Reading Reviews

THE BUSKER

One day, a little young man pleaded his dad to give him ten dollars for him to be able to date with a pretty-looking-star-girl in their school. He needs the money because the girl won’t date with him if she won’t be riding using a taxi and to pay it off. The money is of great help. But his dad won’t give him what he wanted because as what his father says, that is not a necessity for a fifteen year old boy just to impressed a classy girl in school. In fact his dad, way back before would just walk miles just to go to school and sometimes, barefooted. That irritates this young man, he just need to have it or else the girl he wants will date the rich-guy at school and not him. Annoyed for a plea not granted, he walked for a while finding himself into the seashore still thinking of ways how he can earn a money. Until he decided to look for the Mahogany Ship which was lost for a long time in their vicinity. The price for those who can look for it is 1 thousand dollars and it will be much more enough for him for the date. Hoping for it to be found, he end up searching for it along the dim light of the darkness of the night alighted by the moonlight. He found some scrap old things which turned out to be a worthless one. Suddenly a soft voice sounded near the dark trees in the shore. It was asking if what he was looking for. They boy honestly say his intentions which is to look for the Ship, earn the money, date the girl she always wanted to be with and be famous enough in school. The voice, sounding like an old-wise man, asked him to stay for a while and listen to his story after which he can go right away. The young man felt it spooky since he hasn’t seen the man talking to him. Though that was so, he felt the need of staying for a while; perhaps for him to think of ways for the date. The old man started sharing a story which made him hooked by it.

It was about a busker who worked in Melbourne. He played music in the railways appearing as a musician to entertain people and earn money. With him was a little dog named tiny. Tiny was dressed like that of the busker and it held a hat in his mouth where the coins from the people is put on. Whenever the hat is empty, Tiny will stand like a man. It made the people laughed, entertained and dropped more money to the hat. One day, the busker felt jealous about the little dog because he realized it was the dog which was liked by the people and not his played music. The days after that, the busker treats the dog rudely. He blamed it for earning lower money for the day. He didn’t properly feed it. It looks so skinny and unhealthy. Noticing this, a RSPCA came to see the busker telling him not to bring the dog with him for his gigs. The officer warned him to take away the dog if he can’t make it look healthy for 3 weeks. This made him mad since it adds an additional burden to his part. Then, the busker decided to put Tiny into the well. Every morning and night, the busker will just drop meat into the well. Tiny, day and night bend his head up seeing a beam of light hoping for somebody to get her out. There comes a time that the buskers’ earning was too small having only 50 cent a day at hand. This made him realize that it was really because of tiny that he earns and not with his skills. Three weeks passed, he decided to get back Tiny out of the well. He used a new rope and a basket to get it back. The time he was about to do so, he fortunately won a tattslotto. He received over a million dollars, making him forget Tiny. That day and the following days, he bought all the luxurious things he could think of, which he thinks, could satisfy him. He just dropped a meat daily for Tiny and says that he will get it when he gets home. But every time he got home, he was so tired and just slept over and does other things the morning after. After such, he realized things haven’t satisfied him; even his money can’t offer him—he needs a friend and tiny was his only friend as years went by. So, he got Tiny now down the well. When he was able to do so, Tiny was with a bended head looking up. This made the busker had a teary-eye. He repents all of what he has done to Tiny and promised to take good care of her again. Having Tiny with him, he began to discern he doesn’t need a million dollars; a half of it is enough. He decided to give the half for the people. He posted an ad in the newspaper that he will be giving a dollar per person. The day went and he does such. Every good compliment he will receive, the more dollars he will give. For a day, it went good, but the preceding one went worst. The busker felt he was just liked and praise due to the money they received and not his goodness. People for nowhere stayed there just to look for their lines to get some money from the busker. Then the day came when he hasn’t have money to give. The people burst out like a wildfire blaming the busker for making them wait instead of looking for the good thing it had given to them. The busker escaped, went into the well and hide at the bottom leaving Tiny above the ground. But, the people ruined everything including the roof of the well and the rope with the basket. They get every luxury the busker had in his house. The busker was in the bottom of the well now. No one knows he was there except for Tiny. However, tiny never leave the busker. Tiny ran off to search for food though it was very difficult for Tiny since her head went back. Tiny needs to lie down on her side, grasp a food in her teeth and then stand up. Any kind of food Tiny gets, she dropped it down to the well. The busker eats whatever was dropped for Him --- stale meat or bread, leftovers, even a dead cat. He has no choice but to eat it or starve. It all went on until one day when he hasn’t received any food from above. He starved for days and was forced to lick the damp in the ground. Looking for hope, he shouted as loud as he can expecting somebody could hear him. Suddenly a shadow was what he thought covered the beam of light. After a while, he was rescued. A smelly-skinny man with rotten clothes was out of the darkness in the deep ground. The one who rescued the busker was so glad he was alive. He said that if it was not because of the poor little dog lying near the well, he wouldn’t be able to notice him. After hearing that, the busker ran over to where the little dog lay on the ground. It has starved to death since she dropped every piece of food she could find down to the busker. Tears fell down his tangled beard. The busker was about to be brought to the hospital, but he refuses after seeing his only friend lost its life. He buried his little good friend. Then, the busker shuffled off. After that, he was never seen again. The soft voice of the man he never saw the face had just ended his story.

The story had completely taken the young man. Then, he left after the story was told. When he was already far away, the young man looked back. Now, he can see him clearly. The man was looking up the moonlight shining brightly in the darkness of the night. Then the man walked away looking up the stars above. With a shock, the young man realized his neck was faced back. He couldn't move it. The man who just shared him the story was the busker. He was destined to spend all his days looking up, as he had looked up that well so many years ago.

The next morning, he was about to leave when his dad gave him the 10 dollars we was begging for. He dated the girl but not in the movies with a taxi. Instead, he went round to the girl’s house and asked her to have a date in the lake.