The Apprentice

Long before the Spanish Galleons arrived in America, there was an old wizard among the native peoples. He was heroic and humble and had many flaws, but without seeking payment he stood for a cause. He traveled far and wide dispensing magic to heal people and keep them safe. He was originally a time traveler from ten thousand centuries in the future, traveling back in time for anthropological reasons. A war in the future prevented him from returning, because his colleagues never came back for him. He found himself trapped in the past, with technology that could be mistaken for magic. His only option was to pass himself off as some kind of a shaman or wizard, and use his technology to help others.

After many years he became known to several tribes. After conferring with some of the elders of various tribes, it was decided that he should obtain an apprentice, and endow him with some of his abilities. It was believed that the apprentice could carry on the work of the wizard if he ever passed away.

He found a young man who was 19 years old whom the wizard believed met the requirements. He was bold and handsome, and loved by all of the young people in his tribe. The wizard gave him the ability to control animals, with the intention of using them to obtain food for elders who were too frail to gather nuts and fruit for themselves.

When the wizard departed to journey to another land, the apprentice was overcome with greed and malice. He chose to use his powers to make the animals steal from people. If someone had gathered nuts in a basket, the apprentice would have coyotes grab the basket in their teeth and carry it to him, while venomous snakes protected the coyotes from anyone who tried to stop them. The snakes would strike if anyone went after the coyotes.

After several months the wizard returned to the tribe the apprentice belonged to, and heard from other tribe members that he had been stealing, and using the animals to attack people. The wizard was outraged! He found the apprentice and confronted him. The apprentice admitted that this was all true, but showed no remorse. He was even bold enough to ask the wizard for a double portion of his power.

Instead, the wizard chose to strip the young man of his abilities and reduce him down to a tiny size. The former apprentice ran off, afraid of being devoured by animals. An 18 year old woman found him, and grabbed him in her hand.

“You’re small enough to swallow!”

The young woman dropped the shrunken man into her mouth and swallowed him, then went on with her day. The young man went to his doom.

Whenever there is a gift bestowed on us, we should use it to help others. Sadly, there are avaricious people who want to use power to serve their greed, but they are defeated in the end by their own pride and ignorance.

The End