If I Had a Hammer

Thomas said we needed a hammer, which meant I had to go and find one. So I thought – Who do I know that's got a hammer? and it came to me that my friend Ben might have one, and what with him living close by, I went there first. Ben wasn't at home, but his wife Sarah said Come in, sit down, Would you like a drink; I shouldn't think Ben'll be long. So I had a drink with Sarah, and in the midst of talking she asked me what it was I needed to see Ben about, and I told her we needed a hammer, but we'd only borrow it for a bit. Oh, she says, You should've said, I know where it is. I thought, that was that, job sorted. Then she went out the back and instead of the hammer, she brought back a knife. You take this knife over to Paul's she said and get it sharpened for me, and I'll let you have the hammer. I didn't like taking it, but I kept telling myself I had no choice. All the way to Paul's house, I had no choice. That's what I'd tell Thomas when I got back with the hammer. And I was turning the corner to Paul's house when I passed a beggar squatting on the ground. He called to me, and when I went over he asked me for some money. I showed him my empty pockets, and was about to walk off, when I remembered the bread and cheese I had wrapped up in my bag, nestling against Sarah's knife. That's when I felt hungry, and would've walked on, except now I couldn't. So I sat down next to the beggar and we shared the bread and cheese. And from out from under his blanket he produced some grapes. Woman gave them to me he said. He and I, we made a good meal, and I would've stayed and talked, but I had an errand to run and left him.

Paul said Come in, sit down, have a drink. And I would've like to have stayed with Paul because he tells a good story, but time was going on, and now I was beginning to feel bad about stopping to eat, so I asked Paul if he could sharpen Sarah's knife. Sure, he says, I can do that for you, no trouble. Then he gets up goes into the back and when he comes through the doorway he's holding a bag. He said, Just take these over to Hannah for me, and I'll see to your knife whilst you're gone. I wanted to tell him it wasn't my knife, I don't carry weapons, but it didn't seem worth it.

The bag held bits of broken rock. It was heavier to carry than the knife, but then again it also felt lighter. And I was thinking about this, when I walked straight into an old woman carrying a heavy basket of cakes; almost knocked her over.

I said I was really sorry and was she all right, and she gave me a look, and then passed her basket over to me. I'm going to a gathering she said, and I was hoping to sell these cakes. What are you hoping for?

That none of the cakes are broken I said, and carried the basket as far as the city limits. There she thanked me, and as I was about to go, handed me one of her sweet cakes.

About time says Hannah when I get to her house. She takes the bag with one hand, and from behind her back she produces a ripe golden peach. Give this to Paul she says. Then she closes the door on me and I wend my way back to pick up the knife.

*

Hannah took the bag to the gathering, where she bought a sweet cake from an old woman, and when she'd finished eating it, she joined in the stoning of Paul's wife Judith; found guilty of committing adultery. Judith had apparently bestowed gifts upon a handsome young man; indeed somebody had seen her feeding him grapes, and in such an intimate manner. Really? said Hannah.

Paul sat by his table and bit into the soft warm peach, and the juice ran down his chin and through his fingers. And when he got to the stone, he pulled it free and placed it in his mouth, sucking it dry.

Sarah took the knife and went into the back of her house where she slaughtered the lamb tethered by a rope to a post.

I picked up the hammer and walked back to Thomas.

By Layn Feldman

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