Everyone in the room dropped to their knees and groveled facedown on the floor. Everyone, that is, except for Scarlett, Sam, and Jonah.
“I’m waiting,” the king said.
“You’ll have to keep waiting,” said Scarlett.
“You won’t bow to me?” the king yelled.
“Tell him, Jonah,” said Scarlett.
Jonah stuck out his chin. He folded his arms across his chest. “We bow only to God.”
“Oh, yeah?” said the king. “And which god is that? Osiris of Egypt? Bel Marduk of Babylon? Ishtar of Phoenicia? There are many gods. And you know what? I conquered them all! I burned their temples. I looted their treasure houses. I marched their priests off as slaves. Do you know what else? Those great and powerful gods didn’t lift a finger to stop me. Want to know why? Because the only god is Ashur, the God of Assyria! The All-Powerful God of Nineveh!”
Everybody groveling on the floor answered with one voice, “Hail to Ashur the All-Powerful.”
The king continued. “Go on. Tell me the name of your god. I’ll swat him like a fly!”
“Did you hear what he said?” Scarlett hissed at Jonah. “Nobody talks about God like that. Set him straight, Jonah. Go on! Tell him.”
Jonah pointed his finger at the king. “Listen to me! I have a message for you. There is only one God, the God who is the creator of the world. God rules the universe. The One and Only True God is . . .” Jonah paused to let the words sink in. “The God of Israel!”
“Israel?” The king burst out laughing. So did everyone else in the throne room. Not only did they laugh; they rolled around the floor with glee as if they had just heard the funniest joke in the world.
“Did you hear that?” the king said. “The God of Israel!” Which made everyone laugh even harder.
“I don’t get it,” Sam said to Scarlett. “What’s so funny?” Jonah looked as if he were about to explode with fury. The king continued.
“My grandfather Sennacherib crushed Israel like a bug! Those Israelites thought they could stand against Assyria. Grandpa burned their capital city Samaria to the ground. He left nothing but rubble. A few more years and people won’t even remember that a city once stood there. He marched the people off as slaves—all the ten tribes of Israel. He dispersed them so far away that they’ll never come back. No one will ever hear from them again. The God of Israel? Where was that God when all of this was happening? Your precious God hid like a mouse when our Great God Ashur stomped across his land!”
Scarlett heard someone sniffle. She looked at Jonah. He was crying. “It’s true,” he murmured.
“No, it’s not!” said Scarlett. She walked up to the first step of the throne. The mechanical animals started growling at her. “Quiet!” she yelled. The menagerie fell silent. She looked up at the king. “I don’t know why God turned away from Israel then. I do know it wasn’t because God was afraid.”
“That’s true. God was never afraid,” said Jonah quietly to Sam, dabbing at his eyes.
“Then why don’t you say something? You’re a prophet. C’mon! What are you waiting for?”
Jonah squared his shoulders. He marched to the foot of the throne. Standing next to Scarlett, he looked up at the king.
“There is only one God, the God of Israel. Get ready to behold God’s power.”
The people in the throne room began to mill about in confusion. Even the king looked nervous. Everyone waited. Five minutes. Ten minutes. Nothing happened.
Scarlett jumped in. “That’s right!” she shouted. “Behold God’s power.” She looked at Jonah. Jonah shook his head.
“Not yet,” said Jonah.
The king started laughing. “I’m waiting.”
“You’re a prophet. Do something!” Sam hissed desperately at Jonah.
“I will. Be patient. Ten . . . nine . . . eight . . .”
“Enough of this nonsense. Take them away,” said the king.
“. . . three . . . two . . . one . . .”
The soldiers drew their swords. Suddenly Jonah roared, “NOW!”
The palace began to shake. The pillars holding up the room began tottering. The king’s throne wobbled, then collapsed, pitching him headfirst into the mob of people struggling to reach the exits. The ceiling crashed down on the throne, smashing it to bits. The mechanical rooster gave out a faint cock-a-doodle-doo. Then all was silent.
“What’s going on?” Sam called to Scarlett.
“Aftershocks,” she yelled back. Jonah stared around, amazed. Then he grinned.
