no doubt you remember that the wise men built a dark house in nachan to hold the national book, and such other treasures as the golden hearted did not wish to carry with him. and you also remember that he left a number of wise men in charge, and that he promised to return. the great pyramid at cholula was not all finished, but it was far enough along so he could leave the son of guatamo to go on with the work while he paid a visit to his old friends in nachan.
when he arrived there, he found a splendid city having whole houses of silver, others of turquoise, some of white and red shells and some of rich feathers. cotton grew there in all colors, so it was not necessary to dye it, and the people were rich and prosperous. a great and mighty king ruled them, but he finally grew jealous because the people seemed to think that all their good fortune came from obeying the commands given them by the golden hearted when he visited them as a mere youth. 126
they did everything in their power to honor the good prince. when he promulgated a new law, they ran to the mountain tops and proclaimed it in a loud voice, and then the swift-footed couriers dashed through the country with lighted torches and repeated it to every one they met. one day a young man came to him and said:
"good prince, be on your guard. the king no longer loves you."
"why do you say this to me?" asked the golden hearted.
"because i know he plots to injure you. he is angry because you are helping the wise men build tulla. he calls it the hiding nook of the snake to show contempt for you."
"again i ask why do you say such things to me?" there was so much reproach in the tones of the voice of the golden hearted that the young man hung his head and stammered:
"forgive me, but i wanted you to know there is danger for you here, and i am ready to serve you faithfully."
the golden hearted made no reply, but taking a thoroughly-dried cactus needle from a shelf, stuck it through his ears and was beginning to pierce his tongue when the young man sprang forward and caught his hand.
"why, good prince," he cried in a startled voice, "do you maltreat your poor ears and tongue? it is i who have spoken evil, not you."
"but i listened, and that is an offense against 127 the good law. do you think i will not punish myself for disobedience?"
"oh," said the young man, with tears streaming down his face, "the sight of blood makes my heart ache, and i, too, will be punished." and with that he stuck cactus needles through his ears and tongue.
"my friend," said the golden hearted, "i thank you for your kind thought of me, but i must beautify tulla even if it does displease the king, and he is right in calling it the hiding nook of the snake, because it will be a treasure-house of the wisdom inherited from the philosophers and wise men of your race. you should always bear in mind that a serpent is a symbol of wisdom, and not a thing to despise. the king compliments me, even though he knows it not."
the young man went out of the room with the thorns still sticking in his ears, and when he spat blood, his companions said:
"why does your mouth bleed?" and he answered:
"because i have been speaking evil of some one."
"open your mouth and let us see," they said.
"it is only needful to examine the tongue. i have pierced it with the sharp needle of the cactus."
"who gave you leave to do such a thing?"
"no one," he answered, "but when the good prince inflicted that penalty on himself for merely hearing what i said, i could do no less than follow his example." 128
"and we will do likewise," they said, and in after years, every devotee of the teachings of the golden hearted punished himself in this manner for evil speaking or listening to others saying unkind things of a fellow creature.
of course we know that the king really was jealous of the golden hearted, and was determined that he should not stay long in tulla, which bade fair to rival his own city with which it was connected by the secret passageway containing the dark house. during the years of his absence, the wise men left in nachan had been at work on this wonderful city, and it was very beautiful indeed, even before the golden hearted saw it at all. when he came the inhabitants received him with great rejoicing, and then the king of nachan began to be afraid that he would have too great a following.
the king had no excuse to fight the golden hearted, because he always put his fingers in his ears when they talked of war in his presence, and under no circumstances would he have been made king himself. he only wanted to teach and help the people in a peaceable and kind way.
the king knew all this, but he was uneasy and wanted the golden hearted to go away. so he hired a native wizard to play a cunning trick upon the golden hearted. disguising himself as one of the wise men, the wizard went to his house and said to his servant:
"i wish to see and speak to your master."
"go away, old man, you cannot see the prince 129 for he is sick. you will annoy him and cause him heaviness."
"but i must see him," persisted the pretended old man.
"wait a moment and i will ask him," said the servant, and he went and told the golden hearted that a strange old man was determined to see him.
"let him come in," said the sick man.
tottering up to the bedside as if he were very feeble, the intruder said with well-feigned sympathy:
"how are you, my lord? here is a medicine i have brought for you."
"here is medicine for you"
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"you are welcome; i have been expecting you for many days," and the golden hearted held out his hand in a friendly manner.
"how is your body, and how is your health?" again asked the visitor, seating himself by the bedside.
"i am exceedingly sick. all my body is in pain, and i cannot move my hands nor my feet."
"the medicine i have is good and wholesome. if you will drink it you will be healed and eased at heart." as he said this, the wizard held up a small silver cup and put a white powder in it. "drink this and you will then have in mind the toils and fatigues of death, and of your departure."
"where have i to go?" cried his listener in surprise.
"to tlapalla (which was their name for the happy island), where the old man of the sea is waiting for you. he has much to tell you, and when you return you will be young and handsome. indeed you will be a mere boy again." seeing that the golden hearted merely stared at him, he said: "sir, drink this medicine."
but the sick man did not wish to do so.
"drink, my lord, or you will be sorry for it hereafter," urged the wizard.
"no, no; i will not drink it."
"at least rub some on your brow and taste a sip." so the golden hearted drank a little to try it, saying:
"what is this? it seems to be a thing very 131 good and savory. already i feel myself healed. i am well."
"drink some more, my lord, since it is good. the more you drink, the better you will feel."
the sick man swallowed considerable more and then he was drunk. it was not medicine at all that the wizard gave him, but a white wine made from the maguey plant and the powder he put in it was to make the golden hearted believe that he must go away.
for days after he was very sad and wept continuously, but he began to get ready to leave tulla. no matter what was said to dissuade him, he could never get rid of the idea that he must take all of his followers and go as quickly as possible.
the wise men, seeing that he was determined, gathered up all the picture writings they had made as a record of their journeys, and putting them into an ark, carried it swung on a pole with them. before leaving, they called the people together and said:
"know that the golden hearted commands you to remain here in these lands of which he makes you master and gives you possession. he goes to the place whence he and we came, but he will return to visit you when it shall be time for the world to come to an end. you must await him in these lands, possessing them and all contained in them since for this purpose came we hither. remain, therefore, for we go with the golden hearted."
