Bull In A China Shop

“Things are not always what they seem; the first appearance deceives many; the intelligence of a few perceives what has been carefully hidden.”

-Phaedrus

There are some lessons in life that are learned too late, but for those with open eyes, it may come in the nick of time.

Some time ago, there was a small china shop, run by a young couple. The young couple’s names were Larry and Sue. Though the shop was small, it carried a great beauty, that came in each of it’s handcrafted and painted works. From the plates to the teacups, every piece was immaculate and as though it were its very own piece of art.

One day, a young man, quite wealthy in appearance, wearing a well fitting, quality suite and tie, with shoes so clean they shined; walked into the little shop. He carried a leather briefcase in hand. When the door chimed to signal his entry, Sue approached the man, to see if she could help him in any way. The man held up his hand, to let Sue know, to leave him be. As the man silently roamed, Sue and Larry watched the man’s face. He wore a tight expression, which barred his emotion’s appearance. Finally, the young man approached Larry and Sue, baring a smile, which was always a good sign to young couple. The man introduced himself as Fenwick. Fenwick asked about the couple’s little shop. At first the questions he asked, were very simple questions that the couple often heard, such as “what were the china made with?” and “did the couple make the china themselves?”, but soon the questions became odder and more curious; “how many people visit your shop every day?” and “how much china do you sell”. Though the questions were odd and growing increasingly personal, the couple didn’t even recognize, as the man who seemed so suave, had a skilled tongue that made them feel like they were talking to an old friend. He was a capable and intelligent young man, whose way with words could disarm anyone, and that it did.

Almost in a trance, the couple having talked with Fenwick, for what seemed like hours, giving away every single bit of information, which Fenwick inquired about. Fenwick asked the couple “how attached are the two of you to this little place?”, to which the young couple turned to each other and with a smile said “Extremely! This building and the location are wonderful! We love it here; we have always wanted to own a china shop! We wouldn’t change a thing.” Fenwick seeming quite intrigued by the answer, queried the couple “Even if you were offered a large sum of money? Enough to relocate your shop elsewhere?”. Larry and Sue, amused by Fenwick’s question, as though it were made with an innocent childlike sense of curiosity, responded “Would you let someone else, buy your dream come true?”. With that, Fenwick eyed the two up and down, while wearing a mildly contorted face, that looked deep in thought. A few moments later, Fenwick bore a smile again and posed his final question; “Would the two of you like a business partner, to help you expand the business?”. Shock rose across Larry’s and Sue’s faces. The couple couldn’t believe it. The two had been struck with extreme luck. They excitedly accepted Fenwick’s generous offer.

Some time had passed, and Fenwick held true to his words, the shop had been expanded. However, it had been a costly business venture. The couple had managed it with all the savings they had, but just barely. The couple was surprised, how even with Fenwick’s help, how costly the expansion had been and how close they were, to not achieving it. Although one mountain had been climbed and a grander scheme had been achieved, it still needed to be maintained. Despite that knowledge, with smiles on their faces, Larry and Sue were happy and up for the challenge, as they were aspiring to live their dreams to their fullest potential.

Struggling to brake even, Larry and Sue worked day and night. They would see Fenwick wandering the shop almost daily, always asking of the shop’s sales and of the loans, and losses. Fenwick handled the advertisements and all the labour for the expansion. He offered to run the shop as well and to even aid with the production of china, but those still belonged to Larry and Sue. This was their passion; the couple would work themselves to the bone for it.

After a few months of this, Fenwick seemed to grow increasingly more annoyed, so much so, that his tight expression was at its limits for what it could contain. The couple figured that a wealthy man like Fenwick, simply expected more. The shop’s income had been steadily growing and the couple was recouping their savings. Yet Fenwick was still unhappy. So, he asked the couple to increase the entire shop’s prices. Larry and Sue were uncomfortable with the idea, but soon forgot their discomfort, as they were lolled by the smooth words provided by Fenwick.

The shop was in a decent place. It wasn’t thriving, but it wasn’t struggling either. The couple was still happy, smiling ear to ear, day in and out, regardless of the size, of the bags under their eyes. Fenwick, however, bore a different story. If his face could get any tighter, it would crack.

The couple, finally thinking things would be a little easier, jumped.

CRASH!

The two whirled around, their gazes drawn in the direction of the sound.

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

Both of their eyes wide, as they slowly walked towards the corner.

FALL! SMASH!

Larry and Sue jumped again, now holding each other tight, as the sounds grew closer and much louder.

CRASH!

