by T F Carthick
She stepped closer to him and took him into her arms and gently stroked his hair. After a few minutes of silence, she spoke. “Why don’t you go to the tanners and get enough leather for twelve shoes, cut it and leave the pieces on the table like you had that piece yesterday. Maybe whoever made that one shoe yesterday will make the remaining ones as well.”
A gleam came into Binkle’s eye.
“No. Binkle, no. We can’t do it again,” said Flip.
“But if we do not help him, you heard what all those people threatened to do to him. Can we leave him to his fate? Having got him into this, isn’t it our responsibility to get him out as well?”
Flip nodded his head hesitantly, but not without muttering something about how he had warned Binkle not to get involved.
* * *
As the days went by, orders kept pouring in and the two elves were at work every evening transforming leather pieces into pairs of shoes.
“I am really fed up of this. How many shoes do those fellows need?” said Binkle one day.
“See. I told you…”
“Don’t start off that again. No need to rub it in. Let us forget what I should or should not have done and try to figure what needs to be done now. I thought in a few days, all of them will have shoes and leave the poor shoemaker alone. But this seems to be never-ending. The same fellows keep coming again and again demanding more and more shoes. I don’t know what they want so many shoes for. I mean a person can wear only as many shoes as the legs he or she has, right? Going by the number of shoes each one has bought, one would think they are centipedes with a hundred legs. With just two legs, what do they want so many pairs of shoes for?”
“Maybe they wear a different one every day?”
“Stupid though the idea seems, it does seem plausible. But I have observed them. No. They don’t do that. They wear the same pair of shoes most days of the week. The rest they just keep safely in a room and guard them as if they were some treasure.”
“Maybe they are hoarding supplies for the winter? You know ants do that all the time. Probably humans do it too.”
“Come on. How many shoes does one need for winter?” scoffed Binkle. “The number of shoes some of these people have hoarded would probably last them seven generations.”
“Maybe it is not just for them. Maybe they will have a lot of relatives from other towns coming over to stay with them for winter.”
“Yeah. If each of them have a hundred relatives coming over. Can you imagine what would happen to this village if that many people were to descend upon it?”
“That is all I could think of. I am now absolutely clueless.”
“It is indeed a great mystery. If we get to the bottom of this, it will vastly advance our knowledge of human behavior.”
“Hmm…by the way, I forgot to tell you something. Yesterday, when you had wandered away by yourself for a stroll by the riverside, a scrawny fellow in rags had turned up at the shop. He spoke to Josef for a while and went away with a mournful look on his face. From the condition of his shoes, I presume he wanted a new pair. Josef probably refused him.”
“He must be one of the folks they call ‘poor’.”
“What do you mean by poor?” Flip asked.
“The ones who don’t have money.”
“Those pieces of metal you mentioned? The ones that were supposed to work like magic?”
“Right.”
“Ah! I get it. The poor are like some of the folks of our kind who are born without magic, eh? Don’t the rest of the humans help these poor humans? We elves do our utmost to help out the ones lacking magic, don’t we?”
“Apparently, humans do not. Humans seem to be an avaricious race, as we are finding out. Most of them like to hoard the metal pieces and keep them to themselves.”
“Then how do these poor folks survive?”
“They work from dawn to dusk in exchange for just a few of these metal pieces,”
“So, they do manage to acquire some money as well. Then why is that fellow poor? Doesn’t he work hard enough to earn sufficient metal pieces?”
“He probably does, but whatever he gets most likely barely suffices to get his family a few morsels of food, a few rags to keep himself covered and keep his dwelling in good repair. He could have still afforded the shoemaker’s earlier price. But now the rich now pay Josef so much more for the shoes—this fellow obviously can’t match that.”
“The rich, I presume, are the more powerful human magicians?”
“You are right.”
“How do humans become rich or poor? Are they born that way like our folks are born with varying levels of magic?”
“I don’t know. But since the pieces of metal reside outside of humans, unlike magic which resides within us, it can be given and taken. So, I presume some people become rich by stealing money from others or tricking them into giving them their pieces of metal as well. “
“Oh, no! Even that happens? I am so glad such things can’t happen with magic?”
“Indeed, Flip. Also, some people voluntarily give these metal pieces in exchange for items like the shoes or for performing some chores such as household work for them, like they gave Josef.”
“That is interesting. How do you know so much about humans?”
“We were not always isolated from humans, you know. There were times when we used to deal extensively with them. Our archives have records of those times.”
He did not add what were the outcomes of these so-called extensive dealings with humans.
“Do the archives say anything about their love for shoes, then?” asked Flip, who was still trying to solve that very puzzling issue.
“That it doesn’t. Which is what surprises me. It seems like they have developed this desire to hoard shoes only after our arrival. They don’t seem to have been collecting shoes earlier on; nearly all the shoes they have hoarded are Josef’s, or rather ours.”
“Yes. That seems very strange? How do we get to the bottom of this mystery?”