“Behold the Power of the Lord!”
Within minutes, more soldiers poured into the throne room. They plucked the king from the wreckage of his throne and gave him some dire news.
“Your Majesty, our city is doomed. The Temple of Ashur has collapsed. Nothing is left. Our great god is a pile of broken stone!”
“And your uncle is no more. He was worshipping before the god when Ashur fell on top of him.”
The king screamed. He pulled off his fake beard, revealing himself to be just a boy, and cried, “What will become of me? What will become of my kingdom? My uncle is gone! Who will tell me what to do? O Great God of Israel, have mercy on us!” He fell at Jonah’s feet, weeping as he clutched Jonah’s ankles.
Scarlett and Sam stared in surprise. “The king! He’s just a kid!”
It was true. Without the crown, the false beard, the mechanical throne, and the armies of marching soldiers, the king of Assyria was just a boy. He could have been one of Scarlett and Sam’s friends from school.
“Don’t hurt me!” the king pleaded.
“We won’t hurt you,” Scarlett said. “You’re a kid like us. Why are you acting like such a brat?”
“It’s not my fault. My uncle made me do it. He said I have to be mean and cruel or nobody will listen to me. He said I have to beat slaves and chop off heads. Otherwise, nobody will love and respect me.”
“Your uncle is wrong. Being cruel isn’t the way to go. People don’t respect you when you behave like that. They’re just scared of you,” said Scarlett. “Fear isn’t respect.”
“And it sure isn’t love,” Sam added.
“I didn’t know what else to do,” the king said in tears. “The kings of Assyria have always been like that. My dad was cruel. So was his father. And his father before him.”
“So what? You don’t have to be like them. What if we show you another way?” said Scarlett. “Our friend Jonah is a prophet. He’s been sent to Nineveh with an important message that you need to hear. Go on, Jonah. Tell the king what he needs to do.”
Jonah spoke. “Listen, O King! I will tell you how God smote Egypt in the days of Moses. Thus were the Egyptians punished for their countless sins with the Ten Plagues of Egypt.” And Jonah began to recite the Ten Plagues in ancient Hebrew.
“What’s Jonah saying?” asked Sam.
Scarlett listened. Her eyes opened wide. “He’s reciting the Ten Plagues—in Hebrew!”
“Why?” said Sam. “It’s not Passover. We’re not at the seder. The Assyrians don’t speak Hebrew. Look at them. They don’t understand what Jonah’s talking about.”
Scarlett suddenly realized what Jonah was doing. “I’ve got it, Sam. Jonah is doing what God has commanded him to do, warning the Assyrians to change their ways. But he doesn’t think God is being fair, so he’s not really delivering God’s message. He’s preaching to them all right . . . but in a language they don’t understand. They won’t know what he’s saying. If they don’t understand what he’s telling them, they can’t change their ways and be saved by God.”
“That’s not the right thing to do,” said Sam. “How can we help?”
“We can’t let Jonah get away with it. The Assyrians deserve a chance to become better people. That’s what God wants. That’s why God has sent Jonah to Nineveh.”
“Do you think that’s why God sent us here too?”
“Maybe, Sam. God does what God does. God commanded Jonah to preach. God didn’t say we
couldn’t preach too. Shall we give it a try?”
Sam grinned. “Let’s do it!”
“What’s he saying?” the king asked Sam and Scarlett, staring at Jonah who was shouting, waving his arms, stomping his feet, and carrying on.
“We’ll translate for you,” Sam said. “He’s saying that everything that happens comes from God. God sent us here with a warning for you because God loves the people of Nineveh.”
“As unlovable as you are,” Scarlett added.
Sam continued. “God could destroy you in a moment, as you saw. No one would be sorry about that because the rest of the world knows you behave badly. You’ve built your kingdom on violence and cruelty. Many people wouldn’t shed a tear if God erased your city the way you’ve erased so many others.”
The king began weeping. “I’m sorry.”
“We know. And we truly believe that deep down inside you have a kind heart. But ‘I’m sorry’ isn’t enough,” said Scarlett. “You have to change your ways.”
