Great Magic
Engineer Owens had finished all his preparations. He had to leave the little town called Talka Chuano the next morning. He was angry. He had hoped that after several months of staying in the middle of the American rainforests, he would be able to go to Rio de Janeiro and enjoy the town life for a few days.
He was really surprised when the owner of the pub “Funda y Pasada” gave him a letter in which the company he worked for asked him to go back to the rainforest to a place called “El Corazon” and bring some samples.
At first, the engineer was really angry. “Go back again! It is easy for you to say up there in Rio de Janeiro! Go and bring the samples! Yes sir! Go, Owens, let the crocodiles eat you – but don’t forget to send the samples to us!”
He talked like this for several hours. Then he accepted the new situation and signed a new contract with his experienced carriers. “So, boys, we have to go to the rainforest again tomorrow,” he told them sadly.
Then he walked around Talka Chuano. He came to a well. On the edge of the well, several native Brazilian Indians were sitting. One of them was an old man, at least 90 years old. His black eyes studied the engineer for a few seconds. “Hombre! Buy a great magic, good magic. You have this magic around your neck and no snake will bite you – good magic. No snake comes if you have the magic on your neck!” In this broken English, he offered Owens a small object which he took out of a small basket.
Owens wasn’t new to this area. He smiled and put his hand on his gun. “I’ve got something better for snakes, my friend. This is really good magic.”
The old man walked back to the edge of the well. Owens felt a bit sorry for him. “Come here! What kind of magic are you selling?”
The old man put the object into Owens’ hands. It was a round piece of leather from some kind of snake, about 4 cm long, and it looked nice. On one side, he could see the pattern of snake skin and some strange signs. On the other side, there was a circle with a smaller circle of a different color inside it, resembling an animal’s eye. The whole object had a small hole with a cord, allowing it to be worn around the neck. It was quite an interesting Indian product.
“How much do you want for this magic?” Owens asked.
“One dollar, friend,” the old man said.
Owens gave the man a dollar and was putting the great magic into his pocket when the Indian stopped him.
“No, no, sir! Not in your pocket! The magic doesn’t do anything there; the magic is good here!”
Before Owens could do anything, the old man took the magic and put it around his neck.
“It is very good here! No snake will bite you! The magic sees, good eye! Each snake sees the eye immediately. That’s why you have it on your neck, not in your pocket! In your pocket, the eye doesn’t see anything!”
Owens smiled. “Well, well. Now I’m okay! Now your magic will look after me,” he laughed and put it around his neck.
But the old man was serious: “Yes, when you don’t see the snake, the eye will see the snake!” On the way back, the engineer studied the object one more time. He didn’t know why, but he left the magic around his neck, as the old Indian said.
The next day, the small group left the little town of Talka Chuano. The three carriers and four donkeys carried all their things. Most of the time, they traveled along a dry riverbed. In the afternoon, Owens told the men to put up the tents. The camp was set up, and the boys prepared dinner. After the meal, Owens decided to look around the camp. He took all his tools and went. He studied the ground around him, not wanting to go too far from the camp. On the left, there were some bushes, and behind them, he could see a red rock. He decided to go through the bushes to the rock. It was very difficult to get through, and he had to cut some of the bushes with his knife.
After a while, he stopped and relaxed. Above him, he saw several small monkeys. He noticed one of the monkeys was carefully carrying a young one and watching Owens at the same time. Suddenly, a big branch caught Owens.
“Stupid magic! The cord nearly cut off my head!” He broke the branch that caught the cord. “Why don’t I throw the magic away…” But the engineer didn’t finish his sentence. He didn’t move. Only his hand slowly moved to his right side. About five meters in front of Owens stood a big snake, ready to attack! It was a big and beautiful animal, very colorful, and its eyes were watching Owens’ chest!
Owens didn’t move. Finally, his right hand reached the gun. He was sweating heavily, knowing very well how aggressive and poisonous this kind of snake was. His hand, holding the gun, rose very slowly. Each second seemed like a year. Then there were three quick shots. All of them hit the target. The snake went down and died.
“If I had taken several more steps, I would have died,” Owens thought. “I was really lucky to be stopped by the cord of the magic. Was it just good luck?”
Owens returned to the camp. “Moso! Can you come here, please? Can you have a look at this? Can you read what is written on this skin?” Owens asked, handing the great magic to one of the carriers. Moso took it and studied it for a while.
“It says: Watch your steps!”
Owens took the magic back and put it around his neck again. “Great magic, really, great magic! Everyone should wear it around their neck and watch their steps in life.”
