The young man asked the girl, ‘Will you come with me?’
She was as shocked as her father. No man had ever offered more than four furs for the most beautiful girl in the village, but this young man had laid ten furs at her family’s feet. Suddenly, perhaps for the first time, the girl began to consider that being a mate was possibly a thing to be desired. She went to the young man and gave him her hand.
He gathered her into his arms and placed her on a soft fur in his cart and getting behind it, he pushed it out through the city gates and disappeared.
But, this isn’t the end of the story. I stayed in the village for quite some time, and after 40 more days, the young man returned.
This time when we came through the gates, a very beautiful girl walked straight and tall beside him. She was stunning! No one in the village had ever seen such a beautiful woman! And, the way she carried herself! It was as if royalty walked among them. The couple walked through the street and the woman greeted everyone that she saw and smiled at them. The children lined up to be patted on the head by her and she blessed them.
The people of the village said, ‘Who is this woman? Surely a princess of Barsoom! Perhaps from Helium. Her prince looks familiar though, have we seen him before? I say it’s the young man who gave ten furs for the wild girl. It can’t be. Has he walked to Helium and become a prince?’
While they said these things, the couple walked until they came to the house where the young man had laid ten furs. The family came out and stood at the door to see who the visitor was and why he came to their house.
The Princess smiled and spoke most graciously, ‘Father, my prince and I return and say a blessing on your house and upon your family,’ and the village recognized her as the wild girl.
The father stared at the young man and his face got red and his fury toward the man was great. He screamed at the man, ‘You have dealt wickedly with me! You have stolen from me! She is worth more! You wicked man!’
The princess smiled at her father and answered him sweetly, ‘Father, you have ten furs of Great Apes. My prince has made you richer than himself. He has nothing but the belt at his waist. Do not be angry, but happy for me.’
The father was not consoled but shouted, ‘No! I have ten furs, but he is the richer!’ and he stomped into the house and slammed the door behind him and left the rest of his family in the street.
The village though thought that it would be a very great thing to have such a gracious and beautiful princess living among them and they led the couple to an empty house and gave it to them and begged them to stay in the village.
Later, I was able to speak to the young man and I asked him about the transformation of the princess who was his mate.
He said to me, ‘I saw a princess and I offered the price for a princess and I took the princess and treated her like a princess and she acted like a princess and when I returned to the village it was with a princess. There’s no mystery,’ and I had to agree with him. It seemed so plain a thing, why hadn’t I known it before?
So, that’s my story about the Ten Fur Princess. What do you think of it?”
They sat silent, but after a moment, discussions started all through the bleachers as small groups talked with each other about what they had heard. I was surprised that it happened that way, but it was good.
I walked back to the platform and Tronuck said, “I will quiet them,” but I encouraged him to let them continue.
[Note to the reader: I have read back over the narrative and I still find that it sounds somewhat formal in places. It wasn’t the 1600’s for goodness sake! The original translation was like reading Shakespeare. But, as I said before, I am translating from a highly telepathic language with very singular meanings for everything into a highly imprecise language where every word has multiple meanings. The most natural way seems to be to write in a highly unnatural way. So I’ll give it another try and see if I can make it a bit more 21st century instead of 17th century. Bear with me.]
After about 10 minutes, they quieted down and I stood up and started again.
I said, “Friends, if I stopped the story here, it would be a good story. I hope you agree. But there’s a little more if you want to hear it. If you are done hearing for tonight, we can stop and I’ll tell you the rest if you invite me again. What do you say?”
“More! Finish it!” “It’s still early, tell us the rest!”
I said, “OK, there isn’t a lot more to it. After the young man and the now fabulous Princess returned to the village, I left on a journey and was gone for about 40 days. Oh, those are stories! Maybe I can tell you about those another time. Anyway, when I returned, I found a few of my old friends and they invited me to lunch and I asked about what had been happening since I had last seen them.
The thing that touches on our topic this evening is that they told me that the ‘bride price’ in this village had been abolished. Remember, this village had a different circumstance than Tranna, and every village needs its own laws and customs, so take this for what it is.
My friends explained that after the ten furs had been offered, no family was satisfied with one or two or even three as they had been. For a month, no men declared for a mate and it looked like no one ever would again. The council got together to decide what to do. The young man had his great princess and the village had learned a great lesson, but it had set the price too high and something needed to be done or that would be the last pairing in the village.
Think of it this way. This afternoon, I wanted fruit. And I used my trick of paying ten times in order to get a very juicy piece. But, if all of you now do the same, and everyone pays ten times, then I will have to pay 100 times to make the fruit feel really special. Very soon, I won’t get any fruit at all and then where will we be? The only answer is for the price of fruit to be set at the original price and all of us to pay the same.
If we do that, the fruit says, ‘Hey, you other fruit. We’re all the same. These people are good to us, let’s all be juicy and delicious. Every one of us. As long as a bitter woman doesn’t insult us, let’s be happy to bless them.’ And, another fruit says, ‘That will be good, but let’s be extra juicy if the one who buys us is kind to the girl who sells us and the workers who pick us from the orchard.’ ‘A good plan’ says another.”
