And it came to pass that in the first year of the second period of King Jona’s reign a great torment came upon him and demons took dominion over his soul, even as pestilence and plagues ravaged the people of Sodom. And fear came upon his servants for they knew not the source of their master’s torment. And there was a new servant named Reuben the scribe who hath written the king’s praise ten times on ten scrolls before the cock crowed in order to be made a palace servant. And fearing for his new source of food and merriment, Reuben the scribe summoned all the other palace servants and saith: “lo it is true that I am new among thee. But seeing as our master is tormented by spirits and demons, it is meet that we send for healers across the land.”
And it came to pass that in the first year of the second period of King Jona’s reign a great torment came upon him and demons took dominion over his soul, even as pestilence and plagues ravaged the people of Sodom. And fear came upon his servants for they knew not the source of their master’s torment. And there was a new servant named Reuben the scribe who hath written the king’s praise ten times on ten scrolls before the cock crowed in order to be made a palace servant. And fearing for his new source of food and merriment, Reuben the scribe summoned all the other palace servants and saith: “lo it is true that I am new among thee. But seeing as our master is tormented by spirits and demons, it is meet that we send for healers across the land.”
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And great sorrow is come upon the servants for they hath no dominion over the spirits and the demons that tormented king Jona. The leader of the servants, a man named Orontolum, who was of the tribe of the drinking fishermen, saith unto Reuben the new servant: “it is meet indeed that we seek healers for our king for all the shekels that we take from the people of Sodom and apportion unto our own inheritance cometh from the King. But seeing that thou art new here in the palace, thou knowest not that the palace hath no need of healers from this land for there are better healers abroad. Only healers from other lands attend to the king and his servants.”
And the other servants cried out in agreement with Orontolum the head servant. And a lad named Renokrim, whose task it was to show the naked King Jona’s new and invisible clothes to the people of Sodom, cried louder than the other servants and saith: “O Orontolum our head servant, great indeed is thine wisdom for no native healer from the land of Sodom must touch our king. Be it known to Reuben the new servant that the king who reigned before King Jona sought healing from the great healers among the descendants of Ishmael in the land of Arabia. He did not seek healing from the native healers of the land of Sodom.”
And Orontolum was pleased with the wisdom of Renokrim for the boy hath a bright future as an unthinking slave of the throne. And king Jona’s servants fanned across the face of the earth, looking for all manner of healers for their tormented master. And they sent emissaries to all the one hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the land of king Ahasuerus who ruled from India to Ethiopia; and they went among the Hittites and the Amalekites; and they went among the Moabites and the Ammonites; and they went among the Jebusites and the Edomites; and they went among the Romans and the Corinthians; and they went among the Philippians and the Thessalonians; and they went among the Ephesians and the Galatians; and they went among the Gadarenes and the Nazarenes; but they found not a single healer who hath dominion over the spirits and the demons that tormented king Jona.
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And it came to pass afterward that the Master of ocean and earth and skies went from village to village making nature sweetly obey his will. And as he approached the city by the Rock from the desert lands to the north, a great sandstorm threatened him and his disciples. And the Master saith unto the sandstorm: “peace, be still”. And the sandstorm receded in obeisance. And the apostles were amazed. And when the sandstorm hath cleared, the Master of ocean and earth and skies approached the city by the rock with his disciples. And king Jona, who still hath found no healing from his torment and was now kept bound in chains and in fetters by Orontolum, Reuben, and Renokrim, rushed out and fell down before the Master, and with a loud voice saith: “O Master of ocean and earth and skies, what have I to do with thee? I beseech thee, torment me not.”
And the Master spake directly to the demon inhabiting king Jona: “what is thy name?” And he said: “my name is Legion for we are many demons that entered into the king” And the Master asked: “who are the chief demons in the Legion?” And one saith: “I am the demon of greed and my name is Seven. I cause the king’s heart to desire seven. Give him four shekels and he wants seven; give him four apples and he wants seven; tell him to know four women and he wants to know seven; give him four years and he wants seven.” And another saith: “my name is Fiddle.
When half his kingdom burns in the north, I make him desire to play with me; when floods consume his biggest city, I make him desire to play with me; when robbers maul his people, I make him desire to play with me; when the youth of his land hath no hope, I make him desire to play with me.” And another saith: “my name is Exu. I gave him all his servants and advisers. I bought them all from the crossroads.” One demon was named Hypnos. Another demon was named Bacchus. Thus did a colourful procession of demons come forth from king Jona’s soul and declared their names to the Master of ocean and earth and skies.
And because they were close to the north where there was no swine, for the natives followed the faith of the descendants of Ishmael and ate not unclean meat, the Master of ocean and earth and skies thought of casting the demons into donkeys but his disciples came unto him and saith: “O Master of ocean and earth and skies, thou healest ten lepers in Samaria but only one remembered to return and give thanks unto thee. We know not if this King Jona is like the nine ungrateful lepers. It is meet that you test him before you heal him.”
And the Master was greatly pleased with his disciples. And he asked the tormented king Jona: “thou desireth freedom from thine bondage to Legion?” And king Jona saith in a loud voice: “please heal me, for my torment is great.” And the Master saith: “do you believe you can be healed?” And king Jona saith: “I believe, help my unbelief.” And the Master saith: “if thou must be healed, go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven and healing on earth. And come, take up the cross, and follow me.”
And king Jona was sad at that saying and went away grieved for he had great possessions and hath plenty of shekels stolen from the people of Sodom; and he was blessed with a people who hath eyes but seeth not that he stole from them. And Reuben and Orontolom and Renokrim and all the other servants rent their garments and poured ashes on their own heads in sorrow for if king Jona obeyed the Master of ocean and earth and skies and gave all his possessions to the poor, their own feasting on the inheritance of the people of Sodom would come to an end. And the Master looked at the grieving king Jona and saith to his disciples: “how hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!”
And the disciples were astonished at his words. But the Master answereth again and saith unto them: “children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! King Jona and his servants preferred the shekels and the wine and the fatted calf that they steal daily from the people of Sodom to healing from the affliction of Legion. Verily verily I say unto thee, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. Therefore, let us shake off the dust of this land from our feet in testimony against king Jona and his servants for none of them shall be with me in my Father’s kingdom. So let it be written, so let it be done.”
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