Almost immediately they knew something was wrong. Kupic was the fifth son and the eighth child. This should have represented good luck, two more boys than girls. Now, at twelve, the bad luck was apparent to everyone.

The other boys worked hard in the fields, rode and hunted and became proficient with both blade and lance. Whereas, if they put Kupic on a horse, he fell off, if they gave him a knife, he cut himself. During a hunt, while everyone else was quietly stalking, the lad would suddenly start humming some tune he had heard the day before or would have a coughing fit or be unable to suppress a sneeze. Working the crops, half the time he could be seen staring off into space. The youngster was a dreamer, his mind was unable to hold on to present reality long enough to be effective at the essential tasks of living.

That was why Kupic’s father sold him to the snake charmer.

*****

They didn’t know that the stranger was a snake charmer when he first appeared to them, coming along the road that cut through the fields. He rode a fine horse and led a second, commonplace animal carrying his belongings. As it was late afternoon, they were not surprised that he obliged them to perform their duty of hospitality to travelers.

That was the law and it was a good law for those times. It encouraged trade and communications and made murder and pillage unnecessary. So the boys helped unload the pack animal and bring the man’s goods into the house. Among the items was a large basket. Whatever was in it, the weight was not distributed evenly as fabric would be, for example. This made the boys curious.

While his sons speculated among themselves, the father asked, “What’s in the basket?”

“A snake,” the snake charmer said.

At this the females of the family became anxious and the males even more interested, though wary. Seeing this, the traveler reassured them. “It’s big, but not venomous. It eats things the size of a squirrel and wont bite anything it can’t eat.”

“Why do you keep it?” a middle lad asked.

“People pay to see it. I travel from place to place and show the snake.”

“You can make a living that way?” the mother interjected.

“You’ve seen my horse.”

“It’s a good horse,” the farmer admitted. “But it’s safer to stay in one place. Traveling is dangerous.”

“Once people have seen the snake, they wont pay to see it a second time. I have to travel and, to tell the truth, I like to. It’s true there are dangers, but I sleep light and am quick with the knife.” He laughed to show that he did not suspect any of them of plotting mischief, though he had few illusions.

*****

After the evening meal, the snake charmer said, “I suppose that you would like to see the snake?”

The unrestrained enthusiasm of the older boys made it easy for the head of the household to conceal his behind mere acquiescence to their wishes. The females twitted with excitement, some fearful, some not.

“I’ll need an assistant,” the stranger informed them. “The snake likes heat and is best displayed with a warm body to crawl on.”

“Kupic!” several suggested in unison.

That lad, who had remained silent, was not afraid. He spent much time by himself in the woods and preferred the things of nature to those made by man. The others thought him to be too dopey to be frightened of anything, therefore suitable for the task at hand.

At the direction of the snake charmer, Kupic stripped off. Nudity for a purpose was entirely acceptable within the household. Since there was only the one large room, some activities required it.

The traveler brought the basket forward, opened the cover and made some adjustments to the position of the snake. He bade Kupic step to the center of the basket. By subtle prodding the man induced the snake to begin its climb up the boy’s body, as though the youngster were a young tree.

More and more snake emerged from the basket, curling itself about the lad, circling a leg, his waist, his back and heading out the branched right arm, held so, as he was instructed. It was a good twelve feet in length, as thick as Kupic’s neck at the thickest part.

The females gasped as the boy stepped from the basket bringing the snake with him and much closer to them. He turned himself to display the animal. The boys held their collective breaths, half expecting their brother to trip and fall, landing on the snake and angering it. Luckily, there was no more than a slight stumble.

Then they all perceived the snake charmer’s problem. The snake really did nothing at all, other than climb its human sapling. It did not hiss or make sudden moves, offering only its unusual size. Their interest was satisfied within a half hour. None of them would hand over coin to see it again, though they would look if it were free. Novelties were scarce in their experience.

The process was reversed to settle the snake back into its basket. The top was put back on. The show was over.

*****

The father and mother plagued the traveler with questions about the wider world. The boys and girls listened intently to the stories he spun, believing only to the degree of their personal gullibility. Kupic’s head began to nod from the effort of a loosing battle with sleep. One by one, the children fell into slumber.

What woke Kupic, he couldn’t say. His father and the snake charmer were still talking in quiet tones. He was about to return to his dreams when he had the absurd thought that they were talking about him. His name had not been used, but there was something in the strangers words.

The youngster caught the words, “I need an assistant,” and “You have five boys.” He became more alert.

“Here, sons are our wealth,” his father maintained. Familiar with the tactics of bargaining, Kupic quickly realized that his father was negotiating the price. He opened his eyes and spied on them, sitting near the embers of the once blazing fire. Even their body language gave them away, hunched forward in essential agreement.

The snake charmer, from somewhere, pulled out a cloth pouch fastened with a string. Silver coins poured into his father’s open palm, enough for a horse as fine as the one the traveler rode. Surely, for such a sum, the man must want one of the others.

