72 NIGHT OF THE SCORPION I remember the mght my mother was stung by a scorpion^ Ten hours of steady rain had driven him to crawl beneath a sack of rice. Parting with his poison -- flash of diabolic tail m the dark room -- he risked the rain again The peasants came like swarms of flies and buzzed the Name of God a hundred times to paralyse the Evil One. With candles and with lanterns throwing giant scorpion shadows on the sun-baked walls they searched for him- he was not founds They clicked thei^ tongues^ With eve^y movement that the scorpion made his poison moved in Mother's blood, they said, May he sit still, they said» May the sins of your previous birth be burned away tonight, they saido May your suffering decrease the misfortunes of your next birth, they saido May the sum of evil balanced in this unreal world against the sum of good become diminished by your paiUc May the poison purify your flesh of desire 5 and your spirit of ambition, they said, and they sat around on the floor with my mother in the centre, the peace of understanding on each face. More candies, more ^anterns^ more neighbours, more insects^ and the endless raino My mother twisted through and through groaning on a mat My father, sceptic, rationalists trying every cu^se and blessing, powder, mixture^ herb and hybrids He even poured a little paraffin upon the bitten toe and put a match to it, I watched the flame feeding on my mothero I watched the holy man perform his rites to tame the poison w^th an incantationo After twenty hours it ^ost its sting» My mother only said Thank God the scorpion packed on me and spared my children