+ “‘Well, there is only one piece of advice I can give you,’ said the + wisest of wise men. ‘The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels + of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.’” + The shepherd said nothing. He had understood the story the old + king had told him. A shepherd may like to travel, but he should + never forget about his sheep. + The old man looked at the boy and, with his hands held together, + made several strange gestures over the boy’s head. Then, taking his + sheep, he walked away. + AT THE HIGHEST POINT IN TARIFA THERE IS AN OLD FORT, built by the + Moors. From atop its walls, one can catch a glimpse of Africa. + Melchizedek, the king of Salem, sat on the wall of the fort that + afternoon, and felt the levanter blowing in his face. The sheep + fidgeted nearby, uneasy with their new owner and excited by so + much change. All they wanted was food and water. + Melchizedek watched a small ship that was plowing its way out + of the port. He would never again see the boy, just as he had never + seen Abraham again after having charged him his one-tenth fee. + That was his work. + The gods should not have desires, because they don’t have + Personal Legends. But the king of Salem hoped desperately that the + boy would be successful. + It’s too bad that he’s quickly going to forget my name, he + thought. I should have repeated it for him. Then when he spoke + about me he would say that I am Melchizedek, the king of Salem. + He looked to the skies, feeling a bit abashed, and said, “I know + it’s the vanity of vanities, as you said, my Lord. But an old king + sometimes has to take some pride in himself.” + HOW STRANGE AFRICA IS, THOUGHT THE BOY. + He was sitting in a bar very much like the other bars he had seen + along the narrow streets of Tangier. Some men were smoking from + a gigantic pipe that they passed from one to the other. In just a few + hours he had seen men walking hand in hand, women with their + faces covered, and priests that climbed to the tops of towers and + chanted—as everyone about him went to their knees and placed + their foreheads on the ground. + “A practice of infidels,” he said to himself. As a child in church, he + had always looked at the image of Saint Santiago Matamoros on his + white horse, his sword unsheathed, and figures such as these + kneeling at his feet. The boy felt ill and terribly alone. The infidels + had an evil look about them. + Besides this, in the rush of his travels he had forgotten a detail, + just one detail, which could keep him from his treasure for a long + time: only Arabic was spoken in this country. + The owner of the bar approached him, and the boy pointed to a + drink that had been served at the next table. It turned out to be a + bitter tea. The boy preferred wine. +
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