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3. The robbery

Shayan brought in the small baskets in front of the shop and locked the door. Once again, apart from one, no customers had come today. As always.

After turning off all the lights in the sales room, he went up a flight of stairs to a room under the roof. There was a bed, as well as a wardrobe and personal belongings.

He put the candle, which he had brought with him, on a cupboard and got ready for the night. He took off his coat and replaced it with a brightly colored nightgown. At least that was the only thing he wore from India as a usual piece of clothing.

Dejected, he looked at himself in a wall mirror. The dragon warrior's visit had depressed him quite a bit. The word had surely got around in the village long ago and he didn't want to imagine what new rumors were going around now.

He looked down at himself. Sometimes he wished he hadn't been born a peacock. If only he were a bird of paradise, instead of a peacock with a similar appearance and name that everyone saw as a reflection of madness. For this reason, customers always stayed away from him.

The brightly colored peacock raised his head. He was proud of his name and he was proud of his family. His gaze wandered to a wall where there were several pictures on a sideboard. Silent and deep in thought, he walked towards it. He looked at a painted picture that showed two adult peafowls and several peacock chicks.

Shayan smiled. "Greetings to home."

He waved to the picture, then he looked sideways to a picture of a peahen whose frame was decorated with brightly colored flowers. Immediately, he put on a sad, wistful expression.

"Love to you."

He gave the picture an air kiss with his wing, which he breathed over to her.

Sighing, he went to the bed. There he lay down and covered himself up. He hung on to his thoughts for a while, then gradually he dozed off. He let the light burn in a lantern, and he had a special reason for that.

The special reason was not long in coming. Barely an hour passed before a loud rumble made the peacock startle. He quickly grabbed a staff and slowly he went down the stairs.

It was dark in the sales room. Shayan lifted the candle higher and illuminated the area. The door seemed to be closed. But when a breath of air blew over to him from outside, the door began to move slightly to and fro.

The peacock's posture tightened. He ducked down the last few steps. When he got downstairs, he put the candle on a shelf and held the stick in front of himself.

"Whoever's there," he shouted. "You would do well to disappear!"

Nobody answered, which deeply worried the peacock. Either the intruder was too afraid or he felt too safe.

The peacock noticed a shadow behind. He turned around quickly. But then another shadow came up to him from behind. Shayan now found himself surrounded by four wild boars, who didn't look like they wanted to buy anything.

"Stay away from me!" He warned, holding the staff protectively in front of himself.

The boars giggled viciously.

"We have the job of making it easier for you to move out," the first one grunted.

Shayan's eyes narrowed. "You have no right to ask anything like that from me! I have the right to stay like everyone else."

The leader of the boar gang wrinkled his nose. "Well, then you have to be taught how to pack your suitcase if you can't do it by yourself."

The other three assumed a fighting stance. The peacock had no experience in combat and could only swing his staff.

Suddenly one of the four pushed forward and rammed the bird with full force. Shayan hit a shelf that was knocked to the floor with him. Immediately he stood up again. But no sooner was he on his feet, two rammed him from the right and left. He cried out in pain, but he knew that no one in the neighborhood would come to his aid.

He sank to the floor with a groan. But that was not enough for his attackers. In the next moment, he was yanked back up and given blows in the stomach. This brought the peacock completely over and he sank to the ground again. This time someone jumped on his back and pressed him against the floor with his stomach. Then they grabbed the wings and pushed them on his back.

The boar fixed his right wing and turned it around painfully.

Shayan gasped for breath, but he was unable to fight his way free. In addition, all the other wild boars now pressed him to the ground with their hooves.

The leader grinned. "You only need one wing to pack your things, don't you?"

He turned the wing even harder and threatened to break it. The peacock struggled beneath them.

"Hey!" someone cried. "If you already have such ugly faces, then I would at least find better manners in your place!"

The boars raised their heads in surprise. Shayan also directed his glance in the direction from which the voice had come. In the next moment a black and white figure stepped into the candlelight and glared at the robbers, under whose hooves the peacock was breathing heavily.

The leader snorted. "Get out of here, we have a job to do."

Po narrowed his eyes. "A pretty ugly job, just as ugly as your cowardly fighting style. Take it up with someone who fits to your fist."

The boar leader on Shayan's back laughed and turned the wing even more. The peacock screamed. The bone was about to crack when Po threw all courtesy overboard and threw himself at the boar.

The leader was torn from the back of the peacock by the force and rolled over the ground. The others of the gang were initially speechless until they broke out of their stupor and pounced on the panda. But the power struggle was decided quickly.

No matter how often the wild boars attacked the fat bear, they got back the force of the blows twice every time. Po was so angry that he could have smashed all the walls. Eventually the gang had to retreat. They hurried through the door and ran down the street. Po chased them for a few more meters until they disappeared around the next corner.

The panda raised his fists again. When he was sure they weren't going to come back, he went back to the store, where it looked pretty ravaged.

Shayan was sitting on the floor, leaning his back against a shelf, panting, holding his right wing.

Worried, Po leaned over to him. "Everything okay? Is the wing still in one piece?"

The peacock moved his wing. It wasn't broken, but it still hurt badly.

"It's okay," he said finally, getting up with a groan. His glance wandered over the chaos. His eyes fell on a couple of vases that had broken. He took a broom with his left wing and pushed the broken pieces together.

Po looked at him thoughtfully from the side. "You don't seem to be afraid of them, are you?"

Shayan sighed. "I'm used to it."

He simply brushed the broken pieces aside and put the broom back in its place.

"Listen," Po started again. "If people don't like you, why are you still here?"

The peacock put a couple of small, colorful elephant figures back on the table. "I've often thought of moving away." He stroked an elephant thoughtfully with a feather finger. "When I received this shop I thought I had found a longer place to stay, but obviously I was wrong."

He rubbed his aching wing.

Po put his hands together nervously. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

But Shayan shook his head. "I think you've done enough already. Thanks."

He took the candle and slowly walked back up the stairs, but Po noticed that he looked pretty dejected.

His glance wandered through a window. It was already night when it was no longer worth going home. He found a couple of pillows and snuggled into a corner. After a while he fell asleep.

This chapter was translated from German into English by me and was corrected by Starless echoes.