“I think we should observe some of these rich persons for a few days. I guess that will give us some clues as to their behavior.
* * *
The two of them soon found themselves listening to conversations in the rich men’s abodes.
“I have seventy-eight of Josef’s shoes.”
“I have ninety-three of them.”
“I have more than both you folks. I have one-hundred-and-nineteen of them. How about that?”
Flip whispered, “What is going on here?”
“They seem to be having a competition about who has more shoes. Can’t understand why they are doing that though. What is there to be proud about having more shoes? Let us visit some more of these folks.”
They came to a large house. Within, a man reclined on a luxurious couch and a woman was seated in front of him doing her nails meticulously.
“Did you know how humiliated I felt when I met Mrs. Jones? I invite her to see our shoe collection and it turns out they have eleven shoes more than us. And the Smiths? They have twelve more than us. At this rate, we would be the ones with the least number of shoes in the entire town. We dare not show our face at any public place.”
“Don’t worry, dear. I have placed a bulk order for twenty-five shoes with Josef. Tomorrow we would have the most shoes in the entire town.”
Flip nodded at Binkle, a knowing expression on his face. “So, this is how the orders keep piling up? If it goes on like this, it is never going to end.”
“Even I fear so. Unless all of them have equal number of shoes. But that will never happen. Always someone will want to get one up on the rest of his fellow men. So, he will acquire an extra shoe and the whole vicious cycle will follow again.”
“But I am still unable to fathom the exact reason for their behavior.”
“I think I am getting to make some sense of this,” said Binkle, “I suspect they are trying to use the shoes to measure their wealth.”
“Using the shoes to
measure wealth. As in…they fill the metal pieces inside the shoes and see how many shoes of money they have?”
“Not exactly. Let me try to explain. Can an elf’s magic power be measured just by looking at an elf?”
“No.”
“So how does one find out who has more magic power?”
“Through magic feats performed of course. What does that have to do with the shoes and measurement of money?”
“Maybe for humans, acquisition of shoes are the feats of magic. The one who acquires the most number of shoes will probably be deemed the most powerful of them all.”
“But that is so silly. And they are not even the ones making the shoes. We are.”
“Well, that is how humans are. Ownership is more important to them than creation. They even have this principle that possession is nine-tenths of the law.”
By now it had become dark. The two had been so lost in their conversation, they had not even noticed.
“I say, we need to get back to the shoe maker and work on the shoes now. Let us get the shoes done first and continue our discussion later.”
Soon they were at the shoe makers and two hundred pieces of cut leather awaited them.
“So many! The very sight of shoes has begun to sicken me. What have you gotten us into, Binkle?”
“Even I am beginning to hate shoes. I even see them in my dreams. But we started this. We have to hang around and see it to the finish-we can’t leave the poor shoemaker to his fate and go away. Or can we? Maybe he can think of something himself, now that he has money.”
“I don’t know. Even I am not having a good feeling about leaving him high and dry. Let us stay put for a few more days and see.”
It was late in the night by the time they were done with the shoes. Contrary to popular belief, magic actually requires considerable effort. Law of conservation of energy and all that, you know. Energy for the magic has to come from somewhere; and while some of it is drawn from nature, most of it comes from the body of the elves. Serious business magic is, not some random mumbo-jumbo, wand waving and making anything one wishes to happen in the wink of an eye.
“I was wondering about something,” said Flip. “How exactly does the magic of these metal pieces work? They seem so ordinary and I can’t feel any magic about them.”
“Probably only the humans can feel the human magic,” replied Binkle. “The metal pieces, when given to a human, seems to compel them to give something in return or do perform some task which the giver desires.”
“Hmm…interesting. They are like a mind control spell that gives one power over another’s will, eh?”
“Yes. Kind of.”
“One more thought came to my mind. You compared measurement of magic to measurement of money. But they are not the same, are they? Money is physical unlike magic. The pieces of money can easily be counted to determine who has most, can’t they? Why do these elaborate feats like acquisition of shoes one does not even need?”
“Humans somehow seem to thrive on complexity. If there is something to be done, they always seem to figure out the most complicated way to do it.”
“And if they have to do feats, why not do something more useful. Why something so useless as acquiring a shoe collection?”
“Ah! Now you have got to the crux of human psyche. They seem place a great premium on lack of utility. They consider the ability to cherish the most useless of things such as statues, shiny stones and shoes to be the very essence of their civilization and culture. Humans think appreciation of useful things like food and shelter is something which beasts do—they consider themselves too superior for such mundane tastes.”
“Phew! The world of these humans seems so labyrinthine! How the hell did you manage to decipher this maze?”
“Now you understand my fascination with humans, don’t you? Studying humans is like solving a puzzle.”
* * *
“Winter is coming soon. What do we do now?”
“Yes. Most of our shoes are worn out. We will die of frost bite. Some of us already have corns on our feet and are struggling to walk. Since the cold has not yet started, we are still somehow pulling along. Once the cold comes, we are done for?”
