The Boy From Radiso Meets The Rich Tourist From Pompoop
By Anila Angin | 26 February 2011
Fables, Simplicity, Truth & Perspective, Work, World of beautiful distractions
Illustrated by Mary-Jane Leo
There was a little boy who lived on an idyllic island called Radiso. On this island, the transparent waters of the sea licked infinite miles of salty white beaches, replete with dancing coconut trees and waterfalls which gushed from cliff tops.
The boy’s parents loved the island very much, and happily planted things they could eat on their plot of land. The father would go out to catch fish every so often. In the evenings, the family gathered round a simple fire and cooked their meal under the moon’s smile. They would sing after that, or tell stories, and then they would fall silent as they looked at the stars that streaked the sky every night. Just for them, they thought.
The boy would walk for long hours on the beach every day. When he was tired, he would sit on the hot sand staring into the distance, wondering what existed beyond his island. He liked to imagine that there were other islands out there with more exciting things, but what those exciting things were, he couldn’t quite define. He had only known his little island of Radiso you see.
One day, the first tourist came.
He was dressed differently from the little boy and his parents. He wore a suit of finely cut cloth, and dark glasses which hid his eyes. He smoked a big fat cigar and arrived in a big, impressive white boat.
The tourist stared in amazement at Radiso, and he wandered around for a long time, admiring the waterfalls, the beaches and the jungles.
The little boy stared and stared at the rich tourist.
What a rich man he had to be!
He wanted to know more about the tourist: Where did he come from? How did he come to have so much money?
The little boy went up to the tourist, who was only too happy to talk to him.
“Where do you come from?” enquired the little boy.
“From a big noisy city called Pompoop,” replied the tourist. “I sailed many days in my yacht to find your island.”
“Tell me more about this big city called Pompoop,” replied the boy, his eyes wide with envy. He was already imagining that Pompoop was the heavenly place he was looking for: the exciting city where things happened, where money was made.
“Oh, it’s full of tall buildings that scrape the sky. The buildings are filled with many important offices where people work at well-paying jobs that help Pompoop grow richer and bigger.”
“How wonderful!” exclaimed the boy. “And what do people do with the money they earn?”
“Oh, they use it to buy big shiny fast cars, or large houses, or in my case, a yacht,” replied the tourist proudly, pointing at his boat. “For those who are just starting out at work and may be a little poorer, their aspirations are to own an apartment,” added the tourist.
The boy’s eyes grew bigger and rounder with each word the tourist uttered. “An apartment? What is that?”
“An apartment is something like a boxed dwelling in the sky. A building is filled with many of these apartments, so it’s useful for housing thousands of people together in a small area.”
“I see. So why did you come to Radiso? There is nothing to do here,” said the boy sadly.
“Nothing?!” exclaimed the tourist. “It is precisely because there is nothing to do that I came here! I am so stressed at work that I have to come here to get away from it all.”
“At least you have a lot of money,” observed the boy.
“Well yes, I suppose,” said the tourist absently. “So what would you like to do when you grow up?” asked the tourist.
“I want to go to Pompoop and work in one of those tall shiny offices!” shouted the boy determinedly.
The tourist was taken aback but said nothing.
The boy, surprised by his reaction, added helpfully, “I want to be able to buy the big fast vroom vroom cars you mentioned, and to live in one of the tall boxy buildings everyone in Pompoop lives in.”
When the tourist continued to look at him in amusement, the boy, a little discouraged, asked the man in return: “And what will you do with all the money you have earned, besides buying your boat?”
The tourist smiled. “Well, the reason I have worked so hard all my life was so that one day, I would be able to leave Pompoop and buy a piece of your island and live like you do: take long walks on the beach every day, sing and play my guitar, catch fish from my boat, and look at the stars at night.”
Other stories by the author: The Star-Shaped Cookie Who Wore A Square Dress | The Girl, Her iPhone and Her Baby Brother | The Witch Doctor’s Cure | The Receptionist
Animations: All the Little Dreamer videos
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