Karate Kidd by Hiller B. B

Author:Hiller, B. B.
Format: epub
Published: 2019-10-19T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

DANIEL was startled by the perfection of the garden. A small path drew his eyes along the bed of a small stream past beautiful rocks and plants. Three trees seemed somehow perfectly placed around a gentle waterfall. Traditional Japanese lanterns stood on cedar poles at the perimeter. A few benches invited a visitor to rest and contemplate. What a strange place to find behind Mr. Miyagi’s ramshackle house, thought Daniel.

But there it was, and at the back of the house Mr. Miyagi was just putting the last few nails into a new wooden deck.

“Hey, this is beautiful!” said Daniel. Ignoring the compliment, Mr. Miyagi invited Daniel to kneel on the deck. Daniel knelt and picked up a strange wooden block with a leather strap on it.

“What’s this?”

“Japanese sander.”

“How does it work?”

Solemnly, Mr. Miyagi answered, “Funny you should ask,” attaching the sander to DaniePs hand with the leather strap. He showed him how to make perfect circles with the sandpaper on the rough wood deck.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to go back and forth?”

“Hai. But you go circle.” He rose and walked into the house, leaving Daniel with a stack of fresh sandpaper and a large, unsanded deck. Daniel was disappointed. He wished he knew what the purpose was in these chores. But he’d made the promise to Mr. Miyagi and he couldn’t question his teacher.

Daniel was near the end of his task when Mr. Miyagi appeared on the finished portion of the deck with a hibachi. Soon there was a charcoal fire burning in it and the wonderful smell of cooked fish spurred Daniel to finish quickly. He was very hungry when he saw Mr. Miyagi take the finished meal inside. Hurriedly, Daniel completed the sanding and tidied up, mopping his sweaty face and chest with his shirt. He rinsed off at a faucet by the side of the house and headed inside, hungry and expectant.

Mr. Miyagi greeted him at the door with a contented belch.

“Splinters gone?”

“Yeah,” said Daniel, looking over the old man’s shoulder to see one very empty plate at the table. He could barely hide his disappointment, but Mr. Miyagi apparently didn’t notice it. He was too busy sliding back and forth on the deck, feeling for splinters with his feet.

“Good,” he said. “Come morning. Six a.m.” He bowed to Daniel and turned to go into the darkness of his garden. Daniel found himself bowing to the air. Perplexed, and somewhat hurt, he left for home.

After a good night’s sleep, however, Daniel was feeling better. It seemed pointless to develop any resentment against Mr. Miyagi. Either he would teach Daniel karate or he would not. Nobody else was going to do it. In the meantime, Daniel decided, he sure was learning some funny ways to do things. Nobody sands in circles.

Engrossed in these thoughts, he entered Mr. Miyagi’s house at six o’clock to find him exactly as he had found him the first time they met.

Snap! The chopsticks chased a wayward fly, missing. Daniel sat down to watch.

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