New story: "Stone Carrier" 背著石頭的人

Stone Carrier

by Mark Ivan Cole

Stone Carrier trudged up the dusty trail. His legs trembled under the weight of the stones in the big, sturdy basket on his back. Thick leather straps looped over his shoulders to hold it fast. Another strap pressed flat against his forehead and he bent low against it, straining forward, step after shaking step.

He had collected these stones over many years. He couldn’t remember where most of them came from, but he had carried them a long way.

     He turned a corner and, suddenly, Angry Man blocked his path! Stone Carrier could not pass. Angry Man shouted, ranted and raved, picking up rocks and throwing them
everywhere. Stone Carrier covered his head and hoped he would not get hurt. A large, rusty red rock flew through the air and landed—chonk!—in his basket, almost knocking him down.

     Then, just as suddenly, Angry Man was gone, but the rusty red rock now weighed heavily in Stone Carrier’s basket.

     “Curse you, Angry Man!” cried Stone Carrier. “My basket was already full and now you give me your rusty red rock. Curse you, Angry Man!”

     He grumbled for miles as he labored up the trail beneath his heavy load. Trudge, trudge, trudge.

     Some time later, he was working his way up some switchbacks when he heard a noise on the cliffs above him. It was Careless Man kicking at rocks and tree roots as he wandered aimlessly about.

     “I hope he does not kick anything down on me,” thought Stone Carrier.

     Just then he heard Careless Man dislodge something heavy.

     Careless Man said: “Oops! There goes a big, ugly brown rock!”

     Bent under his load, Stone Carrier could not look up to see. He cowered below, hoping he would not get hurt. Pebbles rained down as the big, ugly brown rock bounced and bounced and landed—chonk!—right in his basket, almost knocking him down.

Careless Man had wandered away again, but the big, ugly brown rock now weighed heavily in Stone Carrier’s basket.

     “Curse you, Careless Man!” cried Stone Carrier. “My basket was already full when Angry Man gave me his rusty red rock! Now you add this big, ugly brown one! Curse you Angry Man! Curse you, Careless Man!”

     He grumbled for miles as he labored up the trail beneath his heavy load. Trudge, trudge, trudge.

     Some time later, he was crossing a rushing stream. Cold water thrashed his legs and he fought to keep his footing. With every step, he feared he might slip and be swept away. He was halfway across when he noticed Selfish Woman beside him in the stream. She, too, carried stones.

     “I can’t make it!” she sobbed. “I have too many stones!”

     Stone Carrier hoped she would not ask for help as he carefully put one foot in front of the other in the swirling water. Step. Step. Step.

     “If only someone would carry my stones for me,” whimpered Selfish Woman.

     Stone Carrier said nothing.

     “Here, just carry this gray one,” said Selfish Woman. “I’ll take it back when we get to the other side.” With that, she dropped her biggest gray rock—chonk!—on top of the other stones in Stone Carrier’s basket, almost knocking him down.

     Stone Carrier trembled under the added weight of the biggest gray rock as he continued across the stream. Step. Step. Step.

     When he reached the other side, he said: “You can take your stone back now.”

     But Selfish Woman did not reply. She was not with him on this side. Where had she gone? He turned and looked back across the stream. He caught a glimpse of her moving lightly along the trail, back the way he had come.

     “Come take your stone!” shouted Stone Carrier. Selfish Woman could not hear him. She was already gone.

     “Curse you, Selfish Woman!” cried Stone Carrier. “My basket was already full when Angry Man gave me his rusty red rock. Then Careless Man added this big, ugly brown one. Now you leave me with your biggest gray rock! Curse you, Angry Man! Curse you, Careless Man! Curse you, Selfish Woman!”

     He grumbled and grumbled for miles as he labored up the trail under his heavy load. Trudge, trudge, trudge.

     As he neared the high pass, he was so tired he could barely move. He had found a stout staff along the way and now he leaned on it heavily as he struggled beneath his load. The sturdy basket with its strong leather straps creaked and groaned with every step.

High in the sky, Raven came sailing over the ridge, riding the wind. He looked down and saw a pile of rocks moving unsteadily along the trail, creaking and groaning as it went. He could not see Stone Carrier. Curious, he swooped down and landed lightly on the creaking pile of rocks.

     “Aaaaahhh!!” cried Stone Carrier, dropping to his knees and folding almost in half. “No more! No more!” His heavy load pinned him to the ground.

     “What??” croaked Raven. “A talking pile of rocks?”

     “I am Stone Carrier!” gasped the man. “Get off! You crush me!”

     Raven lifted off and landed nearby. Sure enough, there was a man underneath the pile of rocks!

Raven cocked his head. “I’m off, I’m off!” he said. “You can get up now.”

     But Stone Carrier could not get up.

     “No,” he cried. “My basket was already full when Angry Man gave me his rusty red rock. Then Careless Man added this big, ugly brown one. Then Selfish Woman left me with her biggest gray rock. Now you put your full weight on top and crushed me so I cannot get up. Curse you, Raven!”

