Just Remember, Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Jesse worked hard at being a friend to the people in his village. He put up a strong, rope fence along the cliff, to keep Farmer Owen's sheep from falling over. He helped his neighbors in their gardens, and slowly he made friends with the other children in the village.

When he was ten years old Shiz came to visit, and he yelled, “Why are you are still living in this stinking little hut, all by yourself? Are you stupid, or what? Why haven't you gone to the caves to live with the robbers? They have all the food they need, and they would welcome you! If you ate meat every meal and drank their wine you would become the strongest robber of all!”

But when Emer came to visit he said, “Your majesty, you are getting bigger and more like your father every day.”

“Shiz says I would be the strongest robber if I lived with them and ate like them,” Jesse said.

“Do you want to be the strongest robber?”

Jesse thought for awhile, then said, “I would like to be big and strong, but I want to be a prince, not a robber.”

Emer smiled. “Well said, Your Majesty. You already are a prince, you always have been, and you act like one, too. I know you would like to have people look up to you and be your friends, but choose how you do that. Remember, love is the most powerful thing in the world. If you try to make people be your friends by being the strongest and the most powerful, in the end you won't have any friends at all. How do you suppose the King treats his subjects?”

“He loves them?” asked Jesse.

“Yes, and what does that mean?”

“He helps them, and does nice things for them?”

“Yes! Spoken like a true king!” Emer praised.

“But, what about being strong?” asked Jesse. “Is my father strong?”

“Very,” answered Emer. “But he doesn't get strong from eating lots of meat and drinking wine. If he did that, in the end it would make him weak.”

“Really?”

“Yes. You can poison your body with food and drink, you know.”

“Poison?” gasped the prince.

“Yes, poison. The King is very careful that he only puts good, wholesome things into his body.”

“Like what?” Jesse asked.

“Like vegetables and fruit and good breads and cereals. He eats meat, but not a lot of it, and he drinks plenty of good, clear water, but never wine or liquor. That is one of the worst poisons of all.”

“But I thought wine was made from grapes and fruit,” Jesse said.

“It is, but the good juice has been changed until it has turned into poison.”

“But poison will kill you!”

“Not always,” Emer said. “Sometimes it will just kill little parts of your brain. You won't die from it unless you get too much, but the part of your brain that warns you to be careful and helps you make good choices will be hurt.”

“Then why would anybody drink it?” Jesse wanted to know.

“Because when the poison kills part of their brain it also makes them feel good. It makes them forget their problems, and makes them feel smarter, or stronger, or braver than they really are. Anything that changes how you feel or think is dangerous, and you need to stay away from it. It may be poison.”

Jesse looked long and hard at Emer, trying to understand what he said. “How will I know what not to eat or drink?”

“You will know here,” Emer told him gently, patting him over his heart, “and here,” he added, touching his forehead with his finger. “You are a prince, the son of a king. If you listen to the little voice inside it will warn you what is poison.”

“There is something else you need to know,” Emer added. “Poisons that kill your brain aren't always just food or drink. There are other ways to put things inside your body.”

“Like Farmer Owen's pipe?” asked Jesse thoughtfully. “The smoke goes into his body.”

“Yes it does,” said Emer. “And it changes how he feels, which is why he does it. That is a kind of poison, too. But there are other poisons that get inside you without even coming through your mouth. Can you think of a way something gets in you without going through your mouth or nose?”

Jesse thought and thought, but he couldn't figure out what Emer was talking about. How could something get inside him without his eating or breathing it? What kind of poison could get into his mind to kill his brain? Then suddenly, he had the answer.

“When I see things they get into my brain,” he told Emer. “Can poison get inside me through my eyes?”

“Yes!” Emer beamed at the prince. “There are things we see, and then think about, that can poison our brain.”

“And we know they are poison because they change the way we think and feel!” exclaimed Jesse.

“Right. Just like there are good things we eat that make us strong and healthy, there are good things we see that make us feel safe and loved, but there are other things we see or think about that make us feel bad. And there are some things that are poison and will kill the part of our brain that tells us what is right or wrong.”

“What are the poisonous things we shouldn't look at?” asked Jesse.

“Evil pictures,” Emer told him, “of people doing bad things. As you get older, boys may try to get you to look at pictures of girls wearing bad clothes or sometimes not wearing any clothes at all. They will laugh and tell you it is cool to look at them, but don't. Those pictures are poison, and they will hurt you!”

Should I not look at pictures of girls at all?” asked Jesse.

“No, it's fine to see some things,” Emer smiled. “Whenever I see a picture of a mother holding a little baby, it makes me feel extra special love in my heart. But if you see something that makes you feel uneasy, look away fast! And don't look back. That is poison! Remember, don't let yourself think about things that are evil, either. Always ask yourself, would my father look at or think about this, and you will know what to do.”

“OK,” Jesse said.

“Sometimes, you will see or hear about bad things anyway, even when you are trying not to,” Emer added. “It won't be your fault, but they will still get inside your head.”

“Oh, no,” wailed Jesse. “Then I won't be like my father!”

“Yes you will,” Emer told him, “If you look away and don't let yourself keep thinking about those things. It will be hard, but make yourself think about good things, and the bad stuff won't be able to stay inside your mind to poison it, after all.”

“And never forget,” he added as he pulled Jesse closer and hugged him. “Love is still the most powerful thing in the world. It will help protect you from poison, just like it will make you feel good and safe and happy. So if something doesn't make you feel love in here,” and he patted the boy over his heart,” stay away from it!”