Pilgrim's Progress - Special Edition

by Chris Wright

  Obstinate and Pliable were taller and stronger than me, so it didn't take them long to catch up. "Where exactly do you think you're going?" Obstinate demanded, grabbing hold of my shoulder. "What do you mean by making us run after you?"

  "I'm going to the King's City," I said, shaking myself free. "Are you coming with me?" I didn't think they were, but I could call their bluff.

  Obstinate laughed. "Why would we do that? Destruction is a wonderful city, and there's so much to do here. I'm happy enough with my friends."

  I shook my head. "We'd all be a great deal happier with the King. I've told you before, our city is a dangerous place."

  "As if you know anything about it," Obstinate said. "Why do you keep talking such nonsense?"

  I felt I had to defend myself. "It's not nonsense. It's written in my Book."

  This made Obstinate laugh again. "How many times do I have to tell you -- your Book is full of rubbish! There's not one word of it true. Now, are you coming back or not?"

  Obstinate sounded angry, and I could feel my heart begin to beat faster and faster, but I wanted to sound confident. "No, I'm not going back. I'm going to the King."

  "Go on, then," Obstinate said. "Come on, Pliable, we could have saved ourselves the trouble of running after this crazy boy. He doesn't know when he's well off."

  But Pliable stood still. "Don't laugh at him," he said. "Just supposing the Book is true. Christian will be better off than we are. I'm going with him."

  "Yes, please come with me," I said. And I meant it. I was going to need some help along on the Way. "You don't know how happy we'll be when we're living with the King."

  "Are you sure you can find the City?" Pliable asked. He obviously still had doubts.

  I nodded. "Evangelist told me what to do. We have to go to that light in the distance, and a man at the Wicket Gate will let us through."

  "You don't really mean to say you're going?" Obstinate jeered. "Why, even if there is a Celestial City, you two will never find it."

  Pliable moved to stand by my side, which made me feel glad. "I may as well go as far as the Wicket Gate, and see what the road is like," he muttered.

  "I'm not surprised at Christian," Obstinate continued, "but you, Pliable, you ought to have more sense. Just come back with me, and I'll not tell anyone about it."

  For once Pliable seemed pleased to be having his own way, and he said, "It's no use talking, Obstinate. I've made up my mind. So I'll say goodbye, if you won't come with us."

  "No, thank you. I'm glad to get rid of you both." With a mocking smile, Obstinate turned back towards the City of Destruction.

  CHAPTER 4

  The Slough of Despond

  "Now," Pliable said, when Obstinate had left us alone, "tell me what sort of place this Celestial City is."

  "It's wonderful," I replied, as though I knew all about it. Well, Evangelist said is was good there. "Haven't you heard what the visitors say? It's where the King and his Son live, and his people never feel unwell or unhappy. They wear shining clothes that can never fade, and no one ever grows old."

  For a moment, Pliable looked excited. Then his face fell. "If it's as good as that, I don't suppose they'll let us in."

  "Evangelist told me the King has promised to let anyone in who asks."

  "Well, he didn't tell me that."

  "You didn't meet Evangelist." Pliable had a point, but he seemed to be missing what Evangelist had said several times about the Way being open to everyone. "It says the same thing in my Book, so don't worry about it. I'm sure the King will be pleased to see you."

  "Well, tell me something else, Christian. What will you do when you get to the City?"

  "First of all I'd like to see the King, and then I'll look for my mother. She went there three years ago." One of the visitors had told me she was with the King and his Son in the Celestial City, and that's what I told Pliable.

  Pliable seemed to have nothing but questions. "How long will it take us to get there? Did you ask Evangelist? We might go a little faster, I think."

  "I wish I could," I said, feeling tired already. "It's this burden on my back that's causing the problem. At times I can hardly walk."

  Pliable was just saying, "What do you mean by pretending you have a burden to carry?" when suddenly his feet began to sink into the ground. "Help!" he cried. "What's happening?"

  I was sinking faster than Pliable, into a large bog of soft mud. "We have to get out," I said, which was rather obvious to anyone.

