The Carpenter and The Goat Herder

By Merlin Goldman

A fantasy novella by Merlin Goldman. A 100 pages with illustrations.

 

A supernatural tale of a widowed carpenter and a beguiling woman carved from an ancient tree felled by lightning. How is it possible that Kip's hands and simple tools have created such beauty? How can a statue come alive? And what are Ekundu's intentions? All the villagers succumb to her charms but worst of all, so does Mzungu, the local warlord, who raids the village for children to sustain his army. Ekundu gives herself in exchange for their safety, leaving Kip alone again. Unable to persuade the village Elders to mount a rescue, he treks to Mzungu's fort, followed by his donkey. But will it be Ekundu who ultimately rescues him? And what of the mysterious goat herder who appears unexpectedly? Does she know what magic is at play?

 

When widowed carpenter, Kip, returns from market in heavy rain, he stops to help a distressed goat herder. That night, the ancient mahogany tree in Kip's village is felled by lightning, crushing a house. Kip helps to rescue a villager trapped inside but shuns the celebrations. He accepts the tree's trunk as a gift. Kip, guided by an unseen hand, carves the heavy wood into the shape of a woman. It comes alive and calls herself Ekundu. Kip tries to hide her from the curious villagers, but she can't resist exploring. After all, she's got feet now. She makes friends easily, even Kip's grumpy donkey takes a shine to her. When a desperate warlord Mzungu returns to the village, Ekundu gives herself up in exchange for him taking the last of the children. Crestfallen, Kip pleads with the Elders to mount a rescue, but they refuse. Kip trades his wife's pendant to hire an assassin, but they fail. Kip travels to the Mzungu's fort, followed by his donkey. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Magnetical
• Release date: Oct 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781916064676

Merlin Goldman

Merlin Goldman (www.magnetical.com) writes about duality, disability, and injustice. He has written plays, poems, novels, and films. This is his first collection of plays. His first play, Firewall, was performed at the Montreal Fringe Festival. Killing Rainbows was performed twice in Bristol, and Tick-Tock and Tank ran for a week. He was long listed for Pint-sized (Our Kid) and the Old Vic 12 (Loud Mouth) and shortlisted in 2019 by Bristol Old Vic for Hit Points. A short play, A Game of Two Halves, had the headline slot of an evening of shorts at Theatre Royal Bath in 2019 and Chainsaw was performed in Salford in 2020.

Book preview

1

A few drops of rain fell on the donkey’s back, running in rivulets around his haunches. He shivered. Kip Muemba smiled as he handed the woman the teak bowl. She’d haggled hard and gotten a good price from him. But it had been a good day: he’d sold two dining chairs and several cups and bowls.

As Kip loaded his cart, the rain intensified. Most of the other stallholders had packed up and left. The remaining few hurried away. The droplets grew heavy, exploding on impact with the dry ground. The donkey’s ears shook others away.

The cart bobbled over the softening track making the ruby beads on Kip’s thick wrist jostle for position. Their colour deepened under the rolling black clouds. The medicine woman had said everything would be okay.

Pushing through the heavy scarlet curtains into her tent on the edge of the market, it had been cool and filled with the scent of black coconut. Squat candles had lit the

dark interior.

Sitting cross-legged on a cushion, her grey dreadlocks knotted on top of her head, she asked, ‘What is troubling you?’

Kip bowed his head. ‘It’s my wife. She’s in a lot of pain.’ She motioned for him to sit down.

Settling onto an oval cushion, he added, ‘I’m worried about her. And the child she carries.’

‘Do you believe in magic?’ ‘If it keeps them safe.’

The medicine woman tutted. ‘You must have faith. If you have no faith, then there is nothing I can do.’

Kip wrung his hands. ‘I want everything to be okay. Just tell me what to do?’

The woman studied him. ‘I can see you are a good man. A truthful man. Hold out your hand.’ Kip leant forward and stretched out his right arm, pulling back the sleeve of his cream shirt.

The woman rolled the bracelet over his wrist. ‘Keep this on you at all times. It will bring you good fortune.’

Kip paid the woman and returned home. His wife asked him where it had come from, and he lied. She didn’t believe in witchcraft.

When his wife went into labour, their neighbour, Rudi, did what she could. The doctor had been taken by the warlord on his last raid. Others tried to help but she died. His daughter took three breaths then followed. His wife had been right; magic was for fools.

Kip flicked the reins to keep the donkey moving. Its muscles flexed beneath its grey-white rump with each stride. Potholes became black mirrors. Kip drove them on faster as sheets of mud slid down the inside bank. The

donkey’s legs buckled when a wheel sunk into the ground, throwing Kip forward, the bracelet snagging on the cart’s frame. Its string snapped. The beads scattered, clattering over the cart, most swept over the edge.

Mud flowed over Kip’s sandals as he checked the donkey was unharmed. He grabbed the few beads left on the cart. He peered about the ground, diving here and there to retrieve those he spotted before they sunk into the silt and were washed away.

Kip knelt down, plunging his hands into the sludge, feeling for beads. Clenching his hands into fists, liquid escaped between his fingers. Any bead left in his palm was pushed into his top pocket. Kip saved a few more but most were lost.

Revealing his palms to the sky, he let the rain wash them clean. He wept for the first time since he’d lost his family. Gathering the few beads he’d rescued, he threw out his arm, hurling the beads like seeds onto a field.

Leaning both arms on the cart, and dropping