     “My full weight?” said Raven. “I am just a bird. I sail on the winds. I weigh nothing compared to any one of the rocks in your basket. How could I crush you?”

     “I already told you,” said Stone Carrier, and he cursed Angry Man, Careless Man and Selfish Woman again. “And curse you, Raven!” he cried. Then he just knelt there, gasping for breath.

Raven fixed his eye on Stone Carrier. “Tell me,” he said. “How did Angry Man give you his rusty red rock?”

     “He threw it in the air and it landed in my basket,” said Stone Carrier.

     “And did Careless Man force you to carry his big, ugly, brown one?” asked Raven.

     “It bounced down the hill and landed in my basket,” said Stone Carrier.

     Raven nodded. “And did you have to keep Selfish Woman’s biggest gray rock after she left it with you?”

     Stone Carrier knelt there, his heavy load slowly crushing him, more and more. “I cannot get up,” he said. “I cannot breathe! I cannot carry this load over the pass.”

     “Do you have to?” asked Raven. “If you must have rocks, there are plenty of rocks all along the way. You needn’t carry them with you.”

     “I am Stone Carrier!” cried the man. “I have a sturdy basket with three strong straps, and a stout staff to help me carry these stones. But I cannot get up now. No one will see how I suffered because of Angry Man, Careless Man and Selfish Woman. No one at the end of the trail will know how much I weight I bore. I cannot carry this load of stones over the pass.”

     Raven hopped over in front of Stone Carrier, bent down low and looked him in the eye. “Do you have to?” he asked again.

     Stone Carrier said nothing, tears streaming down his face.

     “Does Angry Man suffer because you carry his rusty red rock?” asked Raven.

     “No,” said Stone Carrier.

     “And if you leave the stones here, will Careless Man know that you no longer carry his big, ugly, brown one, or Selfish Woman her biggest gray rock?”

     “No,” said Stone Carrier.

     Raven flew up to the top of a tall pine tree. “How long has it been since you saw the sky?” he called.

     “I cannot look up or I will lose my load,” cried Stone Carrier, staring down at the dirt.

     “If you look up, you can see not only the sky, but the high peaks, and the sun, and the wind in the trees,” said Raven. “Maybe you could dump just a few stones.”

     Maybe he could. Yes. Maybe he could. With great effort, Stone Carrier shifted his basket.

     But—oh! Stone Carrier began to roll! He could not stop himself! He rolled off the trail. He rolled down the heath, tumbling and tumbling, over and over until—bump!—he came to a stop against a thick juniper. The heavy stones rolled on down the hill until they disappeared into a deep ravine with a rattling crash. His basket was empty.

     Brushing himself off, Stone Carrier staggered to his feet. For a moment, he remained bent as always, but then, slowly, he straightened his back. He lifted the strap from his forehead and looked up.

     Ahh! The sky! The sun and the snowy peaks! The world was full and open, rich and beautiful! He saw Raven sailing on the winds, high overhead.

     Stone Carrier shouted up at him. “I can see the pass from here!”

     “And I see you can stand up now,” Raven called back. “You are very strong. You will have no trouble getting over the pass.” With a great croak, Raven flew off over the ridge once more.

Stone Carrier climbed the heath easily. How wonderful to be so light on his feet! He found the trail and started up the path again with brisk strides, quickly covering a distance that would have taken him many hours and many curses!

     He had carried so much weight for so long that his back and legs were stronger than he realized. The sturdy basket bounced along behind him, light as a feather.

     Some distance ahead, an old man was moving slowly, very slowly, along the trail toward the pass. He was singing a beautiful song.

     Stone Carrier caught up with him. “Who are you, and where are you going?” he asked.

The old man turned and smiled. “I am Survivor,” he said; “and I’m going to see what that beautiful place is like!” He pointed to a high mountain in the distance.

     “Why do you go so slowly?” asked Stone Carrier.

     “My leg was broken long ago,” said Survivor. “It makes me slow, but I’ve come this far. If I keep going, I may get there yet.” He looked at Stone Carrier and smiled again. “Who are you?” he asked.

     The man with the empty basket thought for a moment. Who was he, indeed?

     Then he smiled.

     “I am Strong Carrier,” he said; “because my legs and back are very strong. I also have a big, sturdy basket with strong leather straps, and I have a stout staff to help me.”

With that, he knelt down so that the empty basket touched the ground. “Climb in,” he said. “We can go to this beautiful place together.”

     “I will only be a bother,” said the old man, patting Strong Carrier on the shoulder. “You go on ahead.”

     Strong Carrier laughed. “I have carried many big stones in my basket. They were heavy and not good company. To help a friend is no bother at all.”

     The old man climbed into the basket and Strong Carrier stood up. His passenger weighed almost nothing! Taking his stout staff, Strong Carrier set out on the trail once again.

From somewhere high overhead, Raven heard two men singing, their voices sailing on the wind beside him, soaring beyond the pass, off and away toward the most beautiful place.