The cockerel at the back of the shed wakens Jeus and he immediately begins with the previous day and takes to task the things and matters he has learned.

Until there is nothing else left of them.

He always does this and he has learned a lot as a result.

He may not forget anything, because if you do that, you will get nowhere.

If you do not think, then you will achieve nothing in the world, which he has already worked out for himself.

He doesn’t want that, that is a fate worse than death!

“May I get out of bed, mother?

And may I ask you something?”

Crisje gets a fright.

Every morning there is something else.

What will she be put through now?

And then Jeus asks:

“Mother, why do people think that Deut is mad?

Deut isn’t mad.”

“That’s a good one, Jeus, he is mad.”

“That’s a big lie, mother.

Deut is not mad.

Only Deut cannot think.

It is in his throat, mother.”

“So, did you discover that?”

“Yes, mother.”

“That’s clever, but I do not understand it.”

Jeus thinks.

Suddenly a question comes which shocks Crisje to death.

“Mother?”

“What is it?”

“Why are you so fat?”

“Didn’t I know”, Crisje thinks.

“Isn’t that something?

Good gracious!

Our Lord, help, but help me...!”

This is a dangerous moment, Crisje knows.

What can she say now?

And now in a very sober fashion, Crisje tells that she is enjoying her food and that she has been able to eat well recently.

But then Jeus says:

“But I like my food as well, mother.

And I am still as thin as a rake!”

Crisje makes it clear to him that one person grows in height and another person grows outwards from food.

He can understand that.

But, he continues to brood.

Bernard will probably know.

“Mother?”

“What do you want to know from me now?”

“Why ... why, mother ... do they put angels on the graves who cannot fly anyway?”

Thank God, she feels, he has forgotten it.

She can give an answer to this:

“That’s a good one, Jeus.

They do that to bring the angels to the people.

That is, so to speak, contact with the heavens.”

But he doesn’t accept that.

“Did you think then, mother, that I don’t know, that you can’t understand me?”

“I understand you, but that is something completely different.”

“What is something completely different, mother?”

Crisje is talking nonsense, he thinks.

Mother is saying any old thing and wants him to forget that other matter.

And Crisje thinks, he mustn’t talk about his personal things, otherwise he will be talked about in the street and that mustn’t happen, then the children will pester him.

And then he will have no life any more.

“Mother?”

“But what do you want?”

“Are you really afraid of me?

Bernard fell out with me.

Bernard wants to show off with his own rotten world.

And I told him the truth, mother.”

So, Crisje thinks, it has reached this point.

She now feels he gives an answer to exactly what she is thinking about.

And Jeus takes care of himself, because she understands him, but that world of Bernard is a rotten world in comparison to the things, which he has been able to experience continuously.

And it is true; it is something completely different.

She feels that she does not need to have any worries about that.

When Bernard and Johan come in, the questioning stops and she gets peace for a moment.

When they have had breakfast, they get their space.

Johan has to go to school, Jeus and Bernard start behind the house, but Bernard cannot be approached.

He already asks:

“What did I do to you, Bernard?”

“You can drop dead”, Bernard utters harshly.

“That’s bad, Bernard.

But I didn’t do anything to you?

Can I help it that Deut likes me?”

“That’s because of your cursed flattering.

Or do you think I don’t know.”

“That’s nonsense, Bernard.

That’s a lie, you know that as well as I do.”

Bernard wants nothing to do with him.

But he feels that what he said is rubbish.

Bernard ‘is sulking’, but he doesn’t want to lose Bernard.

He makes it up by saying:

“Oh, my Bernard, but how grateful I am to you for everything.”

“Pull the other one, it’s got bells on, I don’t believe you anyway.”

“Bernard, may I ask you something?”

“What do you want to know from me?”

And now it comes:

“Bernard, do you know why mother is so fat?”

Bernard looks at him and laughs in his face.

“Stupid whippersnapper that you are, you can wait with that, can’t you?”

Bernard feels this is his power over Jeus.

Even if Jeus now tells him what Crisje said, he has to laugh about it, but keeps nice and quiet.

Bernard leaves, he has something else to do.

He takes off to the moorland, to the woodpiles of the bakers, where they play and romp.

He has to stand on his own two feet today, Bernard thinks.

When Crisje comes out the back, she sees Jeus, leaning his head on his hands, sitting watching the chickens.

“Where is Bernard?”

“He took off, mother.

I think he has gone to the moorland.”

“So”, is all Crisje says.

Suddenly she feels that he is following her, that he is looking at her from inside and outside.

How can she deny him that?

She disappears to have a serious think.

He wanders about behind the house, but nothing can be seen of Deut and Duumke.

Was he ungrateful?

For he had got to know Deut and it was an extra treat for him of the best kind.

If only Bernard was here.

If only he could make up for that again.

Bernard is also to blame.

When this is sorted, he will think differently.

He continues to think about Bernard and an hour later, he pops up again.

Did he call him?

“What are you doing, Bernard?”

“Nothing!”

He continues to sit with his head leaning on his hands and looks at Bernard.

Is something the matter with him, Bernard thinks?

“What’s the matter with you?

Have you got toothache?”

“I think so, Bernard.”

“Did you know that Manus Runsel can cure toothache?”

“What’s that, Bernard?”

“Manus does that with his thumb, and then the toothache disappears.”

“Does he do that with his thumb?”

“Yes, but it costs money.”

“How much, Bernard?”

“At least five cents.”

“Can’t we get that money?

I do have a toothache.”

Not even five minutes later they are sitting on the horse fence at Manus’ house.

Bernard tells him:

“The horses are shoed in here, you surely know that.”

“Yes, I know that.”

They look at Manus trudging at the big fires inside and then Bernard has something in mind.

