The Panamanian Desert

Last week, while we were working on the nursery, Harold told me this story about a desert in Panama.

Once upon a time, there was a very large farm in the mountains of central Panama. One day, a worker went to the farm in search of work. He asked the patron if he could work the fields. The patron told him that there was no work on the farm; they could not afford to hire more workers. But, everyday, the worker came back asking to work on the farm. Finally, the patron consented and let the worker work the fields. “Mira que valiente!”. He was the hardest worker the patron had ever seen. After the first day of work, the patron praised the worker for his hard work and offered to pay him handsomely. The worker refused the payment, saying that God had sent him to work the fields for free. This greatly angered the patron. The patron said that if the worker didn’t accept the money, then he would have to leave. The patron did not want to start an uproar with the rest of the workers. The hardworking man refused the payment and said if the patron did not let him work the fields for free he would curse the farm. “Largate!” said that patron. So the worker cursed the farm, turning it into a desert that would grow and grow until all of Panama was consumed. The next year the farm dried up. All of the crops died. Since then, the farm has turned into a desert. It is now known as the Panamanian desert. Every year it grows a few meters. One day Panama will turn into a desert.

I asked Harold if he believed the story. He said “tal vez si, tal vez no.” One day we are going to go to the desert. Harold has never seen one before.