The Good Man
1. The Road
It’s ten o’clock at night. Yakob and Daud are going home. They sold two cows in the town today, and they have got a lot of money. The moon is not shining. It is dark.
A small dog is walking in front of them. It is Daud’s dog.
Daud is Yakob’s son. He’s saying, “Father this is a long road, and I am very tired. Look at my dog. It’s thirsty. I am not thirsty, but I’m afraid, because the night is dark.”
Yakob is saying, “Yes, bad people come to this road, Daud. I’m afraid too, because I have a lot of money in my belt.”
Now he’s saying, “Who is there ?”
The dog has stopped, and it is looking at some trees.
Yakob and Daud have stopped too.
Now Daud is saying,”Don’t go near those trees. There are some bad men there.”
Yakob is saying,”They are thieves. They are going to take our money.”
“What are we going to do father ?”
“Run my son. Go to the bushesm and then lie behind them.”
Daud has run to the bushes now, and he is lying behind them. But Yakob and the dog are standing on the road. Yakob is holding his big stick.
2. The Thieves
The thieves are coming. One of them has got a stick. The second one is holding a knife. The third one has got a big stong. He is the last.
The dog has caught the first thief’s leg, but the thief’s is hitting the dog with his stick.
Yakob is standing in the middle of the road. He is sitting the second thief with his big stick.
But Yakob is going to fall. The third is behind him, and he is going to hit him on his head with his stone.
Now Yakob and the dog are lying on the road. The dog’s head is broken.
Yakob’s head is not broken, but it is hurting. He is listening to the thieves. They are saying, “Take his belt off. There is some money in it.”
“Take his clothes and his shoes.”
“Where is the boy ?”
They have not seen Daud. He is lying behind the bushes. He is looking at them, and he is afraid, because they are big men.
The thieves are going now. They are taken, Yakob’s money and his clothes. They are going to sell the clothes in the town.
Yakob is shouting,”Daud, Daud. Where are you ?”
“I’m here father. I’m behind these bushes, and I’m afraid. The dog is dead.”
“I’m almost dead too. Come here and hold my head.”
3. The First Man
Yakob is very thirsty. Daud has taken his water bottle, and he is giving his father some water. But Yakob wants a doctor. Daud is saying, “They have cut your head. There is blood on it. I’m going to wash it with some water.”
But Yakob has drunk all of the water, and the bottle is empty.
Now Daud is saying, “You are cold father, and I’m going to put your coat on you.”
But the thieves have taken Yakob’s coat too.
Who is this ? It’s a rich man and he is riding a horse. He is pulling a second horse with a rope, and he has got a servant.
Daud has gone to him and he’s saying, “My father’s head is hurting, and he wants a doctor. Some thieves came and hit him with a stick. They hit our dog too. It was a good dog, but now it is dead. The thieves took my father’s clothes. It’s cold and he is going to die.
The rich man is saying, “Did they take all of his clothes, and he is almost dead ? That is bad, but I’m not going to stop. My second horse is tired, and I’m not going to put a heavy man on it now. I’m going to go home.”
Now the rich man is kicking his first horse, and he is going home. His servant is hitting the second horse and he is going too.
Yakob’s eye are closed, but he is not sleeping. He is very ill.
Daud is sitting on the road. He is holding his head, and he is saying, “That rich man didn’t take my father home. Why ?”
4. The Second Man
It’s eight o’clock in the morning now. Last night Daud made a hole hear the bushes. Then he put the dog in it. Then he slept.
The sun is shining now, and it’s warm. Daud has pulled Yakob to the bushes. Now he is sitting on the road again.
A man has come now. He has got a donkey. It’s pulling a cart, and the man is sitting in it.
This man is a doctor. He’s going to his office in the town.
Now he has stopped. He is looking at Daud, and he’s saying, “Who are you, and who is that man under those bushes ? His face is very white.”
Daud is saying, “My name is Daud, and that is my father. He is very ill. Some thieves came last night, and they cut his head. They took all of his money and his clothes. He wants a doctor.”
But the doctor is saying,”He wants a doctor but he has not got any money. That is very bad.”
Daud is looking at the doctor’s cart now and the doctor is saying, “No. Your father is not going to come into my cart, because I’m in it. I’m not going to walk, and my donkey is not going to pull both of us. It’s very hot today.”
Now the doctor has gone, and Daud is saying, “That was a bad man. My father is almost dead. He has closed his eyes again. What I’m going to do ?”
5. The Good Man
It is about midday. The sky is yellow, because the sun is very hot. Daud is sitting under the bushes near his father. There are some flies on the old man’s face. Daud has made a pillow with his shirt, and Yakob’s head is on it. Both of them are sleeping.
There are not many people on the road at midday, but this young man is going to the town. He has not got a horse, he has not got a cart. He is walking, because he is poorer than the rich man, and poorer than the doctor.
He is coming to the bushes, and now he is looking at Yakob and Daud. He has stopped, and he is shouting, “Who are you? Is the old man ill?”
Daud and Yakob are awake now. Daud is standing up, and he is saying, “Some thieves his my father yesterday, and they took all of his money and his clothes. We have not got any water and we are all very thirsty. My father is going to die.”
But the young man is saying, “No, he is not going to die. I am a student, and I am very poor, but I have got a water bottle, and I’m going to take your father to the town.”
6. At The Inn
The student has given Yakob some water, and he has washed his face. Now he is carrying Yakob to the town. Daud is walking behind them.
The student’s name is Ibrahim. He’s not very strong, but he is very good. He has cut his shirt, and he has made a bandage. He has washed the blood, and he has put the bandage on Yakob’s head. Now he is taking them to an inn.
This is the inn, Ibrahim is looking at the inn keeper, and he is saying, “This old man is ill. His head is hurting. Give him and his son a good room in your inn. Take this money. I’m going to bring him a doctor.”
And the inn keeper is saying, “You are a poor student. Why are you giving this old man your money ?”
“I am giving the money to you, because the old man has not got any. The thieves took all of his money.”
“You are a good man.”
This is the inn keeper’s wife. She has put Yakob in a good bed, and now she is putting a new bandage on his head.
She is saying, “Lie there. I’m going to bring a little food and some hot milk. Then your are going to sleep.”
Now she has gone to the kitchen and Daud is saying, “She is a good woman, and Ibrahim is a good man. But some of the people on the road are not as good as they are.”
7. Yakob is Well Now
Ibrahim brought a young doctor to the inn last night. Ibrahim held Yakob’s head, and the doctor took the bandage off. There was a little blood there, but the doctor said. “It’s not bad. You’re going to get up tomorrow.”
He gave Yakob some medicine. Then Ibrahim gave doctor same money, and he went home.
It is ten o’clock in the morning now. Ibrahim and Daud are awake. Yakob is awake too. He is sitting on his bed, and he is saying, “That medicine was good. Where is my breakfast ?”
Ibrahim and Daud are laughing, and Daud is saying, “The medicine was good, but you are better than the best medicine, Ibrahim. “
