The Secret of Twah, part III

The story so far...a farmer from the village at the base of the mountain has begun the Rite of Monkhood so he may learn the Secret of Twah. As we left him, he had just completed the first task, staying in a tree for one year.

The farmer arrived at the monastery and knocked on the door. The peephole opened, and the eye looked out at him. "Yes?" asked the voice.

"I have completed my year in the tree," said the farmer.

"Oh?" asked the voice. "Why were you in the tree?"

The farmer stared. "Because...you said it was part of the Rite of Monkhood?"

"And why do you want to become a monk?"

"Because I want to learn the Secret of Twah."

The eye looked at the farmer for a long time. Then, the voice asked, "And what did you learn from your time in the tree?"

The farmer had been thinking about this for a year, and replied, "Many things. I think the greatest lesson was that need and want are separate. You can do without the things you want, and the things you need will be provided to you."

The eye couldn't frown, as it was not a mouth. However, it definitely gave off the impression that it was frowning. Then, the voice asked, "And the giant bee? Did you learn anything about the giant bee?"

"Um..." said the farmer, confused. He had not expected his encounter with the giant bee to be that important. "Hit him and he goes away?"

The eye stared. "I guess that will do for now. You still have a long way to go before you are a monk. For your next task, you must go to the base of the mountain and recover four golden cups. You must be back here in exactly one year, or you will never become a monk."

"Four golden cups?" asked the farmer. "How will I know they are the ones you want?"

"A true monk would know," said the voice. The peephole shut, and the farmer set off down the mountain. His thoughts were elated with the time he had to search for the cups. Maybe if he found them quickly enough, he could go home and visit with his family. At the very least, he could find out how they were doing.


However, trouble befell him at almost every turn on his journey down. He had to battle a bear, a herd of llamas, several bands of roving vagabonds that may or may not have attacked him before, and the giant bee. His battle with the giant bee was less successful than before, and the bee stung him. The last thing the farmer thought before the world went black was, "I must know the Secret of Twah. I must survive. I must..."


NEXT: Time Running Out