Someone shouted, “Fruit have wise councilmen!” and the crowd laughed. I noticed that our councilmen did too, thankfully.
I continued, “So, the village abolished the ‘bride price’. When a man hoped for a mate, he came and asked the village for her and if they saw it as a good thing and if the girl approved, the young man gave nothing to the family except his pledge to make their daughter happy. Now, finding a mate who made their daughter happy, they did not abolish the new custom of treating every girl like a high princess of Helium. So it became the custom that the family gave some token gift to the girl, not to the man. This was a true gift, not a price, and no man expected to gain anything except a woman to love him and share his home…and to share his furs, of course! Since the gift was from her own family, she was never slighted or envious of others. If they were a poor family, maybe they gave her a good cooking pot for her new kitchen. If the family was better off, maybe a house with a garden. It was the same to the woman because it came from her family as a blessing and not a price.
And, after I left that village, as far as I know, they all lived happily ever after.”
I turned and sat down. And then I quickly ran back to the floor and said, “But my friends, do me a favor. Let’s all pay just one time for our fruit and everyone bless the seller and the pickers so that it will be good and juicy. I can’t afford to start paying 100 times for a piece…though, for the piece I chose tonight,” and I held up the one in my hand, “I would gladly pay a thousand times for the fruit that catches my eye in the hall tonight!”
This time, the crowd showed their appreciation with cheers and applause.
Chapter 24 Abolishing the Bride Price
Tr
onuck stood up and took the floor.
He said, “Friends, I like this new way of speaking from the floor. It’s good to see your faces better.”
He walked around the hall and acknowledged many that he recognized.
He continued, “I’m in a very good mood. I’m in such a good mood that I’m not even bothered that Mark tells a story about another village, when my heart knows that what he really does is rebuke me for a lack of wisdom in my own house and in front of the people who should think me wise in my own right!”
I stood and shouted sincerely, “Tronuck, I meant know offense, please, it was for consideration, not a rebuke!”
Several men shouted, “Tronuck, let him live! He does not want to die at your hand. It was not meant as an insult!”
Everyone laughed, and so did Tronuck.
He said, “Oh, be still Mark. I said that I was not offended. If you wish to insult me, I’m sure that you would have found a better way to do it…and with fewer words! Let me put it this way. People, I think that this ‘other village’ has a good idea. Maybe we can learn from them. Tell me, shout it out. What will happen if we abolish the bride price in our village, as long as all men swear to treat our women as a Princess of Helium? What will happen to the village?”
Someone shouted, “I for one will declare for a second mate!”
“You will?”
“I will! My heart has been stirred. I swear, I will treat my first mate as a princess and when she says that I’m ready, I will ask for a second. What do you say, princess? Will you make me a better man?”
“I will!”
Tronuck said, “Hmm, well, that sounds like a reason to do what we consider. Shout it out. I like this new way. What will happen if we abolish the bride price?”
Someone said, “Without a bride price, we will not go into battle to negotiate on a day when all we want is…well, you know.”
Another said, “As a woman, no one will argue ‘Oh, she’s not worth so much, take less.’”
Tronuck said, “You make it sound like a very good idea.”
After more of the same, I got up and stood beside Tronuck and said, “Councilman, the proof is in the doing, is it not? Shall we try it and see what happens? If the fruit is good, do what you all think best, and if the fruit is bad, we’ll know it right away.”
Tronuck looked at me quizzically.
I said, “Let me declare for a new mate, with no bride price and let’s see what happens!”
He said, “You would have another? Tonight?”
I leaned in and whispered, “At least one, my friend, and perhaps more,” and I clapped him on the back.
Tronuck stared at me in wonder. Then he turned to the platform and walked toward it and said to the crowd, “Mark has asked us to try this new way and see what will happen. Let us try it. Dorel, you are First Councilwoman, do your duty.”
Tronuck took his seat and Dorel stood. She said, “Mark, take your seat. I will call Aeyli-ah-Mark, Torani-ah-Mark, and Beyla-ah-Mark. Please come and stand before the council.”
When they stood before her she said, “Now, it has been the custom since the Fall of Time that the mates of a man appear periodically to see if a man should be encouraged to take another into his house. But, by law, we have no need to do so if a man willingly wants it. In this case, he may take as many as he may wish, as long as his current mates are happy and agree to the new declaration. Your man, Mark-ah-Aeyli-ah-Torani-ah-Beyla has asked the council to consider petition for a fourth mate to be added to your household. We’ll do this the old way. I ask you, does this man make you happy enough that you will agree to another if he chooses?”
Aeyli answered, “As first mate, I will answer. We have discussed this matter. We know the girl. We also know that Mark has not touched her, not even to touch his finger to her shoulder, though she did accidentally brush her hand against him in innocence once. We declare that we three are made very, very happy in all respects, including in the furs and we most eagerly invite this new princess to our home. I will add that even if he asked for six more in one night, we are convinced that we would all be happy!”
