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THe

UnlUCkyMan

TRAC

K 1He was the most unlucky man who ever lived. Nothing worked well for him. Every

morning, when the sun rose, he started the day by looking in the mirror and saying to himself, “It is without doubt that I am the most unlucky man who has ever lived.”

One day, by chance, an old monk on his way back from the hills happened to pass through that small village and was struck when he heard a voice call out, “Why is it that I am the unluckiest man who has ever lived?” On hearing this, the monk banged upon the door. The door opened and a very surprised young man stood there.

“You must leave this village and seek out the Great Spirit,” the monk proclaimed, “for it is only the Great Spirit who can tell you why it is that you are the unluckiest man who has ever lived.”

“But how will I get there?” asked the young man.“Here, here, you can have these magic boots.” He brought out of his bag a pair of very small boots.

“They are far too small. They won’t fit,” he exclaimed.“Aha! But these are magic boots. They are bigger on the inside than they are on the outside.”

So the young man tried them on. As soon as the boots were on, he found he could not stop walking! And he walked and he walked and he walked... he walked and he walked and he walked... He left the village that he had known so long, the little fields and the river. He walked over the hills until the sun was going down. He walked and he walked and he walked, and there before him rose a dark wood.

“Maybe I can rest here the evening,” he thought. He made a fire and finally took off the magic boots. He was just about to rest for the night when he heard a sound that chilled his bones.

“Grrr... what are you doing in my wood?” growled an old wolf.“I am looking for the Great Spirit, for I am the unluckiest man who has ever lived. Please don’t eat me, great wolf.”

“If I let you out of the wood and you find this Great Spirit, ask it why it is that my teeth wobble in my mouth, my bones stick out of my flesh and my eyes roll around my head. If you ask the Great Spirit this, I won’t eat you this evening.”

“I will, I will... ” said the unlucky man. “I will ask the Great Spirit.” With that, the wolf turned and left.

The next morning as the sun rose above the trees, the young man yawned and there he saw the magic boots beside him.

“I’d best be on my way,” he thought. He put on the magic boots and he walked and he walked and he walked... He walked and he walked and he walked... He walked and he walked and he walked and he walked and he walked and he walked and he walked...

The sun was going down and before him rose a large hill with a strange tree upon the top, whose branches were in the ground.

“This,” he thought, “would be a good place to rest.” He took off those magic boots and rested with his head on the tree trunk.

Suddenly, the tree spoke to him. “Where are you going?” it asked. The young man was shocked to hear the tree but replied, “I am going to find the Great Spirit to ask it why I am the unluckiest man who’s ever lived.”

“Hmm, I’ve heard many things of this Great Spirit,” said the tree. “If you find this Great Spirit, will you ask it for me why it is that my lovely branches are down here in the ground instead of playing with the stars in the sky?”

“I will, oh great tree. Oh, yes I will.” There he rested.

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In the morning, when the sun rose, he saw beside him the magic boots. He put on the magic boots and he walked and he walked and he walked... he walked and he walked and he walked. He walked and he walked until he came upon the loveliest place he had ever seen. There were trees, flowers, birds and a quiet lake. There, out of the silence, he heard the most magical sound he had ever heard, “Lalalaa, lalalaa.”

Out of the woods came the prettiest girl he had ever seen. “Where are you going?” she asked.“Oh prettiest of maids, I am looking for the Great Spirit, for I am the unluckiest man who has ever lived.”

“Well, if you find this Great Spirit, will you ask it for me, why is it that I live here in this beautiful place with the birds and trees and this great lake and yet my heart is empty and the sky above weeps for me?”

“I will, oh pretty maid.”

And after he had rested, he found beside him those magic boots. He put them on and he walked and walked and he walked... he walked and he walked and he walked... He walked until he came to the end of the world. As we know in those days the world was flat and all the water of the world poured over the edge.

“The Great Spirit must live beyond the Earth. How will I get there?” he wondered.Then he saw three large rocks leading off into the dark sky. Quickly, he jumped from one to the other and found himself floating in the night sky surrounded by stars and quietness. He drifted into the heavens. He eventually came to that place where all things end and all things begin. It was very quiet. Out of that quietness he saw approaching a rock, and on the rock was an old-looking man. As the rock and the old man came nearer, he saw he had a beard full of stars.

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He tapped him on the shoulder and said, “Are you the Great Spirit?” The old man listened and slowly turned his head.“Hmm. I can’t see anybody else here so I must be the Great Spirit.”“Oh, good. Well then I have many questions to ask.”The Great Spirit listened and gave him answers to all the questions. And finally the young man asked, “And my last question is this: why is it that I am the unluckiest man that has ever lived?”

“Your luck has always been there!” the Great Spirit laughed. “All you have to do is open your eyes and you will find your good fortune.”The unlucky man was delighted to hear this good news.“All I have to do is to open my eyes and I will find my good luck?” he asked.“That’s all you have to do.”

Soon after he returned back to Earth. He put on the magic boots and, once again, he walked and he walked and he walked... He walked and he walked and he walked... He walked until he came to that lovely place with the birds and trees and, once again, he heard the enchanting sound, “Lalalaa, lalalaa…”

“You are back!” she cried. “Did you find the Great Spirit?”“Yes I did, oh lovely maid.”“Did you ask the Great Spirit why it is that my heart is empty and yet I live in this lovely place with the birds, the trees and the great river?”