The last crash had rung out, seemingly echoing across the shop. Upon arriving at the scene, Larry and Sue were terrified to see nothing, but a shelf’s worth of broken china, now shattered across the floor, with no sign of what had caused it. Cleaning up the mess, Larry and Sue kept it to themselves and carried on their way.

The next day, the same thing happened. Again, no cause to be found. Then the next day, still the same. Then on the fourth day, Larry and Sue saw something scurrying away. Grabbing a broom, Larry swung it at the shadow.

FWOOSH!

He missed and the shadow disappeared. This continued for another two days, before Sue managed to corner the shadow, giving it a good whack, knocking it from the shelf. There on the floor, lie the culprit that had destroyed so much of the couple’s precious works. It was a little hand sized bull. Picking the up the little bull, Sue left him in the alley behind the shop and blocked off the bull’s every access point.

Waking up the crack of dawn and heading off to work, the couple had a sigh of relief, for the problem now solved, or so they thought.

Having finished a new batch of china, the couple went to place it in the shop, only to find even more china smashed then before. In confusion the couple ran around the shop, unaware of how the little bull could have possibly gotten back in. Then they saw it, a shadow.

SCURRY!

It ran past them, and both dawned their broom weapons to chase after it. The two split up.

“I HAVE IT!” Sue yelled.

“NO, I DO!” Larry yelled

“WHAT?!?” the two exchanged looks…. There wasn’t just one.

SCURRY! SCURRY! SCURRY!

There were five shadows now running amok, decimating everything.

Finally stopping one dead in its tracks, the couple realized; they weren’t chasing more bulls, they were chasing rats.

While disposing of the one rat in the trash behind the shop, Sue noticed that the little bull was still there – chasing the rats.

Then Sue had an idea. Picking up the little bull, Sue brought him back into the shop and let him loose. Then Sue grabbed Larry’s arm to stop him, as he was about to swing his broom at the little bull. Providing Sue with a questioning expression, she responded by telling Larry to watch. The couple sat back as the little bull began its chase. He was quite clumsy and did still do some damage to the shop, however, it far less than what the rats had done. Slowly but surely, the little bull removed every rat from the shop. After that morning, the couple decided to keep the little bull as their little shop protector. They would feed him and provide him plenty of water. The couple did still have to clean up after him from time to time, but they didn’t mind, as he kept away the rats; that would have surely bankrupted the shop.

The couple was making money and their dream had come true. Fenwick had been quiet for weeks, when suddenly he snapped.

Fenwick barged into the shop and screamed at the couple “HOW ARE YOU NOT BROKE?!?”

“YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE BROKE NOT BLOSSOMING!!!”

“I HAVE NOT SPENT MONTHS TRYING TO SABOTAGE YOUR BUSINESS, JUST TO HAVE YOU DO WELL!!!”

The couple was baffled and didn’t understand. “Fenwick, what do you mean?!?”

Half laughing half snorting, Fenwick was furious and his tight face, used like a mask, had finally cracked. His words were no longer smooth as he spoke, or rather screamed.

“YOU ASKED ME MONTHS AGO IF I WOULD LET SOMEONE ELSE BUY MY DREAM, BUT YOU DID!!! I WANTED THIS BUILDING BUT YOU WEREN’T WILLING TO SELL, SO I TRIED TO BANKRUPT YOU WITH THE EXPANSION AND ARRANGING THE MOST EXPENSIVE LABOURERS AND HAD YOU PAY IT ALL!!! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO GO BROKE!!! SO, THEN I GOT YOU TO INCREASE YOUR PRICES AND ADVERTISED NOTHING SO YOU WOULD LOOSE CUSTOMERS!!! BUT IT STILL DIDN’T WORK!!! SO, I TRIED TO RUIN YOUR SHOP’S QUALITY BY TAKING OVER PRODUCTIONS!!! BUT NOTHING!!! THEN I THOUGHT SOME RATS MIGHT SCARE PEOPLE AWAY!!! BUT THERE AREN’T ANY RATS!!!”

The bubble had finally popped, and the couple finally saw past the pretty words. Larry and Sue now understood why everything had been such a struggle. With this new information in hand and the knowledge that Fenwick didn’t actually have any part in their shop, the couple kicked him out and removed him from their lives permanently. They we thankful for one thing; although they didn’t see Fenwick’s true colors, until after they could have lost everything, they did see the good in the little bull, which helped them keep what they had.

Generations later and to this day, a little porcelain china bull, hangs at the front of the china shop, in memory of their little bull that protected them, from the wrong kind of bull.

“Things aren’t always as they appear. I’ve been believing things to be a certain way because I want them to be that way. I build up illusions in my head.” – Brett Dennen

“The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances” – Atisa

By: Anabeth Conatts