upon a time, in the glorious land of Laos, the land of a million elephants, there lived a little boy named Mansei. He had no parents and limped on one leg, but Mansei was a very happy child, well cared for by the villagers.
An Unusual Talent
— Hello, Mansei! I've brought you some fresh vegetables from my garden. — Oh, Lea! — Mmm, vegetables. I brought him something better. — A sweet pie? That will ruin all his teeth!
The village children always played with him, but at one particular game, he was the best. Mansei spent a lot of time practicing throwing pebbles at distant objects. He could even hit leaves at the very top of tall trees.
— Wow! How did you hit that tree? — He's Mansei, he can aim at anything, no matter how far away it is. — Ha ha ha! Well...
The Magic of Shadows
One day, as he sat alone under a tree branch, he began to throw pebbles at leaves. The sunlight passed through a leaf and cast an image on the ground.
— Oh, wow! — It looks like a boy dancing. Ha!
And so it was. When the leaves moved and the sun's rays moved with them, the image on the ground seemed to dance. When his friends found him, they were delighted by the show.
— Oh, what's that? It's superb! — Let's make something else, eh? — Ha! Ooh, look!
Soon, he created an elephant in a leaf, and then a baby elephant. The children enjoyed the show.
— Wow! It looks like the baby elephant is following its mother.
Meeting the King
The children were enjoying the show and almost didn't see the king and his soldiers approaching them. But they turned as soon as they heard them.
— Oh no! The King! Quick, let's hide! — Come, Mansei!
The children hid in the bushes, and the king and his troops stopped to rest. But as soon as the wind blew, the leaves moved, and the elephants appeared, surprising the king.
— Ooo! What is this? — It... it looks like magic. — It's wonderful! Guards, find the person who created this marvel!
Mansei, Before the King
— Oh no! They're going to look for us! — Run, run! — Wait, wait for me too!
But the children ran off, leaving Mansei behind. Even though the king was a good man, to the children he was still grand and fearsome.
— We found a boy here. Let's take him to the king!
And so, poor Mansei was brought, trembling, before the king. The king looked at him carefully, curious about his talent.
— Are you the one who made these images? — Yes, Your Highness. — Hmm. Prove it to me. Make another one for us.
The Singing Bird
Mansei picked up a pebble, but just then, a singing bird landed on a branch. Seeing this, Mansei had an idea. He threw a pebble at one leaf and formed the image of a bird's body, and on another leaf, he created the image of its head.
When the leaves moved, everyone watched in amazement. The king and his people rejoiced and applauded at the bird's song.
— Incredible! It looks as if the bird is singing! — Little boy, you have a remarkable talent! I would like you to come back to the castle with me. You could help me a great deal.
The Secret Mission
And so, Mansei sat in the carriage beside the king, and they went to the royal palace. There, Mansei was impressed by it. The king explained the situation to him.
— Now, listen carefully to what I'm going to tell you. Soon I will hold a meeting with my ministers. One of them can't stop talking. — Huh? You mean the man talks a lot of nonsense, blah. I want to teach him to listen to others. — So, how can I help you?
The king revealed his unusual plan. Mansei was to hide and intervene discreetly.
— You will hide behind the curtains and throw bitter orange peels into his mouth.
The Talkative Minister
Mansei was amused and accepted the king's plan. He sat behind a curtain opposite the minister, on Eric's side. Soon, the meeting began.
— Oh no! I didn't ask the king which minister it was!
The king began the discussion about the thefts in the kingdom. Eric, the talkative minister, immediately began to speak.
— I have called you all here to discuss the thefts in the kingdom. Does anyone have anything to say about this? — You see, I was thinking... I was thinking, maybe we should ask the victims. I know some of them saw the thief at some point. — That's very good. Then we can... — But I think it will take some time to catch him. It's a huge kingdom, after all, and we have some very proper people. — Eric, I think you want to say something. — But we have a lot of soldiers in the kingdom. It might not take that long. — Mmm. — So that's it. Hey, well, it's time for a break, Mr. Talkative!
A Bitter Lesson
Mansei threw the peel right into Eric's mouth, who was very surprised and immediately turned pale. The king immediately noticed the change.
— What's the matter, Eric? Is everything alright? — Mmm, mmm, mmm. What is this... What is this awful thing in my mouth? Ugh! — Ew! — Eric, you are in front of the king! — Hmm. Is everything alright? So, what were you trying to say? — Well, Your Highness, I was saying that the villagers... There might be a thief among them. We can never be too sure.
Mansei threw another peel, and Eric was speechless. The king smiled, understanding that the plan was working.
— Ha ha ha! — Oh dear, I guess Eric is tongue-tied this time. — Thank goodness! — Well, Your Highness, if you would listen to me... — I'm sorry about that, but I wanted to say that... — Why is this happening to me? Every time I open my mouth, something horrible falls in.
And this time, he swallowed the peel and decided to stay silent out of fear that the same thing would happen again. Another minister took the opportunity to speak.
— Well, may I speak now? — Mmm. — Finally, Your Majesty, I wanted to say that there is a circus carriage in our kingdom, and every time it makes a stop, a nearby house is always robbed.
A New Perspective
— Interesting. So, you want us to go to the place where it will stop again? — Exactly, Your Majesty! — That's a very good idea! — What do you think, Eric?
Eric was impressed by the idea, but hesitated to speak. Mansei threw another peel, and Eric managed to respond.
— Yes, go on. — Well, I agree with what he said.
The king was pleased with Eric's answer. It was clear that the lesson was beginning to take effect.
— Excellent! It's really nice to hear more opinions, isn't it? — Oh, yes, it is.
In this way, every time Eric spoke too much, Mansei would throw a peel into his mouth. So, Eric remained silent and had no choice but to listen to others.
— I don't remember ever hearing their opinions. Do I really talk that much?
Reward and Moral
After the meeting ended, the king went to Eric. It was time for a final discussion.
— So, now you realize that it's important to let others express their opinions, don't you? — Yes. I'm sorry for the way I behaved. I will try to change from now on. — Ah, mission accomplished!
The king was very pleased with Mansei and allowed him to stay in the palace. He was well-fed and cared for. He lived a happy life, showing his talent to others.
As for Eric, well, he kept his word and tried to let others speak too.
Because listening to other opinions is a very important thing. We must always value other people's opinions.
