I was once on a plane, flying from America back to London. I didn't have much to occupy myself with for the flight, but fortunately was sat near to an old austrian man, and beside him was a well-dressed business woman. He introduced himself to her, and in a friendly and polite way asked her whether she was on an outgoing or return trip, and what she was looking forward to on the other end.
She answered, with a quiet and reserved voice, that she was returning home, and looked ahead to seeing her children. She suddenly seemed to open a barrier, and admitted to the old man that she had recently withheld help for her friend in order to spend more energy on her family. But although she regretted this, she had promised herself that she would help her friend later, when she had more to give, and believed this was the right thing to do. After all, she said, friends come and go- but family is special.
I was surprised when the man smiled and nodded knowingly, and then told her this story of family...
A few hundred years ago, there was a small village near the borders of Russia. This village was on rocky grasslands, but to one side of it was a thick forest, and beyond that a single mountain. The villagers, as a rule, kept away from the forest, because it was inhabited by a strange beast that came from a lake in the end of a long cave deep inside the mountain. Legend said the beast had the body of a man, and the head of a white tiger. Legend said it had a coat of white hair on it's back and arms, and sharp claws where nails should have been on it's fingers and toes. Legend said the beast was to blame for many cases of missing livestock and lone travellers every year. Legend said.
But one man who grew up in this village had little fear of the forest, the cave, and the beast. He was not stupid- he was cautious when he needed to be, but he did not see the leged of the beast as a good enough reason to stay away from the forest, and its valuable wood. The other villagers, jealous of his bravery, disliked him.
So when the man had grown up, he built a small home for himself in the edge of the wood. The villagers were glad that they would see him less often. The man started his work of felling the trees and selling the valuable wood, and he gained a comfortable amount of wealth. But he did this to show his bavery, not to gain the wealth. The villagers becaome more jealous, and despised him.
One day, when the man was working in the forest, he was approached by a beautiful woman with wings on her feet and hands. She said to him, "I am a fairy from the heavens, and I have seen that you have little fear. I wish to reward this, and so I give you the gift of this golden cloak. It has the special property that if you ever hold this cloak against any wound, it will be instantly healed." After saying this, the fairy left, and the man hid the precious cloak in his home.
Later in that year, a woman from the village who had never despised the man was attacked by a wolf. The man heard of her wounds, and brought his cloak to the village and held it against her wounds. She was instantly healed as the fairy had promised. They became husband and wife, but her father did not approve of this. Her angry father was a respected leader in the village, and so the villagers hated the man even more.
The married couple lived in the edge of the forest together, and had a daughter. She was brave like her father, and they called her Asii. Some time later, they had a son. He did not seem as brave as his sister, and the family were soon dismayed to find that he could not talk- the boy was mute! But he was patient and trusting, and never grew annoyed at his dissability. They called him Cappad. They grew together as a family- father, mother, daughter and son- and they were happy.
There was a mob of boys in the village, who both hated the family as they had been taught, and wanted to earn approval from their own parents. One day when they knew Asii was visiting the village to buy food from the market, they went to Cappad, who was playing at the edge of the forest.
"Cappad! Listen and act quickly," they said to him, "Your sister has travelled to the village today as you know, but on the path she has been bitten and scratched by the beast with the tiger head! She is currently in the village, with painful wounds. She will survive if she is healed by the golden cloak. You must listen and act quickly! You must go to your fathers house, and bring the cloak to us. Then we will take you to your sister, and you can heal her with the cloak."
Cappad did not know that the boys might be lying, and ran back to his fathers house to fetch the golden cloak. He then returned to the mob of boys. They took the cloak from him, and beat him. But they thought to themselves that they could do even more than this.
"Let us taunt the rest of the family, and leave them abandoned in the mountain cave," said one of the boys. The rest of the mob agreed, and so they ran through the forest holding Cappad and the cloak.
They first ran past the road, where Asii saw them with her brother and the cloak, and she began to chase them. Then they ran into the forest and past the family home. In the home, Cappad's mother saw them with him and the cloak, and she joined Asii in chasing them. But Asii began to be tired. Then they ran further through the forest, past the place where Cappad's father was felling trees with his axe. He saw them with his son and cloak, and he joined his wife and daughter in chasing them. But his wife began to be tired, and Asii was very tired.
The mob of boys reached the cave in the mountain, and ran through the underground tunnels, which became increasingly dark as they travelled deeper. Before long, one of the boys said, "Cappad is heavy, but the golden cloak is light. We should leave him here, and then continue down this tunnel. This will help us stay fast." The other boys in the mob agreed. They beat Cappad again, so that now he could hardly move, and left him in a hole in the cave.
Cappad lay alone in the hole. His whole body hurt. He waited for help to come.
He heard running footsteps approaching, and a face peered down the hole. It was the face of his father! The father felt torn, but thought to himself, "I have found my son! But he is badly wounded, and I do not have the cloak which will heal him. I should catch the boys first and return here with the cloak, so that I can be of more help to Cappad. Besides, my wife is not far behind me, and she will find Cappad and stay with him."
So Cappad saw his father promise to return, and then the father continued running down the tunnel.
Cappad lay alone in the hole. His whole body hurt. He waited for help to come.
He heard slow running footsteps approaching, and a face peered down the hole. It was the face of his mother! The mother felt torn, but thought to herself, "I have found my son! But he is badly wounded, and my husband may not be able to take the golden cloak back from a mob of young boys very easily. I should help my husband catch the boys first, so that we can return here with the cloak, so that I can be of more help to Cappad. Besides, Asii is not far behind me, and she will find her brother and stay with him."
So Cappad saw his mother promise to return, and then the mother continued running down the tunnel.
Cappad lay alone in the hole. His whole body hurt. He waited for help to come.
Finally, he heard walking footsteps approaching, and a face peered down the hole. It was the face of a white tiger! But the tiger-man did not bare his sharp teeth, and Cappad was, strangely, not afraid. The tiger-man reached into the hole and gently lifted Cappad out, careful not to let his clawed hands pierce any skin. The tiger-man then winced and grunted as he ripped off some of the white fur from his arms and back, and held the fur against the wounds inflicted by the mob. The wounds were instantly healed. The tiger-man then lifted Cappad onto his shoulders, and took him out of the cave, through the forest, and back to his house, giving him fruits and nuts from the forest as they went. Seeing Cappad healed, fed, and now able to rest, the tiger-man left the house in peace.
On the plane, the business woman looked straight ahead, obviously not sure what to make of this. The old austrian man, having finished his story, stayed silent in case she was able to put her confusion into words. When it was obvious she couldn't, she simply turned to him with the unspoken question on her face. He provided his explanation in the form of another question. "Who," he said to her, "was family to Cappad?"
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