Magic signs
The Gravedigger’s Gift
What is luck really? What is fate? Are there forces at work? Or is it perhaps man himself who decides his own destiny?
In the Gravedigger’s Gift I have toyed with these questions.
It was not my intention from the start that the mandrake should figure so strongly, but it grew in the story and claimed its place. In the end it became a little living root-man. A very unpredictable being, that Samuel had a hard time keeping track of. When the Master Tailor is saved from financial catastrophe and Aunt Emma improves after her illness, this may or may not be thanks to the mandrake. Meanwhile Samuel develops, takes on responsibility and becomes more courageous.
Samuel pulled out his biscuit tin. Uppermost lay the black funeral sweet and a gold button he had been given by his Aunt Emma, it was emblazoned with a stylish anchor. There were also several fine looking stones, a seashell and a piece of green glass washed smooth by the ocean. And then the mouthorgan, which was the most valuable thing Samuel owned.
Beside the mouthorgan there was just room enough for the gravedigger’s root. It fitted perfectly, so he didn’t need to bend any of the root tips. A good sign! He stroked the root with his forefinger. It sort of resembled half a human, with legs that tapered into thin feet.
Samuel is not suited to being an apprentice blacksmith. What good luck he has had to land up with a tailor instead. And meeting Lisa again, that was also good luck. Yes and it was luck too that she got the chance to get away from the evil hat-maker. But owning a magic root, a mandrake, is like owning a wolfhound. You have to take very great care of it. So when Samuel returns from the country and the mandrake is no longer in the tin, his good luck turns into bad. Nothing is as it used to be.
Rabén&Sjögren 2006
ISBN 978-91-29-66421-8
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