Page 113 of Tiger's Quest
The snake turned back toward me and lowered its head to see me better. Fanindra stretched out her coils and slid around the back of my neck. She raised her head toward the giant eye and flicked out her tongue several times.
“Whooo isssss sssssheeee?”
“Her name is Fanindra. She belongs to the goddess Durga.”
“Durgaaaaa. I have heard of this godddeessssssss. Thissss ssssnakeee is herssss?”
“Yes. Fanindra is here to help us on our quest. The goddess Durga sent us and gave us weapons.”
“I sssssseeeeeeeee.”
The guardian peered at Fanindra for a long moment as if pondering our fate. The snakes seemed to be communicating silently with each other.
“Youuu may crossssss. I sssseennsssse your purposssssse is not malicccioussssss. Perhapsssssss you will be succccessssssful. Perhapssssss it issss your dessssstiny. Who knowssssssss? You will passsss through four houssssseeesssss. The houssssse of birdsssssss. The housssse of gourdssssss. The housssse of sssssirenssssssss. And the houssssse of battsssssss. Beee cautioussssssss. To move on, you musssst make the besssstt of choiccccessssssss.”
Kishan and I bowed. “Thank you, Guardian.”
“Bessssst wisssssheesssss.”
The large snake swung its heavy body, and the great tree rumbled. The coils wrapped around the trunk moved, separating to reveal a secret passage into the trunk and a hidden stairway. Fanindra wound her body around my upper arm and settled into her dormant state.
Kishan pulled me into the passage. I had enough time to recognize the floor was covered with sawdust, when the snake moved. Its body dropped over the passage, sealing us into the black root of the giant world tree.
20
The Tests of the Four Houses
Fanindra’s emerald eyes began to glow and provided enough light that Kishan could retrieve our flashlight. Five feet beyond us was another tree trunk that appeared as solid as the one outside—a trunk within a trunk. Between the two trunks was a spiral stairway. He took my hand again before we started our climb. The stairs were wide enough that we could walk side by side and deep enough that we could stop and rest or even sleep if we needed to.
We ascended at a slow pace and rested frequently. It was hard to tell how high we’d climbed. After several hours, we came upon a door of sorts. It was yellow-orange and bumpy. A rough, woody stem was at the exact place where a knob should have been. I strung my bow and nocked an arrow while Kishan readied his chakram. He stood to the side, took the handle, and pushed the door slowly inward while I slid in my foot and scanned for attackers. No one was in sight.
The room was full of shelves that had been carved into the walls of the tree. Covering the shelves and the floors were hundreds of gourds of all shapes and sizes. Some were solid; some were hollowed out. Many of them had beautiful, elaborate designs and were lit from within by flickering candles.
Some pumpkins were depicted with carvings far beyond anything I’d ever seen on Halloween. We walked past shelf after shelf, admiring the designs. Some were painted and oiled until they shone like carved gems. Kishan reached out to touch one.
“Wait! Don’t touch anything yet. This is one of the tests. We need to figure out what to do. Hold on for a second while I look at Mr. Kadam’s notes.”
Mr. Kadam had provided three pages of information on gourds. Kishan and I sat on the polished wood floor and read through them.
“I don’t think they have anything to do with the American slave song ‘Follow the Drinkin’ Gourd.’ I can’t see how that could apply. It refers to the stars, the Big Dipper specifically, which guided American slaves to freedom as they journeyed on the Underground Railroad.”
I flipped a page. “Here’s a lot of stuff about where certain gourds originated and facts about how sailors sought seeds of certain types to grow them. There’s a myth about gourd boats. I don’t think that’s it either.”
Kishan laughed. “How about this one? The one about gourds and fertility? Want to give it a try, Kells? I’m willing to make the sacrifice if you are.”
I skimmed through the myth and narrowed my eyes at him while he laughed. “Ha! In your dreams maybe. Definitely skipping that one.” I turned to another page. “This one says to throw a gourd onto water to call up sea monsters and sea serpents. Huh, not really needing one of those.”
“What about this Chinese myth? It says that a young boy coming of age must choose the gourd that would guide his life. Each one contained something different. Some were dangerous; some not. One even had the elixir of eternal youth. Maybe we’ll get lucky. Perhaps we should just pick one.”
“I think picking one is probably the right thing to do, but how do we know which one?”
“Not sure. I guess we just need to try. I’ll go first. Keep your hand aimed at whatever comes out.”
Kishan picked up a plain bell-shaped gourd. Nothing happened. He shook it, threw it in the air, and thumped it against the wall . . . still nothing.
“I’m going to try breaking it.” He smashed it on the ground, and a pear rolled out.
He snatched up the fruit and took a bite before I could warn him there might be something wrong with it. When he finally paid attention to me, the fruit was almost gone. He dismissed my warning and said it tasted fine. The broken gourd dissolved and melted into the floor.