  But we felt frightened and confused. The wet ground started to suck us down, like dangerous quicksand. I remembered too late that we were passing the Slough of Despond, and it was definitely a dangerous place. Every move we made seemed to pull us farther into danger. We were already up to our waists in oozy mud.

  "See what a mess we're in," Pliable shouted. "And it's all your fault, Christian. I wish I'd never come. If it's like this now, what's the rest of the journey going to like? If I can ever get out of this swamp, I'm going straight home. You can go on by yourself if you like!"

  I didn't answer. My clothes were covered with dark sludge, and I was convinced that at any moment I was going to be sucked under and drowned. I desperately wished Evangelist would come to help, but I couldn't see anyone -- apart from Pliable -- and he was no use at all. Far away, across the fields, the light shone above the Gate to the Way of the King, and behind me lay the City of Destruction. I was stuck between the two, and sinking deeper and deeper.

  Pliable turned away from the light, and somehow managed to drag himself out of the bog. When I looked back, I saw him running home as fast as he could go, covered in black mud. At that moment I decided perhaps Evangelist was wrong, and the King didn't want people like me travelling along the road to his City.

  "I'm so stupid," I thought. "I can't even get safely across these fields. What would happen to me if I came to a high mountain or a deep river?" And once more I struggled to find firm ground.

  Then, when I had almost given up, I heard a voice calling, "Wait, I'm coming to help you."

  CHAPTER 5

  Help

  I looked round when I heard the voice. "Who are you?" I asked.

  "I'm called Help," a young man said. "I'm one of the King's servants. I saw you struggling in the Slough. How did you fall in?"

  Even though I was still sinking, I told Help what had happened. "Evangelist said I was to go to the Wicket Gate, and I forgot about this bog."

  "Didn't you see the stepping-stones?"

  "No, I was talking to Pliable and we weren't looking at the ground,"

  "Where is Pliable?"

  "He got out, but he didn't try to help me." My voice must have made it sound like an accusation. Well, I was angry with Pliable, that's for sure. "And you'd better do something quickly, because I'm being sucked deeper every time I move."

  Help smiled confidently. "I'll have you out of there in a minute. I was wondering why the King sent me over the fields today, but I can see it was because he knew you'd need me."

  I put out my arm, and Help caught hold of it firmly and began to pull. As soon as I came free from the sticky mud with a great sucking noise, I stood on the edge of the marsh trembling with fright, hardly believing I was safe.

  "Thanks," I said, which was a bit of an understatement. "I could never have got out by myself."

  "No," Help told me, "I don't think you could."

  "So why doesn't the King make a good path round it?" I asked.

  "The King has always tried to make the way easier by filling the Slough with good things, but people keep throwing their rubbish in, so the mud spreads out onto the path. In any case, you saw what happened with Pliable. He wasn't prepared to keep going when things became difficult. In a way, the Slough of Despond is a test to see who really wants to find the King."

  "Well," I said, "I really do want to go to the Celestial City."

  The Celestial City. I knew I'd not done marvellously so far. Maybe Pliable had made the right decision in running bac
k to the City of Destruction. "If the Way is going to be like this, perhaps I'd better wait until I'm older," I said.

  Help shook his head. "No, don't wait, Christian. People a lot younger than you have started their journey at the Wicket Gate. The King will watch over you, and if you call out to him he'll send somebody to help you whenever you're in trouble."

  "Are you sure?" I asked. "All my friends say I'm stupid."

  Help smiled. "Never mind what people say. When you're one of the King's pilgrims, you'll be safe." He was kneeling on the ground as he spoke, wiping the mud from my clothes with tufts of grass.

  "I've made a mess of them," I said, "and they weren't much good before I fell in."

  Help got up, laughing. "Don't worry about your clothes. You'll be given new ones before you reach the Celestial City. Keep your eyes fixed on the light over the Wicket Gate, and walk there as quickly as you can. And if you meet anyone, don't let them talk you out of going."

  "Just tell me one thing," I said, as Help got ready to leave. "Have you ever been to the City?"

  "No, but I've been to its Gates. Then the King gave me some work to do for him, and I can't live in the City until it's finished."

