“The Tribeman”

Dear Journal,

I encountered a strange tribeman today. It is often difficult to see very far in the dense forest, and he was upon me before I knew it. He danced circles around me, chanting and shaking his spear. I think he wanted some of the coconuts I had acquired close to the riverbank. Well, he wasn’t going to get them! Fortunately for me, I know exactly how to handle these sorts of tribemen. I slowly reached for my pack and drew out my sketchpad and pencil. Barely noticing, he kept dancing in circles and chanting his evil curses. I quickly drew a caricature which resembled the tribesman in every detail but one. I held up the paper and showed it to him. He abruptly stopped dancing and gibbering and, finally, got a good look at what I had been doing. His eyes grew wide, and his mouth dropped open. Before you could say, “gotcha, tribeman!” he had turned tail and run. You see, these tribemen believe that if a person draws them a perfect caricature, their soul will be sucked into the very paper on which the picture is drawn! They are then forced to live a two-dimensional, off-white, terribly boring life in the hereafter. That is exactly what I was banking on when I drew this tribeman’s caricature. However, as you have probably already guessed, this tribeman had nothing whatsoever to fear. For, you see, the caricature I drew was missing one important detail. He was holding the spear in the other hand! HA! I really got him!

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