Summary

The boy wandered onto the plain in the dark of night, guiding himself by the North Star. He imagined his mother’s despair at his disappearance. The bailiff would be coming to pay his condolences on his motorbike, the only one in the village. He comforted himself by thinking that he would surely come across food, water, or people soon, and that after a long time travelling he would become stronger than the bailiff and maybe even able to forgive the still mysterious betrayal.

In the dark distance the boy saw a bonfire. After deciding his need for food and water was greater than the risk of encountering a criminal, he approached the encampment. There was a sleeping man obscured by a blanket, a herd of nine nanny goats and a billy goat, a donkey, and a small dog. Though he was afraid of...