  "How long will it take me to get there?" It didn't seem to me that my journey would be over in a few days. Perhaps it would take a lifetime.

  "I can't tell you that. For some people the journey is long, and for others it's short. But the King will let you into the City at the right time. Now I must go. If you're frightened again, call to the King and he'll hear you."

  I thanked Help, but now I'd lost sight of the light above the Gate. "Please tell me the way again," I called as he walked away.

  "Follow the path across the fields. Do you see that mountain? It's called Law Mountain. Don't go anywhere near it," Help said. "There's a village called Respectability on the other side of it, and you need to keep well away from that place. The people who live there call themselves the King's servants. They pretend to love and obey him, but they don't care about anything but their own pleasure."

  I seemed to remember hearing about these people. "Did they once live in the City of Destruction?"

  Help nodded. "They were afraid to stay there because of what the visitors told them. But they decided it was too much trouble to go to the King's country, so they've built houses and made fields and gardens for themselves. And now they think they're safe because they live such good lives."

  Something told me they were wrong.

  CHAPTER 6

  Young Worldly-Wiseman

  As I made my way towards the light above the Wicket Gate, I met a boy coming across the fields. He was a bit older than me, but I recognised him as young Worldly-Wiseman, who often came to the City of Destruction to visit his friends. He'd boast that he knew everything there was to know about living a good life. I wanted to avoid him, but Worldly-Wiseman hurried across to meet me.

  "Hello, Christian," he said in a surprised voice, "are you coming to visit us?"

  I shook my head. "I'm going to the Wicket Gate."

  "The Wicket Gate? Whatever for?"

  "To get rid of my burden."

  Worldly-Wiseman put a comforting arm on my shoulder. "I understand all about those burdens," he said, with an encouraging smile. "It isn't everybody who can feel them, but when you can, there's no comfort until it's gone."

  I was surprised to hear Worldly-Wiseman speak in this way, for my all friends in the City of Destruction told me my burden was in my imagination. "I hope I'll not have to carry it much longer," I told him. "I need to get to the Wicket Gate."

  "Whoever put it into your head to go there?" Worldly-Wiseman asked in surprise. "And why are you covered in mud?"

  I decided to tell everything exactly as it had happened. "I met a man called Evangelist, and he told me to go through the Wicket Gate. But on the way I..." I bit my lip in shame. "I fell into the Slough."

  Young Worldly-Wiseman smiled. "Evangelist? Yes, I've heard of him. He may be kind, but he's a bit ... you know ..." He tapped his head. "Look here, Christian, I can tell you a much better way to lose your burden, and you certainly don't need to go on a long journey -- or fall into any more marshes. I can imagine what Evangelist said. He tells everyone the same thing."

  "But I trust him," I said, leaping to Evangelist's defence. "I didn't listen to him when he first came to the city, but as soon as I starting reading my Book I knew he was telling the truth."

  "Trust him?" Worldly-Wiseman sneered. "Look what's happened to you already. You've been in that horrid Slough, and if you go through the Wicket Gate you'll find worse troubles than that. There are giants, lions, dragons, wild beasts and all sorts of dangers, and more than likely you'll die of hunger along the way. So why would anyone want to travel on that road?"

  "But my burden is so heavy," I sighed, hardly listening to what Worldly-Wiseman was saying. "Evangelist told me there's only one way to get rid of it, and that's to go through the Wicket Gate."

  "You can't even see the Gate from here," Worldly-Wiseman said, laughing. I realised he was even worse at making fun of me than my friends in the City of Destruction.

  "I have to look for the light over it," I told him.

  "I can't see any light," Worldly-Wiseman said. "Can you?"

  I had to admit I couldn't. "Not at the moment," I said.

  Worldly-Wiseman laughed again. "I'm telling you for your own good, Christian. You might as well stop all these silly ideas and listen to me. Do you have any family?"

  "My father works in the city, and my mother's in the Celestial City."

  Worldly-Wiseman shook his head and stopped laughing. "There isn't any Celestial City, and there's no King. Don't start thinking you'll see your mother again. She's gone. For ever."

