The Man with an Iron Hand, but the Heart of Gold

By Tamar Bakradze

Dear parent, uncle, aunt or grandparent, if  you, like many other adults throughout the world, worry  that your kids, nieces, nephews, grandchildren,  are getting  more and more attached to gadgets alongside the  humanity evolvement  in digital direction, if you agree that it's crucial, but challenging to engage the kids in healthy social interactions and help them maintain their physical and mental well-being, then this book is for  them.

Buy this book as a  birthday, Christmas or a simple I love you  gift for your kids, nieces, nephews, grandchildren and give them a chance to put aside their gadgets for a while and meet a brave and adventurous prince and his friend.  A prince, who   gave up his royal privileges, wealth and easy life and embarked on a journey of discovering the world with his friend. In the end the protagonists coming back home stronger and more mature due to the hardships and challenges they had to face.

This fairy tale is an attempt to teach children kindness, empathy, love, friendship and responsibility, the qualities that will help them navigate in the digital era, not compromising their social and human skills.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tamar Bakradze
• Release date: Jun 15, 2024
• ISBN: 9798227825001

Book preview

Chapter 1

G O L I T H A M

Iloved summer holidays , a three month break from school, and visiting my grandmother Tupa in the village. I remember getting so excited when my brother, cousins, and I got together.

In the mornings, we'd wake up to the delicious smell of cakes. Once we got to the kitchen, the table was always set with freshly baked cake, tea, pancakes, and blackberry jam, and then it was playing time. Hide and seek, board games, bathing in the river. Although, the coolest time of all, if you ask me, were the evenings. When, tired from playing all day, we cozily tucked up in our beds and grandma, sitting next to us in her rocking-chair, with her glasses on, emphasizing her deep, blue eyes, told or read us stories. Grandma had 3 children and 6 grandchildren, and none of us inherited her blue eye color, which made us envious of her for the rest of our lives. Grandma used to tell us many stories, real or fictional, among them, there was one story though, that made a special impression on me and I still remember it well.

A long time ago, there existed a kingdom named Golitham-granma began -ruled by a fair and astute king who was loved by his citizens. King and Queen had two sons, who were both good-looking and smart.  They were educated by the top scholars of Golitham. The elder brother's name was Volley, and his younger brother went by Luke. Volley was a tall, strapping fellow, with impressive equestrian and hunting skills, meanwhile, Luke was slight in build and not particularly adept at either riding or hunting. However, he was rather fond of reading and learning. Whenever there was a competition or game in play, Volley was always keen to participate. He was quite the hit with the ladies, and had already won over the affections of many a fair maiden. He always wanted to look tough to his dad, the king. He was the oldest son, which meant he was likely going to be the next ruler of Golitham.

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Luke, on the other hand, was never interested in Golitham's royal events or hunting contests. He liked spending his time reading in his room or walking in the woods with his friends George and Maria. He enjoyed admiring nature's beauty and observing its phenomena while trying to learn more.

- Grandma, what happened then? –asked we with our eyes widened, but saw that grandma had already been fast asleep with her glasses slipping away.

The story continued the next day, when grandmother went to milk the cow. She was sitting in a small chair and milking, while we were sitting next to her ready to listen to the story continuation.

- Where were we? ah, yes, I already mentioned Luke's friends - George and his sister- Maria, his nanny’s children, who did not belong to a noble family, but had grown up with Luke, he loved them dearly, as his own siblings.  Moreover, one could even say, that Luke and George had more in common than Luke and Volley, who didn't approve of their friendship, not because he was jealous, but because he thought that it was inappropriate for the prince to be friends with the servants. Volley, unlike Luke, was arrogant and did not make friends with low-ranking people.

After Grandma finished milking the cow, we went into the kitchen where she boiled the milk. She served us the milk in big glasses with delicious cookies.

- Luke is like you- my cousin Elsa said to me- you also never choose who you are friends with - it could be anyone.

I shrugged and we all turned to Grandma.

-So, Luke, Maria, and George had a favorite secret hobby, - said Grandma. Once Luke turned 17, he would often wear plain peasant clothes and cover his head with a hood to walk around Golitham's streets with Maria and George. They found it fascinating to watch the town's regular folk selling street-side carpets, fruits, vegetables, and accessories. The best scholars in Golitham had been instructing Luke for years. He knew a lot about stars, planets and history, but exploring the city and talking to common Golithamians taught him new things every single time.

One day, during one of such walks, they came across a strange sight. A crowd was gathered around an old man, who was sitting next to a carriage in the market. His face and hands were wrinkled, he had blue, sunken eyes, and was wearing a brown cloak. People were listening to him with great attention.

- I have been to many countries- the old man was saying- the world is colorful and diverse. I have seen so many strange things that I think one life is not enough to tell it all. There are countries where they eat dogs. Countries where they drink horse milk. There are places where obesity is a privilege, women are placed in the so-called obesity rooms, where they spend the whole days eating and sleeping, so that they can get as fat as possible and get married successfully. There are places with only sand and sun and not a single drop of water to be found. In short, the world is vast and diverse.

Luke was fascinated with the old traveler’s stories about