*****

The following dawn saw the youngster seated in front of the snake charmer on his horse and about to depart for unknown lands. Of course, even the next village was an unknown land to Kupic. He was sad that, except for his mother and youngest sister, they were so willing to part with him, yet proud of the price. He looked to the horizon and wondered what would befall him now.

They left. As they rode the snake charmer began his new assistant’s lessons on the care and handling of the snake. The stranger would tell Kupic what he was to do and then have the boy repeat it. Item by item, the instructions grew in number. For each new one, the lad would repeat the entire list from the beginning. This he did over and over until he had every one correct and in the proper order.

The sun had just begun its descent from the heights when they entered a village. The man stopped at the watering troth in the center to let the horses drink. A small group gathered as they would for any stranger. As he chatted with the men, Kupic noticed how he got the information that he wanted, not by asking direct questions, but obliquely. Commenting on something he noticed on the way into the village, one of the group would tell him the story of how that came to be. He would tell some tale of his own that led to more revelations from the villagers. Soon he had the information he desired without the locals becoming aware of what he sought and trying to take advantage.

From there they proceeded to one of the larger cottages. The owner of that house, having finished his noon meal, was preparing to return to his fields. The traveler told the man that he was a snake charmer, planning to give a performance in the village, and asked him if he would like to host it. In return for that, along with food and lodging, he and his family would attend the show at no cost. The farmer agreed. It seems that the snake charmer had deduced that this fellow wanted to improve his standing in the community and hosting an event would assist him in his aims.

A crowd, well, as much of a crowd as a small village could produce, gathered in the farmer’s barn a half hour before sunset. The large basket sat on the floor in the center of the circle of spectators. Seeing that all was ready, the snake charmer sat down on a rug off to one side. He took up a musical instrument much like a recorder of our time and began to play.

This was Kupic’s cue. He stepped forward, naked, out of a shadowy area where he had concealed himself. He appeared to be sleepwalking, a spirit summoned by the music. Approaching the basket he removed the top. The snake charmer changed his tune for each action as though he were controlling the boy and the snake. This was a ruse. The snake climbed the boy’s body because it had been cooped up, because it liked the warmth it provided and because Kupic had learned the rudiments of snake handling.

The show was a success. The villagers were satisfied that they had had their money’s worth. They thanked their host for providing such fine entertainment. He was grateful to the performers, and treated them and himself to some home made liquor that he saved for special occasions.

Then the snake charmer put Kupic, nude, into the basket to sleep with the snake, and securely fastened the top. This was done to foster rapport between the boy and the snake, his master claimed. The youngster thought it more likely that the man wanted to ensure that he did not run away. This was confirmed in the boy’s mind when, after four days of putting distance between themselves and Kupic’s origins, enough rapport had been established that sleeping with the snake was no longer considered necessary.

*****

While traveling to their next destination, the snake charmer would critique Kupic’s performance of the previous day. From this Kupic gained an appreciation of the artistic objectives in the display of the animal. The man’s supposed control of the snake by music should be seen as a marvel and a mystery. The people’s curiosity was to be stimulated and satisfied, while their fear was allayed, but not extinguished.

On his own, the boy experimented with various attitudes of posture, facial expressions and nuances of movement. He had a lot of time to think about these sorts of things as they rode from place to place. Judging the merits of his innovations from the reactions of the spectators and the comments of his master, he continued to refine his technique. Then he discovered that he could alter his performance depending upon signals provided by the audience. This opened up whole new avenues of artistry.

Kupic considered that he was treated very well by the snake charmer, specially after he no longer had to spend the night cramped up in the basket with the snake. He was well fed and not subjected to the constant criticism he had endured at home. The man even gave him occasional praise. His chores were light, leaving plenty of time for the incessant ramblings of his mind, as he contemplated everything he heard and saw. It took a good deal of reflection to integrate the new stories and sights with all that he had previously stored away.

*****

After several weeks, Kupic noticed that the villages became larger and closer together. A few of the buildings were made of stone and had two floors. The size of the audiences increased and they were willing to pay more to view the snake.

One day, at the brow of a hill, the boy saw in the distance a larger collection of buildings than he had thought possible to be located all in one place. Even from this distance Kupic could see that many of the buildings were of stone and some might be as much as four stories in height. More surprising still, there were walls around the whole thing. He supposed that there must be doors to let people in and out.

That turned out to be the case, the youngster discovered, when they entered through a gate as wide as the road itself. Enormous hordes of people packed an open area the shape of a square surrounded by houses built with their sides touching each other. A street ran next to the wall, left and right, and another led out at the opposite end, lined with more buildings. Proceeding along that twisted road, passing narrower ways on either side, they came to a second area clear of buildings. This one, however, was packed with ramshackle stalls where all sorts of goods, edible and otherwise, were traded.

The boy expected the snake charmer to stop and engage some of the inhabitants in conversation and collect the information he would need to find a host for the day’s performance. Instead the man continued into the heart of the city along a track that inclined, gradually at first and then more noticeably. Here there were buildings set apart from each other and within walls of their own, lower than those of the town, but substantial enough.

