Chapter 2
By the time Jesse was seven, he had grown into a fine boy. He was tall for his age and stronger than the older boys because he worked so hard to help his foster mother. He was also a very good boy, because he wanted to be like his father, the king.
That year, when Shiz came to visit him, he glared at Jesse.
“Why are you still living here with this old woman?” he wanted to know. “Why haven't you run away and gone to live in the mountains with the thieves and robbers? That's who you are, you know. Your father was a thief, and you will grow up to be one, too.”
The little boy stared at the evil wizard in horror. Was this true? Was his father really a thief?
“Emer told me I was really a prince, the son of the king,” he told Shiz.
“A prince?” the wizard laughed. “Ha! Why would a prince live in a hut like this? If you are a prince why doesn't the king come and take you home to his palace? Look at you! You aren't a prince, you're nothing but a skinny, worthless thief, the son of a robber. Look around you! You live in a hut, you have nothing to eat, and it's freezing in here. Why don't you at least have a big fire to keep you warm?”
“We don't have enough wood,” the boy said.
“Then, get some!” roared the wizard. “I've seen the wood piles of your neighbors. Go out and steal wood from them while they are sleeping! You will never have enough of what you need if you don't take it for yourself!”
The next day when Emer came, Jesse said, “Shiz told me I should run away and live with the robbers. But I don't want to,” he added before Emer could say anything. “I just don't want to live here. Couldn't I run away and go back to the castle to live?”
Emer smiled at the boy and ruffled his hair. He was so pleased with the way the young prince was growing.
“I know it's hard living here,” Emer said, “but you can't go home to live in the castle until you grow up and prove you are worthy to be a king.”
“How soon will that be?” Jesse wanted to know.
“Not for a long time,” Emer said. “I'm sorry, Jesse. But I am so proud of you! You know, you look just like your daddy when he was a little boy.”
“Really?” Jesse asked. He loved to think about the king, and it made him feel good to think he looked like him.
“Really,” Emer told him, ruffling his dark hair and hugging Jesse tightly.
“Emer, do you think it would it be OK if I took a little wood from our neighbors so we could have a bigger fire?” Jesse asked hopefully.
“You're the son of the king,” Emer told Jesse. “Do you think that's what a prince would do?”
Jesse shook his head slowly.
“Never forget, Jesse, that you are loved and wanted. You can feel that deep down inside, can't you?”
Jesse thought for a moment, and he did feel something warm and comfortable inside his chest.
“Love is the most powerful thing in the world,” Emer told Jesse as he pulled him close and hugged him tightly. “Always remember that. A King is honest, Jesse. He doesn't take things, he gives. The King's job is to take care of his people, and make sure they are safe and comfortable. Tell me, Jesse, do you think there is a way you could get more wood for your fire without stealing?”
“The men in the village go into the forest to cut down big trees for their fires,” the little boy told Emer. “But I am too small, and I don't have an ax, so I have to gather wood around our house. There isn't much here, since we live next to the canyon. I'm afraid to go too close to the edge. I don't want to fall over.”
“If you are careful, you should be able to gather the wood among the boulders above the cliff,” Emer said after thinking for awhile. “I think you are big and smart enough to go close to the canyon, just watch where you walk. If a rock is loose, don't climb on it. Stay on the steady boulders and you will be safe.”
So Jesse began to gather wood along the edge of the canyon.. At first he was a little frightened, because the canyon was deep and he was afraid he might fall over the side of the cliff, but little by little he got braver and braver as he learned which rocks were steady and which ones were loose.
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