Strange stories

Story 27

A Greek Doctor (fiction)

Once upon a time, there was a king with a leprosy nobody could heal in Persia.

One day, a Greek doctor came to the country and he came to the king and told him he could heal him without pills or medicine.

"If you do that," the king said. "I will make you live here, you'll eat here everyday and I'll make you and your family rich."

The doctor went home and he made some balls with a drug unknown.

Next day, the Greek doctor told the king to go out, to the town's square, and to play with the balls he had made.

"You have to play with this ball until you sweat. If you start sweating, come back to the palace, take a bath and go to sleep. Tomorrow you'll be cured."

The king took the ball and started playing with his soldiers until he started sweating. He came back home and did everything the doctor had said.

The following morning, he was as clean as a baby, like he had never had that illness. He showed all his soldiers, officials and servants how clean he was. The he called the doctor.

He dressed the doctor all in gold, he gave him money and a splending meal.

But the king had a bad advisor. The advisor was scared because the king could make the doctor his new advisor, and the actual advisor didn't want to lose his job.

So, at night, he came and told the king several lies:

"You have blessed a totally unknown doctor who has come to heal you with things you don't know. He's here to kill you and take your place."

"Do you have proofs? You're talking to the King, I won't believe everything you say."

"This is absolutely true, your Majesty. Don't sleep: stay awake because he's going to do what I've told you. He's a spy from a far away land. He says he has cured you, but how do you know? Maybe it's poison killing you slowly."

The king had no talent with such things, so he started believing his advisor. So he quickly called the doctor and told him:

"I called you because you're about to die."

"Why?" the doctor asked.

"I have known you're a spy and you came to kill me. Cut his head off!" he ordered to a soldier.

"Wait! Don't kill me or God will treat you the same way."

"Talk, talk, talk..." the kink joked.

"Let me live and I'll make you a last gift."

"What gift?" the king asked.

"Well, I have the inheritance I wanna divide between my sons, my wife and some people. But there's a really special book I want to give to you."

"Is it expensive?"

"It has wonderful secrets" the doctor said. "After my death, if you read the third line on the left of the sixth page, my head will answer all of your questions."

The King was anxious to see the book, so he delivered the doctor to divide his inheritance. When he finished, the doctor brough the book to the King and told him.

"Cut my head, put in on a white blanket on a silver plate next to the book and read what I said. Don't open the book until I'm dead."

They cut the doctor's head off and they did what the doctor said. Surprisingly, when they left the head on the blanket, the doctor opened his eyes and said: "Open the book."

The king searched for the sixth page, but the pages were pasted. He started licking his lips so he could pass the pages.

But he couldn't find nothing: all the pages were blank spaces.

"Doctor, there's nothing written on the pages."

"Keep turning pages." the head said.

The king keep doing, and after all, the venom of the pages made its effect. The king started to puke and he fainted.

The king only had a few minutes of life, so the head shouted: "You stupid jerk! You're a king who abused of his authority, so now God is punishing your cruelty and bad things."