“How?” the king asked.
“For starters, free all the slaves of Assyria. Nothing is as wrong as slavery.”
Sam joined in. “End all your wars. Call back your armies.”
“You’ve heard God’s word from the Prophet Jonah,” said Scarlett. “From now on, live in peace with everyone. If you do, God won’t give Nineveh the punishment it deserves. Lions can lie down with lambs, and everyone can live under their own vine and fig tree. Isn’t that better than what you have now? Slavery, cruelty, violence, fear, and the trembling of the earth under your feet?”
“You’re right,” the king said. “Why didn’t I realize this before? Why did I let my cruel uncle bully me? All praise to the God of Israel for giving us a second chance! We’ll change our ways. We’ll start today. We’ll start right now.”
“Yeah!” said Sam.
“Hooray! You’re awesome!” said Scarlett, giving the king a hug. Everybody cheered for this new chapter for Nineveh.
Chapter 12
The Gourd
One could accuse the Assyrians of many things, except one. No one could say the Assyrians were not thorough. When they destroyed a country, not even a grasshopper was left alive. When they looted a city, they left nothing behind—not even a nail. And when they repented, they did it completely.
Once the king gave the order, his people set about changing their ways. They tore their clothes to apologize for their evil ways. They dressed in rags. They heaped dust and ashes on their heads. Whole families, from the highest nobles to the poorest beggars, weeped and moaned, beseeching forgiveness from those they’d wronged.
Most astonished were the slaves. Their masters now groveled at their feet, kissing their toes, wailing, “I’m so sorry! Please forgive me!”
“That’s a good start,” Scarlett told the king, who was banging his head on the palace steps in sorrow at his own bad behavior. “But it’s not enough.”
“You can’t just be sorry,” said Sam. “If you’ve done wrong, you have to make it right.”
“Gotcha! That’s Phase II,” the king said. “I’m already working on it.”
Indeed he was. The king pressed the royal seal into a clay tablet. He ended the wars, called home the armies, and freed the slaves. He didn’t stop there. He ordered his soldiers and sailors to help the former slaves get back to their homes and families. Fleets of ships and camel caravans were soon traveling to the war-ravaged lands. The treasure they carried would help the slaves rebuild their countries.
Unfortunately for the prisoners who had been carried off from Israel, they had been sent so far away that no one any longer remembered where they were. The records had been lost, so the Israelites remain lost to this day, and have become known as the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.
Freeing the slaves had an unforeseen benefit to Assyria. The fleets and caravans didn’t return to Nineveh empty. They carried cargoes of valuable goods back from their travels: wine, spices, incense, textiles, and pottery. And since the wars were ended, traders from distant lands no longer feared coming to Nineveh.
Some of the former slaves even decided they liked living in Nineveh. They started their own businesses, buying and selling. Trade of all kinds flourished.
Since the king no longer had to pay for wars and armies, the kingdom prospered. Money poured into the treasury, allowing the king to do even more to help his people.
The king set about rebuilding the city. He built schools, hospitals, and libraries.
“Doing good certainly does pay!” the king exclaimed, looking over his gleaming new city filled with happy people. “I’m so glad you came to Nineveh. I apologize for being nasty in the beginning. I owe you two big time. What can I do for you?”
“Just get us tickets on the next caravan leaving for Jaffa,” Sam said.
“Consider it done,” the king said. “One leaves tomorrow.”
A thought suddenly crossed Scarlett’s mind. “Sam, have you seen Jonah?”
“No,” Sam said. “I wonder where he went.”
“I’ll send out a search party,” the king said.
“That’s okay, we’ll find him,” Scarlett and Sam said, as they set out to look for the prophet.
***
“Have you seen a strange-looking dude walking around, mumbling to himself?” they asked people. A group of workers repairing the street pointed to a hill overlooking the city. “We saw a guy like that heading up there an hour ago.”
“Thanks!” said Scarlett and Sam. They started up the hill.
***
It was a steep climb. Scarlett and Sam were both out of breath by the time they reached the top. They looked around. “There he is!” cried Sam.
