“What is your name, from where do you come, and what do you want?” asked Tera, putting his three questions at once, to save trouble. Then the head man looked at those about him with a little frown, as much as to say, “Note how wisely I act,” and each man who had heard, seeing that the head man looked his way, nodded at his neighbour, as though calling attention to the wisdom of the head man, so all went very well. But the little old man stood there very simply, making no fuss at all and quite unimpressed with the greatness of the great man.
“I want to work,” he answered. “I want to be told what you want done and to see that it is done.”
To be sure, the language that he spoke was one new to those who listened, but somehow they seemed to understand. But the thing that he said they found truly astonishing and could hardly believe their ears. But the head man, though as astonished as any one there, quickly regained his composure and asked this question:
“What is your trade?”
“I have no trade,” said the old man. “But I get things done.”
“What kind of things?”
“All kinds of things.”
“Do you mean big things, like house-building and all that?” asked the head man.
“Yes. And little things too, which are really big things when you come to consider,” said the old man, but that seemed an odd if not a silly thing to say, the head man thought.
“Little things left undone soon become big things,” explained the old man, and waved his hand in the direction of a heap of fruit skins and husks near by.