At a wooden gate in one of these walls, they stopped. The snake charmer dismounted and pulled a cord that rang a bell. A small door set into the much larger gate opened a crack. Words were exchanged and the door closed with a bang. Following the sounds of iron grating on iron, the gate itself swung open and they entered a dirt courtyard fronting a large, handsome edifice with smaller, ruder, satellite structures.

Two men led the snake charmer and his horses to the stables, while a third closed and secured the gate. The pack horse was unloaded and the traveler’s equipment was brought into a small room on the lower floor of the main building. The porters left them there alone, but a short while later another man arrived with food and drink. These he laid out on a low table. While they ate, the snake charmer gave Kupic his instructions.

*****

The snake charmer entered the great hall, holding his woodwind instrument like a talisman and followed by the two porters carrying the basket. A group of perhaps ten men and two youths were seated in a rough line against the far wall. The basket was set down to the side of a prayer rug about ten feet from the audience. The snake charmer removed the cover and settled himself on a cushion on the other side of the rug. Raising the instrument to his lips, he sounded a refrain full of mystery and expectation.

First a hand, the fingers positioned to mimic the shape of a snake’s head, emerged from within the woven basket. This was followed by a wrist, then an arm, then the head of a boy. The snake was already draped about his neck, curled about his waist. The snake’s head lay on top of his other forearm which he raised and held forward as he rose from the depths of the basket. The boy and snake were one, moving slowly to the changing rhythms of the charmer. It was his greatest performance to date.

After the snake had been put away, Kupic stood by the side of the basket as the snake charmer went forward to accept the complements of the master or lord or whatever he was. The lad could tell he was important from the richness of his attire and the elegance of the room. Even the garments of the guests, if that is what they were, were above anything he had seen on his journey to this exalted place.

When the conversation lasted longer than Kupic thought necessary to impart congratulations, he studied the scene more closely. Suddenly he realized what was happening, the snake charmer was selling the snake. His eyes widened as he saw gold coins placed, one after the other, into his master’s open palm. When the hand closed over the coins the price was agreed and the deal was struck.

The buyer said something to one of the porters and that porter came to Kupic and led him away. It made sense to the lad that he had been sold along with the snake. After all, what use would he be to a snake charmer without a snake.

He was brought, by way of a wide flight of stairs, to a room on the top floor. The porter left, telling Kupic to remain there. It was a good sized, corner room with windows both tall and wide that gave a fine view of the city spread below. The youngster could see the city walls, the gate they had passed through, the two squares, the meandering street and, of course, the dusty courtyard immediately below the window. As his gaze shifted further away, he could pick out the road he had traveled to a city he had not known existed. Truly, he had never suspected that a town of such size could be.

His new master, the lord or prince or whatever he was, entered the room. Kupic went to him and bowed his head. “Shouldn’t I be with the snake?” he asked.

“No,” the man said. “Even now the snake charmer is leaving. Come and see.” He motioned for Kupic to return with him to the window.

Looking down, the youngster saw the snake charmer about to leave the courtyard through the wooden gate. He saw the basket secured to the left side of the pack horse.

“Where is the snake?” Kupic inquired of the man who stood behind him, looking out over the top of the lad’s head.

“In the basket,” his master informed him.

The youngster stiffened briefly with the shock of understanding. The man had paid gold for him. Kupic did not think there was anything about himself that was out of the ordinary. But his new master was a rich and powerful person, not likely a fool. On the other hand, the boy knew that his family considered him to be one or close to it.

He looked at his own body with curiosity. Although he perceived nothing unusual, he was in awe at his value. At the same time he was humbled by the thought.

The man’s hand lightly touched his cheek, moved down the side of his neck and came to rest on his shoulder. A thumb gently yet firmly rubbed the back of his neck. Kupic understood these gestures to be kindly, even affectionate and he resolved to try to be worth the sum his lord had thought it right to give for him.

That night the boy spent naked in a bed and began instruction in the ways of the one eyed snake.

*****

The hill continued to rise beyond his master’s house. He was not a lord or the prince, who lived at the top of the hill. But he was a member of one of the leading families. Kupic’s life was far more luxurious than he could have enjoyed in that backwater where he was raised. He was well fed and well clothed, whenever clothes were called for.

His master suffered from insomnia. In an attempt to relieve this condition, the lad would relate the stories of their people. Since these were tales that everyone knew in their basic elements, Kupic’s task was to make them fresh with imaginative details and beauty of expression. Drawing upon the reactions of his audience of one, he revised and refined.

One day, when his master had guests, he called on Kupic to tell a portion of one of the stories that he found particularly pleasing. Since the guests were similarly satisfied, this became a regular assignment. Invitations from his master became highly regarded for the opportunity it provided to attend a cultural event of the highest order.

When Kupic was inevitably replaced as bed boy, he retained his position in the house because of this skill. He performed for the Prince and all the Lords. His master was offered huge sums to part with his services, but he wisely declined. His slave’s talent drew people to his mansion who otherwise would never have come.

So the Prince and other honored guests brought with them sons or servants who were charged with memorizing the words of the poet so that they might be repeated in their own homes. The name, Kupic, might be well known even today had not his master always called him by another, a pet name of his own devise.