Yanni and Clovis

Stories for Another Day

Two brothers were walking along the road one day arguing about this and that, when they saw something that them both stop and stare. There was a door in the ground in front of them.

It was a perfectly ordinary wooden door, with an ordinary door knob, fitting into the grass as if it had always been there.

“I wonder what’s behind that door,” said Yanni, the elder brother.

His younger brother, Clovis, caught him by the arm and pulled him back. “Don’t get too close to it – it could be dangerous.”

“It’s only a door!” Yanni said. “What could be dangerous about a door?”

“It looks like a trap to me,” Clovis said.

“Well it looks like a door to me,” Yanni said. “I’m going to have a look.” He pulled the door open and peered down. “There’s a ladder going down,” he said to Clovis.

“Don’t go down there!” Clovis said, but before he knew it, Yanni had popped through the door and was out of sight.

Clovis called and shouted, but there was no answer. He peered in, but he couldn’t see anything except the ladder, stretching down into darkness. He walked back and forth, getting more and more worried, trying to think what he should do. What if Yanni had fallen and hurt himself? What if there was something dangerous in the hole? There were so many what-ifs, Clovis couldn’t stand it any longer. He walked back to the village and got a big strong rope.

He tied the rope around a big tree and dropped the end through the doorway, in case he needed to pull his brother back up out of the hole. He went home and got a big can of insecticide, in case there were biting things down there, and he put his thickest socks and boots on, so he didn’t get his feet wet. He always got a cold if he got his feet wet. He went back again and got a blanket in case it got cold, and a bottle of water, in case he got thirsty. Then he went back one more time and got a friend, Petey, to stand at the top of the doorway, in case he needed someone to go for help. He was ready.

He stood at the top of the ladder, then he had one more thought. He went and found a big, hungry-looking stray dog, and tied it to the tree, in case whatever was down there followed him up, so the dog could bark and frighten them off. Then he was really ready. Keeping a tight grip on the rope, with his eyes closed and holding his breath, Clovis went down the ladder.

Hours passed. Petey talked to the dog for a while, then he spent a while teaching the dog how to roll over. Then he lay down by the tree and had a nap. When he woke up, stretching and yawning, there was still nothing happening. He wished he’d brought something to eat.

Then there was a stirring at the doorway and Yanni came out. “Hey, Petey! I’ve had the greatest time,” he called, grinning. “There are precious stones lying around everywhere down there, just for the taking. The people are the friendliest I’ve ever met! I couldn’t see them too well in the dark, but they sounded very friendly. They were having a party, with lots of singing and dancing. And there were all sorts of tame animals roaming about, ponies and deer and suchlike, judging by the sounds they made. I’d have brought some back with me, except they’d never make it up the ladder.” He showed Petey his pockets, full of rubies and diamonds.

Petey was astounded.

“Next time I go down, I’m going to choose myself a wife,” Yanni said. “I’ve never seen more beautiful women in my life! I couldn’t see any of them up close, only at a distance, in the dark, but I’m sure they’re all beautiful.”

Petey said, “What about Clovis? He went down to rescue you.”

“Rescue me? From what?” Yanni laughed. He went off to the village, still laughing uproariously.

Petey stayed by the door and waited, and waited. More long hours went by, then just as it was getting dark, he heard a voice groaning, and something appeared at the top of the ladder.

Clovis crawled out, clinging onto the rope. “Safe at last!” he moaned. The dog yelped happily and licked Clovis’s face. Clovis hugged him as if he were his best friend. “One friendly face, at least,” he said.

Petey was astonished. “What happened to you?”

Clovis was covered in dirt, his clothes were ripped and filthy and his feet were torn and bleeding.

“It was the most terrifying experience of my life,” he groaned. “It was completely dark, so I couldn’t see a thing. Strange creatures came up on all sides of me, yelling and stamping and screeching. I knew they were after me, so I ran for my life. I lost my boots, and my socks, and I cut my feet on the sharp stones on the ground, but I kept on running. There were wild beasts roaming everywhere, snorting and grinding their huge teeth at me, so I hid in the darkest corner I could find for hours until it was quiet and I could creep out and find my way back to the ladder.” He shuddered with horror, just thinking about it. “Heaven knows what has become of my brother!”

Petey said, “But your brother returned hours ago, with his pockets full of precious stones, saying what a wonderful place it was, and how we should all go and see for ourselves.”

Clovis said with a shiver, “Not if you value your lives! I’m going home, and I’m going to lock my door and I may never set foot outside it again!” He slammed the door in the ground shut, and limped away with the dog at his side.

The two men told their stories to anyone who would listen. No-one knew what to think or who to believe. The very next week, Yanni opened the door and went down the ladder again, brushing off all his brother’s warnings. Unfortunately, the crocodile waiting at the foot of the ladder, who wasn’t happy that Yanni had made off with its rubies and diamonds, almost bit his foot off as he went to step off the ladder. Yanni barely made it back up the ladder alive.

The people of the village heaped earth over the door in a great pile to stop anyone going down there again, and they called the resulting hill Yanni’s Folly. Yanni walked with a limp for the rest of his life, but he had plenty of gold so he could live as comfortably as he wanted. As for Clovis, well, he had a new friend, didn’t he?