“I did. The Great Spirit said the reason why your heart is empty although you live in such a lovely place is that you are lonely and you should find a nice young man to keep you company.”

“Oh,” she said, “You are a nice young man! You could stay here.”“I am, I am, but I am looking for my luck,” he replied. “I am looking for my great fortune. Once I find my good fortune, I will come all the way back here and I will marry you.” She looked at him and sang rather sadly, “Lalalaa... ”

With that he left. He walked and he walked and he walked... He walked and he walked and he walked... He walked until he eventually he came to the lovely hill with the tree on top. There he rested.

The tree whispered, “Did you find the Great Spirit? Did you ask why it is that my branches are down here in the earth instead of playing with the stars in the sky?”

“I did, oh great tree. The Great Spirit said the reason why your branches are down in the earth is that a long, long time ago a wicked witch of the woods put a curse on a handsome prince and locked that curse up in a magic ring of gold and put it in a casket of jewels and buried it under your roots. If someone was to dig up that casket of gold and jewels and the magic ring, the water would run again to your roots and your branches would soar to the sky.”

“You could do this!” exclaimed the tree.“I could, I could, but I am looking for my good fortune. I am looking for my luck. Once I find my luck, I will come all the way back here and dig up that casket of gold and jewels and the magic ring.”

And with that, he put on the magic boots, and he walked and he walked and he walked... He walked and he walked and he walked... He walked until he saw before him the dark wood rising up there.

“I remember this place. I will rest here for the night.”

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He made a fire and settled down, but who should come by the fire but the old wolf! “Oh, I forgot all about you!” he exclaimed.“Did you find the Great Spirit?” growled the wolf, “and ask it why my teeth wobble in my mouth, my bones stick out of my flesh and my eyes roll around my head?”

“I did, I did, oh great wolf. The Great Spirit said the reason your teeth wobble, your bones stick out of your flesh and your eyes roll around your head is that you are hungry and that you should eat the unluckiest man who should walk through your woods.”

“You are indeed the unluckiest man who has ever lived!” exclaimed the wolf. He came nearer, and nearer, he opened his large mouth, crushed down on the man’s bones and chewed his boots. It was not a Happy End.

The strange thing was that the old wolf, who hadn’t eaten for two hundred years, was now full! He remembered a long, long time ago a wicked witch putting a curse on a handsome prince and turning him into a wolf. He also remembered a magic ring that would set him free, and now that wolf (strong enough to leave the wood) found the tree on top of the hill with its branches down in the earth. Digging around he came upon the casket. There inside was the magic ring, which he quickly swallowed, which turned him into a handsome prince.

Then the handsome prince remembered a long, long time ago, the banished princess... Just at that moment, over the hills and far away, he heard a sound that brought a smile to his eye, “Lalalaa...”

THe end

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He Walked &

He Walked &

He Walked

derek Hook

ConTenTs

Thanks PAGE 2

Introduction PAGE 6

TRACK 1 The Unlucky Man PAGE 9

TRACK 2 Friendship PAGE 17

TRACK 3 Mouse the Brave PAGE 25

TRACK 4 stars in the night sky PAGE 31

TRACK 5 death in a nutshell PAGE 35

TRACK 6 Jack & his adventure PAGE 41

TRACK 7 lobster & Crab PAGE 45

TRACK 8 The Cobblestone Maker PAGE 49

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TRACK 9 The dark knight PAGE 53

TRACK 10 day of the dead PAGE 61

TRACK 11 The Meaning of dreams PAGE 73

TRACK 12 a Bag of Gold Coins PAGE 81

TRACK 13 The Boy who Could read PAGE 85

TRACK 14 Ghost of the Piper PAGE 91

TRACK 15 seeds of the king PAGE 97

TRACK 16 story Teller PAGE 101

I was invited to India by a friend, Friedrich Grohe, in 1992. We visited many of the Krishnamurti Foundation schools on this journey. In the simple yet rigorous life on the campus, I found the children had a real passion for listening, which quickly turned to laughter if they caught something funny that you said, or saw a silly gesture.

What was also special for me was the sense of having a retreat. I was leading a very busy life, and two months away from business gave me an opportunity to explore Krishnamurti’s teachings and their relevance to my life.

I returned the next year on my own but it was on my third visit that I looked for a way to contribute something to the life of the school. Teaching was not an option as my own school experience was not the happiest time of my life, so what could I do? Then I recalled a few stories I had heard from a friend, Taffy Thomas, and others, back in England. “Give it a go,” I said to myself, “Tell a story.” So I did!

The first time I told a few stories I had an audience of some two hundred bright-eyed children who listened with rapt attention to every crazy word I said. It was great fun for them and for me. “Great!” I thought, “This is what I can do.” The next time, however, the magic was not to be found! The audience was not impressed and I was not impressed. So to work: I had to learn how to bring a story to life. I learned new stories, I brought my drum over and weaved it in with everyday sounds until the stories started to unfold on their own!

InTrodUCTIon