The crowd gasped and laughed at her declaration and at the thought of so many girls and the ‘happiness’ that Aeyli said that they would all have.
Even Dorel looked surprised when Rani and Belle nodded enthusiastically and said, “Oh yes. Without question!”
Dorel said, “Then, we must approve. Mark, come stand before us with your mates.”
I got up and joined them in front of the platform.
Dorel said, “Mark, call your choice and ask her your question, and if she will come join you, we will consider the mating and give you the advice of the council.”
I said, “Friends, one of your fairest has captivated me. I cannot remove her from my mind. From the moment I saw her, and when I first heard her voice, I knew that I must ask for her hand and could only hope that she would accept me. My heart pounds within my chest, just as it does when I see these princesses who already bless me with their love and beauty. And the beauty of this girl makes my eyes want to pop from their sockets! I cannot stand to wait any longer! The girl I want has taken a vow of silence for a time, so she will not speak, but we will know her answer by her actions.”
I paused and took a deep breath and said, “Alexia, will you come stand beside me and let me take you to my house and let me call you princess?”
The crowd was silent, but small gasps could be heard here and there. Alexia stood to her full height, and looking at no one but me, walked to my side and I gave her my arm and she clung to it. She clung to my arm, but even so she stood as tall and straight as she could, looking every bit a princess.
I whispered, “I hurried. It was faster,” and she smiled at me and squeezed my arm. Then I whispered, “My princess, I would also speak for Sashar tonight if you will approve. If not, I won’t do it.”
Alexia’s head snapped up to look at me in surprise and she nodded enthusiastically. I was glad. I didn’t know how this would go.
Dorel didn’t hesitate for a second, but said to the council, “Show me your hands. Do you approve of the mating?”
Every hand shot into the air. She said, “Then it’s done. Alexia-ah-Mark, we wish you every happiness!”
Aeyli handed me an anklet that matched the others and I knelt and fastened it to Alexia’s foot.
A voice shouted, “Mark has asked to see what will happen if we abolish the bride price, let us show you!”
We turned to see who spoke and both Narhu and Oshen rushed down from the bleachers and onto the floor.
Narhu said, “This is a great surprise! It will make the village very happy and it makes my friend Oshen the woodworker exceedingly sad. He has lost a fine craftsmen because we assume that as a princess of the House of Mark, she will not return to his shop. Sorry Oshen. But, here’s what he and I together propose. As a gift to Alexia-ah-Mark, the wood-crafter, we ask that the village gift the small house behind the House of Mark as a workshop for Alexia-ah-Mark and for whatever other purpose that they may have for it. My friend Oshen and I will repair it and outfit it for any work that Alexia-ah-Mark wants. It is our gift to her because she is like family to us.”
Oshen said, “In this way, though my shop loses a great worker, the village will not. Narhu and I will hire new apprentices and it will be a gift to all of us, as long as Alexia will continue to consult with us and lend her eye for building and woodworking to us from time to time. That’s what we propose as a gift. That is what happens with this experiment where no bride price is negotiated.”
Tronuck came down and said, “Oh, well, we have a proposal. This is a thing that concerns us all. What do the people say? Do we gift the little house to Alexia-ah-Mark and the House of Mark for a workshop and do we take advantage of the offer of Nauru and Oshen to repair it and furnish it? Alexia is like a daughter to us, isn’t she? I had never thought about it, but yes, I suppose that we are all her family because she has no one else.”
Someone shouted, “Alexia has a prince! It signals the Start of Time for sure! Congratulations, Alexia-ah-Mark! Congratulations!”
Dorel said from where she sat, “Yes, congratulations. We are all very happy for you. May your vow of silence be ended soon so that we can hear from you about your happiness. But there’s another matter as well. The ah-Mark maidens have said that they will be happy and approve if Mark takes even six more, so I will not question them again. Mark, what else is in your heart tonight?”
I thanked Narhu and Oshen and Tronuck and they returned to their seats. I held Alexia’s hand and the other girls stood with me as well.
I said, “Friends of Tranna, the ratio of men to women here is one to five, or so I am told. If I were in a different place, I would be more than satisfied with any one of these wonderful mates. But so that I may set a good example…”
I paused for laughter. “So that I may set a good example of one man for five women, I wish to ask one more if she will join me. I told you that a very fine piece of fruit had caught my eye. Alexia has made me very happy by agreeing to join me. She is the princess that I would give ten furs for, except that we don’t do that now. But I have spied a singular piece of fruit in the market and my heart is captivated and my princesses tell me that we must have it. They tell me that it is sure to be juicy and delicious and tasty beyond comparison.
Now, my heart pounds again. For Alexia, my heart pounded from pride that she would accept me; now my heart pounds for fear that another might not. You see, until a moment ago, I had not so much as touched a finger to Alexia’s hand, but now I ask for the hand of one that I have never even spoken more than a word to and have never spoken of my feelings at all. I have no indication of whether she will accept me or not.
The Start of Time Page 21