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The Idler Boy and the Congales



Once Upon a time, there was an Idler Boy who lived with his mother. Their house was on the edge of a huge forest. The Idler Boy loved the trees and climbed them consistently. He collected flowers most often found on the tops of trees and tree barks from the forest for the flower shop that he and his mother ran. 13 women lived deep in the forest, where the trees were highest. These 13 women held the monsters of the forest and protected the forest and the villagers. The villagers believed that wealth and abundance came with the branches planted by these 13 women, and that the rains fell. A very important job of the Idler Boy was to carry the food and drinks that the villagers gave to the women of this forest in time. The Idler Boy was the only one who was not afraid to do this job, while almost everyone was afraid of the 13 women of the forest.


One day, it was the day of Congales, the scariest of the 13 women of the forest. Congales was the most impatient of these women. She always had fuzzy and fluffy hair. Sometimes she sat in her rocking chair by the fireplace in her scrawly and crooked house and combed her hair. Within the coldest stormy days of the year, the darkest one was called Congales' day. On that day, everyone retreated to their homes because the most dangerous monsters of the forest and those lands could come out of the shadows. On Congales day, a dish called Malay which was made of milk dew and corn flour was to be delivered to Black Congales, that is, Congales. Congales had to gather her strength since she dealt with monsters all day and night. Each of the villagers carefully cooked Malays and put them in nice baskets. They gave the food to the Idler Boy so that he would make the delivery. But the Idler Boy saw rare blooming flowers in the forest on that stormy day and collected them. He climbed the trees, put the baskets aside. Also knocked over some. He caused most of the Malays to be cooled down. He got late and late as he kept idling around. When the complete darkness fell, strange beings began to appear in the forest, and the Idler Boy got afraid and wanted to return home. But he thought Congales would be very angry if he didn't deliver her the Malays in the basket. The women of the forest knew how the Idler Boy was always late and how impish he was. Congales was grumpy and dangerous, even the most dangerous. The Idler Boy was scared. He bewailed himself about being so late. He went all the way to the door of Congales' strange house and knocked.

The door to Congales' strange house was creaked open. But she was not in there. The boy walked in. He left the cold Malays on the table. At that moment, he got afraid that he was late and felt remorseful. He thought about how angry Congales could be, and he felt thoroughly bad. When he went out, he saw it was pretty dark. He heard the sounds of strange creatures, and the cold of the storm gave him the creeps. Now he was afraid of going back home. Because the Idler Boy had never spent a night in the woods before. He hid himself in Congales' house that night. He was so afraid that Congales would come and get crossed with him or beat him with her pearl-inlaid comb. Congales was known for such grumpiness. So he hid well. He didn't make a sound and slept where he was hiding. It was quite a stormy night.


In the middle of the night, the door was opened with a blare and Congales entered the house with a strong wind. She was covered in dirt like something the cat brought in, and she had a very grumpy look on her face. She went in and threw her muddy coat aside, filled the fireplace with woods, and began to swing in her chair and caress her cat, which had fluffy fur like her own hair. She saw the Malay plates that were cold, overturned, stained. She had had such a bad day that she couldn't defeat most of the monsters, and she was more tired than ever. Monster-defeating was getting harder and harder. She took a few spoons from the Malay while she was complaining. Although she was very hungry, she didn't like this Malay at all, and she spat it into the fire. She fell asleep swinging in her chair. The groggy Idler Boy watched Congales, and when he saw that she was asleep, his eyelids also succumbed to sleep again. But just before daylight in the morning, Congales woke up vigorously and started mumbling strange words in her chair, swinging rhythmically. On the one hand, she was taking the ropes from her basket and weaving them.


"I wove and wove,

I wove the Idler Boy's fate

May he be tucked by each clew

May he be untied by each tie

May he fell from the high


I wove and wove

I wove the Idler Boy's fate"


As she was saying those words, her eyes looked at a strange point and twitched, as if she was under hypnosis. She repeated it over and over again. She then took what she had woven and put it in a pot, sprinkled a handful of ash from the furnace on it. Then she threw a few more firewood into the fire and continued to sleep in her chair.