“I understand all the Lords buy out all of Josef’s shoes and he has none that we can afford. But nowadays even Adolf, Winston, Ben and Frank are no longer selling any.”
The two elves were visiting the workers’ quarter to get a firsthand experience of poverty. Flip looked at Binkle, puzzled. “You explained to me why they are not able to afford Joseph’s shoes. But I don’t understand why the other cobblers have stopped making shoes.”
“Even I am curious. Let us pay them a visit,” replied Binkle.
One by one they went to each of the shoemakers’ workshops and found each of them locked. Then Binkle cast a spell to find out where the cobblers had gone. His magic pointed them to a large banyan tree under which all five of them were gathered. Binkle and Flip made themselves invisible and positioned themselves at earshot distance to follow their conversation.
“Adolf, I have not made a shoe for months.”
“Me neither, Benito.”
The other three too shook their heads as well.
“We can no longer afford to buy any leather to make shoes. The price of leather has gone up so much that the leather itself would cost twice the price of a pair of shoes.”
“Can’t we increase the price of the shoes to match the price of leather?”
“The ones who can afford such prices won’t come to us—they want only Josef’s shoes. And the rest won’t be able to afford such exorbitant prices.”
“I mean many of the working folk no longer even have shoes. Can’t they somehow put together a bit more money for shoes? Winter is approaching, and they really need them.”
“You know how it is with us poor folks. We see everything in terms of how many meals the same money would have bought us. And at the very least any shoes we could make with the prices of leather being so high, will cost them the price of twenty-five meals. And who would even dream of going hungry for an entire week just for a pair of shoes?”
“You are right, Winston. Also, even if we somehow manage to pull together enough money to buy some leather at the current prices, Josef will bid even higher and take away all the leather. There is no way we can keep up with Josef. He is rolling in money.”
“Yes. Josef seems to be doing extremely well—all of the town’s notables are crazy after his shoes. I don’t know how he manages to create such exquisite shoes, that too in such large quantities.”
“This is all some witchcraft at work. I tell you, he has sold away his soul to the devil. Those shoes are not the work of human hands. Only demons could have made something like them.”
“Whatever it be, our livelihood is gone. And our families are starving. So, what do we do?”
Binkle’s face had gone pale and his eyes had lost their sheen. “I never…”
“You never what? Didn’t I tell you we should not be interfering in human affairs. See what we have done now? So many people are suffering because of us.”
“What do we do now, Flip? I am lost.”
“Let us stop helping with those shoes that are cause of so much grief at least now. Maybe if Josef stops making so many shoes, leather prices will come down and other cobblers can start buying leather and making shoes again for the poorer folks. Let us stop at once.”
Binkle nodded his head sadly. That night they didn’t visit Josef’s workshop. The next morning, they hid some distance from his shop and waited to watch what Josef’s reaction would be. Josef was dismayed to find the cut leather pieces lying as he had left them the previous evening. Even before could recover from this sudden jolt, customers had begun to arrive. The first to arrive was the same portly fellow who had bought the first shoe.
“Hiya, my man Josef. Hope you have my shoes ready. I thought instead of troubling you to come and deliver them at my home, I shall come and pick them up myself.”
“Well, Sir….”
“Well. What? Don’t tell me you don’t have the shoes ready yet. Seems like all the attention your shoes have been receiving has gone to your head, eh? I may not be the town’s mayor or own the largest manor. But remember—I was your first customer. If I had not bought that first shoe of yours, you would have had none of this.”
“Yes, sir. I have not forgotten what you had done for me. I really wanted to have your shoes ready by today. But I was indisposed and could not work on them. Give me some more time.”
“You better have my shoes ready by tomorrow or you know what I will do.”
One by one the others followed and left with threats. The old man looked completely shaken at the end of it.
“What have we done now? We have got this old shoe maker into trouble—just what we had been seeking to avoid. What do we do now, Binkle? We are between a rock and a hard place—damned if we do, damned if we don’t.”
“I don’t know. I think it is as well we refrain from interfering any more. He has enough money now. I think he should flee the town and settle down somewhere else. I hope he is wise enough to decide on such a course of action.”
That night, they visited the workshop to see what Josef had decided to do. There were a set of rich garments folded neatly and placed next to the pieces of leather. There was a note attached to the them.
It said,
“My dear friends whoever have been helping me, I realize I have been ungrateful and not reciprocated your generosity. I would like to remedy that. Here is a small token of my appreciation of all your efforts. Please return to help me. I am in dire straits now—without your help, I am doomed.”
Binkle read the note twice and handed it to Flip. “What do we do now?” asked Flip.
“As we had already decided, any further help we render to Josef will only be a disservice to all the others. Let me write a note back to him.”
Binkle took the same paper and wrote on its reverse.
“Thanks a lot for your gift, my friend. But we regret to inform you that we cannot help you anymore. We understand the situation you are in and it is a difficult one indeed. There is but one way you can escape this situation—flee the town at once.”