Jonah sat on the ground underneath a trellis holding the withered remains of a dried-up plant. He was moaning. From time to time he yelled out, “Why have You forsaken me? Why did you break Your promise?”
“Who’s he talking to?” Scarlett said.
Sam rolled his eyes. “He was always a little unusual.”
“Let’s tell him to get a move on,” said Scarlett. “We don’t want to miss the Jaffa caravan. It might be the last one leaving for a month.”
***
As Scarlett and Sam came closer, they saw that Jonah was sitting on a carpet that looked an awful lot like Grandma Mina’s!
Sam nudged Scarlett. “Do you see what I see? Maybe we don’t have to go to Jaffa after all.”
“Maybe not. But we still have to get Jonah home,” Scarlett said. She approached him. “Jonah?”
He turned around, surprised to see the twins.
“What are you doing up here?” Scarlett asked him.
“I came to weep,” Jonah said.
“About what?” said Sam. “Everything’s going great. There are no more wars. The slaves are free. Nineveh’s turned into a happy place to live. What is there to cry about?”
Jonah wiped his nose on his sleeve. “My gourd died.”
“Your what?” said Sam.
“My gourd!” Jonah pointed to the withered plant on the trellis. “I sat down under the trellis, hoping to get a little shade. Suddenly a plant started to grow next to me. I’ve never seen a plant grow so fast. It burst out of the ground. Its leaves covered the trellis, giving me shade. I thanked God for the gourd. Suddenly an east wind came blowing out of the desert. The gourd dried up. Worms started eating it. It died before my eyes, leaving me with nothing but the sun beating on my head. And the citizens of Nineveh are unpunished.”
Scarlett was angry. “So you think God should have destroyed the city? You think those people deserved to be destroyed? What about the slaves who were living there? What about the kids? The babies? There are animals in Nineveh too. Doggies, kitties, camels, goats, horses. What did they ever do wrong? Don’t you think God cares about the city and those who live there? God created them!”
“I guess so. But God should be fair. The wicked should be punished, but you’re right—the slaves and the children and the doggies, kitties an
d other animals didn’t do anything wrong. Oh, what a world!” shouted Jonah as he ran off with Grandma Mina’s carpet.
Sam watched as Jonah disappeared down the hillside. “Should we try to catch Jonah and bring him back? What if we miss the caravan to Jaffa? What about our carpet?”
“Maybe we should try to get to Jaffa without Jonah or the carpet,” said Scarlett.
Suddenly the mountain, the trellis, the city, and the dried-up gourd began swirling ‘round and ‘round.
“Something’s happening! Hold on, Sam! Here we go!” Scarlett yelled.
Chapter 13
Home Free
The twins found themselves stumbling through the door of Dihanian’s carpet shop. Scarlett was the first to catch her breath.
“I’m so sorry, Mr. Dihanian. I don’t know what we’re going to tell Grandma Mina.”
“We looked everywhere for that driver. We nearly got run over by a bus,” said Sam. “What do you think we should do? Maybe we can call Loft and see if they can track down the driver. He might not even know that the carpet’s still in his car.”
“Carpet?” said Mr. Dihanian. “You mean this one?” He reached behind the desk and pulled out Grandma Mina’s carpet.
“Huh?” said Scarlett and Sam. “How did you find it?”
“I didn’t find it. It found me,” Mr. Dihanian said. “I’ll get it back to your grandmother. Your Loft driver brought it back while you were out looking for him. He discovered it in his car after he dropped you off. I asked if he wanted to wait for you. He said no; he was in a hurry. He left a message.”
Mr. Dihanian handed Sam a folded piece of paper. Scarlett and Sam read it together.
Dear Scarlett and Sam,
I’m sorry I was such a pain on our adventure, especially after we got to Nineveh. Now that I’ve had time to think about it, I realize that you two taught me a lot. I’m going to try to be a better person from now on. I’ve been hanging out with the king. We play chess every evening. He’s really a nice kid. This may surprise you, but I’ve decided to stay in Nineveh. It’s a nice place once you know your way around. I’m glad that God gave Nineveh and the king a second chance after all.
Whale of a Tale Page 6