“Come, let’s go and see if aunt Trui has something for us to do.”

A while later they are standing in front of aunt Trui.

“Aunt Trui, can we do anything for you?”

And yes, they may do some shopping.

When they come back they get one cent each.

What happens now?

Well, Bernard likes sweets, but there is still the toothache.

He says to Jeus:

“If I get my cent back from you later, I will now give you my cent to have your tooth cured.

But if you cheat me, I will beat your brains out.”

That is agreed.

And now back to Manus.

It is strange, but he now has a real toothache.

First they have to have a piece of cloth and that is quickly found.

They are back at Manus’ again, sparks fly about their ears, but Manus doesn’t bother about the boys.

Bernard has another bright idea.

"That's true too, Jeus.

For healing we have to use the bell at the back of the house.”

They run round the brush factory and now enter the back garden of Manus.

Bernard looks at the nice trees for a moment, prompting Jeus to comment:

“Do trees have to do with that healing, Bernard?”

Bernard has to laugh out loud, but he doesn’t let it show why he is laughing, he is still too much of a whippersnapper for that.

A while ago there were tasty pears on these same trees and they were for Bernard.

Manus should know about that sometime.

But he knows nothing.

But he doesn’t understand that Jeus cannot see this.

Jeus asks him:

“Can’t I ask anything else, Bernard? ...”

“And can’t I look at anything else ...” flies back and forth, and gets nowhere.

Finally Bernard thinks and feels that Jeus is right.

“That’s true, you are right, Jeus, but now I will ring the bell.”

Manus appears.

“What’s the matter, boys?”

“Manus, Jeus has a toothache.

He had to cry the whole night, we couldn’t get a wink’s sleep, Manus.”

“Then we’ll just have a look, Bernard.

You’re from Tall Hendrik, aren’t you?”

“Yes, Manus, that’s our father.”

Jeus now moans: “Will you help me, Manus?”

“Of course, but that costs money, doesn’t it?

How much money have you got on you?”

“Two cents, Manus”, Bernard replies.

“That’s little, Bernard, that’s precious little.

Did your mother send you?”

“Yes, Manus, but mother didn’t have any more.”

“So, your mother didn’t have any more?

But it is little.”

Jeus is crying and that helps.

Manus will do his healing.

“Is it that bad, my boy?”

“Yes, Manus, it’s killing me.”

“That’s a harsh word, but I can understand that.”

Bernard also promises Manus: “When we come back, Manus, then we will make sure that we have more money, you have to live as well, after all.”

“Good thinking, Bernard.”

Manus puts the two cents in his pocket and asks Jeus:

“Can you pray?”

“Yes, Manus.”

“Then you must start now.

You must say three Our Father’s.”

Jeus feels that Manus is stroking his cheek with his thumb.

He now hears: “I can see it already, there’s that pest.

Of course, you must have a toothache there.”

Manus also prays, one Our Father after another flies into the universe and to Our Lord.

The angels are laughing there, but Manus has nothing to do with it, he heals, and Manus can heal.

He is a wonderful man, Jeus sees and feels that, because the toothache is disappearing.

A while later it is completely gone.

He has to say one more Our Father, also another one before he goes to sleep tonight.

And then they can leave. but Manus manages another three cents on top and shuffles along to Hendriks on the other side and has his drink.

That tastes good, after work like that a drink gives you strength.

What a laugh the boys have.

Jeus does not have to fool Bernard that he really had toothache, Bernard is not that silly.

But now that they are coming from Manus’ house, Jeus suddenly has a real toothache and moans like a beaten dog.

Now Bernard laughs even louder.

That is enough to drive you mad, if you don’t mind yourself, but of course you mind, after all.

“Good gracious, that is a real toothache, Bernard.”

“That’s a good one”, he says, “that is because you wanted to cheat Manus.

That’s the punishment!”

“Do you mean that, Bernard?”

“Of course, I mean that.

Did you think that Manus could not heal?

Manus can cure a toothache, as long as you know.”

And Jeus knows that already, he has learned a lot, it is a miracle.

The toothache became so bad that Crisje had to look in his mouth, but she saw nothing special and a half an hour later he felt nothing more and could forget his toothache.

But Manus can heal!

You can believe it or not, Manus can heal.

There are more people who possess something special and then they have got that from Our Lord.

Manus first received this gift from his father and he from his father in turn, but the first father received this gift from above.

Manus is already thinking, when he kicks the bucket later, who will receive this gift from him.

He will decide that himself, because that is a great responsibility.

You cannot give it to anyone just like that.

You have to answer for it later to Our Lord.

But still that doesn’t sound so bad.

From far and near people come to Manus.

He has been able to cure howling people in five minutes.

Things which a doctor didn’t have a clue about, could be cured by Manus!

And would people laugh about it now and again and consider it nonsense, if they knew how serious it all was?

There are people who can see into the future and forecast things but they do not know where they receive this knowledge.

That is going too far and is beyond them, but they are capable of it.

With Manus it is in his organism, in his thumb!

And whether that thumb also smells of horse sweat has nothing to do with it, the toothache disappears!

Manus is as round as a barrel.

And likes a drink, but he is deadly serious.

And Manus is a good person; otherwise he wouldn’t have received this gift from his father.

Then Our Lord would get on to his father again and you can prevent that.

Is there anything else, Jeus?

So he has learned all that from Bernard.

Bernard has something else to tell Jeus: it will soon be Mardi Gras where they will dress up.

Then you can have fun, Jeus, as you have never experienced before.

But the worst thing of all is that Jeus is now in debt to Bernard and that is really bad.

But it will soon be Mardi Gras and then they can earn money.

And Our Lord has also been good in this, for young and old, all love Mardi Gras!

Crisje as well, because there is always something to laugh about.