  I felt a little panic run through me. Supposing Worldly-Wiseman was right? Not only had the Wicket Gate gone, there was no longer any sign of the light. So maybe the whole idea of the Celestial City was make-believe after all.

  "Well, you can do as you like," Worldly-Wiseman told me, "but I think you're just silly. How did you ever know you had a burden?"

  "Everyone has a burden. I read about it in the King's Book."

  "I thought so. That Book is all very well for clever people, but people like us can't understand it. You read it, but you've no idea what it means, so you just get your head full of nonsense. Now, I'll tell you what to do. Don't go back to your city, because you'll always feel frightened there, and it really isn't a nice place to live."

  "I've no intention of going back," I said, for I already knew it wasn't a nice place. After all, I'd been living there all my life.

  "If I were you, I'd go over Law Mountain and call at my village," Worldly-Wiseman advised. "If you can climb the mountain without coming to harm, you can go down to the village of Respectability where I have some friends. If you tell them I sent you, they'll give you somewhere to stay and treat you well. Then in a few days you'll forget all about your burden, and I don't suppose you'll ever feel it again."

  Worldly-Wiseman spoke so confidently that I was starting to believe what he said. It would certainly be nice to live near my old home, and see Christiana and my other friends sometimes.

  "You can't do better than to take my advice," young Worldly-Wiseman continued. "Never mind about Evangelist and Help, and don't bother looking for the Wicket Gate. Just climb Law Mountain and go to the village of Respectability. Call at the first house you come to."

  He put his hands in his pockets and walked off, whistling to himself. To my shame, I forgot all about the King and his message, and set off to climb the mountain.

  CHAPTER 7

  Evangelist Again

  I went on towards Law Mountain as quickly as I could, but my burden seemed to grow heavier every minute, until at last I was ready to fall down under its weight. Walking was almost impossible, and I wondered whether I'd ever be able to get over the mountain to the village where Worldly-Wiseman and his friends lived.

  But when I turned the corner
of the footpath that led over Law Mountain, I almost forgot my burden, for I'd never before seen anything so scary. The side of the mountain was steep, with rocks that looked ready to fall onto the path.

  I went a little way, but I was soon too frightened to take another step. I fancied I could see lightning, and flames of fire darting out between the rocks, and I have to admit that I shook all over with fear.

  "Oh, I wish I hadn't come," I cried out. "What am I going to do?"

  Just then I saw a man hurrying down the path. As he came nearer I could see it was Evangelist. He had no smile on his face this time, and I felt so ashamed and miserable that I almost wished the rocks would fall.

  "What are you doing here?" Evangelist asked.

  I hung my head down.

  "Aren't you the lad I spoke to outside the City of Destruction?"

  "Yes," I said quietly. There was no point in pretending I was someone else.

  "Didn't I show you the way to the Wicket Gate?"

  "Yes."

  "Then why are you here, trying to climb Law Mountain? This isn't the way. No one has ever managed to climb this mountain without having a serious accident."

  "I didn't mean to do wrong," I said, "but I met someone I knew. He said I could get rid of my burden in the village of Respectability on the other side. But now I'm sure the rocks are going to fall on me, and I'm scared."

  Evangelist shook his head. "Listen to me, Christian. The King sent me to tell you about the Celestial City, and you had his promise that he will love you and watch over you."

  "He hasn't taken care of me at all," I said. "What's the King done to help me?"

  "He's been calling you to go to him," Evangelist said. "When you were in the City of Destruction he showed you through your Book that he wants you. When you fell into the Slough of Despond, he sent Help to pull you out. You've read in your Book that the King will always take care of those who trust in him. So why did you believe what your friend Worldly-Wiseman said, and start climbing Law Mountain?"

  Of course, that made me feel even more ashamed. "Worldly-Wiseman told me he knew an easier way for me to get rid of my burden," I mumbled in embarrassment.

  Evangelist laid his hand gently on my head. "You have grieved the King," he told me, "but if you're sorry, he'll forgive you."

  "I'll never disobey him again," I promised, and I really meant it. The sight of those rocks and the lightning was like a nightmare. "But are you sure the King will forgive me, even if I don't climb Law Mountain?"