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Show 40 I'll follow the hills to the east, thought Chua, where I saw the boy with the water jar. Chua didn't take his jug. He would find the water first and then return. Chua jogged easily across the desert until he came to the rocks at the base of the eastern hills. He sat in the shade of a boulder to rest, and decide what to do next. He scanned the horizon. He saw a small figure of a boy with a water jar coming towards him. Was it the same boy? Maybe it was. Chua hid behind a big rock. The water jar must be empty for the boy ran easily balancing it on his head with only one hand. Why was this boy doing women's work? Of course, Chua was not one to judge. He was doing the same. The boy turned and headed up a wash before he reached Chua. Chua left the shadow of the rock and followed at a distance. The wash turned into a narrow canyon with steep gray cliffs. How plain they looked compared to the beauty of the canyon where nk new- home was. u U The streambed of the canyon was dry. The cliffs narrowed to three leaps across. Huge boulders made climbing difficult. Loose shale filled in the cracks around the boulders, so it was hard to follow without noise. The boy climbed over the huge rocks with ease. He had done this often, thought Chua. The streambed became damp further up, with reeds growing along the sides. The visionary plant grew among the rocks. I won't tell Ahote, thought Chua. He slipped on some loose shale as he climbed over a boulder. Rocks tumbled into the streambed near the reeds. Chua froze in silence. Had the boy heard him? |