The Idler Boy saw this strange image. When he saw that the day was starting to light up, he opened the window and ran out when he was sure that Congales was also asleep. As the first lights of the sun lit up, the Idler Boy wondered if what he saw was real or a dream. He wondered about the meaning of the poetic words of Congales. And then he got home.


For a few days and nights that followed, the people of the village did not leave their homes. Because there were creepy creatures running around. But then these creatures were confined to the forest. Everyone asked the Idler Boy if he had given Congales her Malay. They wondered if Congales had fallen from power and could not contain the monsters on this changing season. The Idler Boy didn't tell anyone the truth. After that, the days continued to repeat each other as before.


Days and nights chased each other like this. Just as time changes everything, it changed the Idler Boy as well. Now he was less willing to go to the forest and the women of the forest. The dark animals and creatures of the forest multiplied. He still liked to climb trees, but every time he climbed high, he fell. Over time, The Idler Boy also realized that climbing trees is a talent for youth and childhood. He thought he was growing up and could not climb anymore. He stopped climbing trees.


Besides his floristry business, he became interested in the art of blowing glass. Their shop where they sold unprecedented flowers before became dim when they could not climb trees and go into the forest, but the art of blowing glass and the wonderful vases he made became proverbial. The Idler Boy then had many friends. But whoever he was close to, opened his heart, confined his troubles, after a period of time, these people broke these magnificent vases of The Idler Boy. There was one incident, and then the second, and at the third time, The Idler Boy became extremely upset. He sat down among the broken glass which he decked out with a thousand patterns, and didn't know what to do with his friends who broke his vases that he worked so hard on. He was both very angry and very upset. He confronted to his mother about what had happened.


His mother listened, listened and listened. And then he said, "Oh my idler son, when you are tied up, you will be sad, and do not tie yourself with a friend." She put her idler son, whose head was down on her lap, fists clenched with anger, and with eyes swollen with sadness, to sleep. The Idler Boy had a dream about Congales. Congales was weaving with a clew in her hand, as she did years ago.


When the Idler Boy woke up, he remembered his dream and decided to find Congales. As he went into the forest, he saw all kinds of creatures and monsters. She was hidden and disguised from each. But on his way to Congales, a giant black wolf followed him. The Isler Boy tricked the wolf 3 times. And he arrived at Congales' door before he was caught again. He knocked and Congales opened the door. This time, without cooling it down, he put the Malay that his mother had cooked, on Congales' table. Congales ate it and became nicely full. Then they started talking by the fire. They talked about monsters in the forest and creepy creatures. Congales said she had sealed the entrances to the forest. No one but the Idler Boy could get in or out. But since the Idler Boy's fate was here, he was allowed to go in and out. But Congales was old now, and dhe needed the help of The Idler Boy to hunt down all the creatures. Congales first gave the Idler Boy an arrow, a spear, and a bow. Then she drew an eye in the middle of his forehead. Then she read a pareyer to the eye and blew it to his soul. They went hunting together. They hunted all kinds of creatures in the forest, drove out the monsters. And then they lifted the seals one by one. This took forty days and forty nights exactly. After that, the dark and eerie air of the forest disappeared. People started to come back to the forest. When they returned to the strange hut of the Congales, they found the other women of the forest. These women set a nice table for The Idler Boy and Congales. They prepared food with luscious smells. They sat on on the table and ate and drank altogether. And then The Idler Boy talked about weaving. Congales removed the ashy weave from the pot and threw it into the fire, burning it. The fate of the Idler Boy was now set free.


The Idler Boy fell from high again and was upset when he was tied up, but not every time. He even remembered to climb better when he fell. He knew who to love and with whom to get tied. So adventure never left the Idler Boy. He put unique flowers that he collected from the forest in his vases with a thousand and one patterns, and the reputation of his art spread from land to land.


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