– Yes, dear Azrael yes, I know him!
– If you know him, why didn`t you give him your bicycle to ride?
– I gave it to him!
– But then you and your brother beat him!
– Please forgive me!
– Anyway, your soul is now mine! – I put my hands on his neck like I was trying to choke him.
– Oh dear Azrael, please don`t take my soul! Forgive me!
– Why are you cheating?
– My mother told me to do so…
– What did she say?
– She told me to say “Amin”, and play those drums.
– You are a liar. You even told everyone at school that you hear the voices of God.
– My mother told me to do so…
– So everything is a lie?
– Yes, Azrael…
– You will go to school and tell everyone that you are a liar, otherwise…!
– I will, I will do this today!
– OK. We shall see…Do your homework, and if Khoshimjon ever asks for anything, never refuse,
understand?
Afterwards I decided to check the medicine Sorahon was giving to her “clients”. They were simple drugs available in drugstores. My revenge hadn`t finished. I took some money from the pocket of Sorahon, went to the drugstore and bought some laxative medicine. Then I replaced the medicine in the pockets of clients with the laxatives. Ten days have passed and the whole reputation of Sorahon was badly damaged.
With the help of my cap, things have gone better since then. Everything was great. Even all my marks at school were excellent. I had no need to copy out homework. My glory has gone so high, that even teachers were smiling each time they saw me.
Unfortunately, one day I made a big mistake. I lost all my good reputation after this.. I took the record book and put some excellent marks for me and my best friend Kosim, even though the school year was not finished. All teachers knew this wasn’t right and they called me and my friend Kosim to the room of our principal. There were seven teachers in the room.
– Khoshim, dear, come here. Look at this, do you know who could have put these marks in the record book? – Our principal, Otajon Azizovich asked.
– I don`t know…
– Is it your work, Kosim?
– What are you talking about? – Kosim replied surprised.
– You both have done this! – said one of the teachers.
– No, Khoshim wouldn`t have done this, It must be Kosim who did it, – said another teacher.
It seemed like everyone was satisfied with the last comment. The situation was getting worse and tears appeared on Kosim`s face. I had to do something…
– I did it!
– Why??! – All of them asked.
– I did it! Kosim didn`t even know about it.
This was the end of my good reputation. They said that such a boy like me can never become an agronomist4, an engineer or even a zootechnician5.
– No! – I said, without wanting to retreat.
– Never! Without knowledge you can`t even become a cattleman6!
– I will!
– Don`t talk too much you! – shouted the principal.
I shut the door and left them. At that time, I really believed that with the help of my cap I could become anything I wanted.
That was my last day in the village. I decided to begin my journey and prove to everyone that even without knowledge from studying, a person can achieve everything.
Good bye my dear village! Good bye dear trees, dear lakes! From now, no one will damage your branches, since I`m leaving you! Dear mom, please forgive me for all I did! Dear sisters, please also forgive your brother, and if you ever miss him just look at his photos! Do not cry! Some day he will surely return! He will come back as a hero! He will come back with dozens of medals! Dear homework which I had to do, good bye to you as well!
I was leaving the village at midnight and even though I had tears, my soul was full of joy…
Chapter 3
What is it like to be the happiest boy in the world?
I didn`t know where to go or what to do. But I was happy. Because from that moment, everything, starting from food and ending with transport would be free! At times when I felt bored, I held interesting debates with my cap.
– Dear cap, where are we? – I asked.
– Frankly speaking I don`t know either, – the cap replied.
– Tell me the truth, have I got any chance to become an agronomist?
– I am sure this will happen someday!
– But I don`t have a diploma…
– Do you think not? Look at your pocket.
When I put my hands into my pocket I found a paper with the necessary stamps and signatures on it saying “Elementary school diploma”.
– Dear cap, but I am too small!
– Don`t worry, someday I will give you some height as well.
A few days have passed and I reached a place that looks like a desert. No human can be seen around here. Several times I saw a flock of birds, and even snakes chewing each other`s tail. With my cap on my head I headed further. Suddenly I reached a huge field with thousands of trees. A 100-hectare field was divided into several plots, with kids of my age working there.
– Whats`up fellas, – I greeted one of the boys.
– Don`t waste my time, – he said.
– Hello, I said!
– I said I have no time to talk, – he said and raised his head. He saw me and blushed. – I`m
sorry. I thought that you are our specialist Shavkat.
– No problem my friend. Which country is this?
– This isn`t a country, this is a desert.
– What are you doing here?
– Mowing the grass.
– Whose cotton is this?
– Ours. Me and five of my friends planted ten hectares. As soon as the cotton
grows we shall pick them up by ourselves.
– Don`t you need an agronomist?
– No. We ourselves will become agronomists soon.
Then I tried to test my luck on the next section. There were some guys digging the field for melon seeds.
– What are you doing?
– Cultivating the land. – They were working very hard and fast.
– Don`t you need an agronomist?
– No.
– Why not? Maybe you need one?
– Because we are agronomists.
Then I went through other fields trying to get any information. The fields were amazing and beautiful. All types of fruits could be seen. I counted some twenty types of grape. I found a girl feeding chickens.
– Dear, don’t you need a zootechnician?
– What makes you think that we need a zootechnician?
– He could teach you.