Jenny and the Insurance Man
In a large city by the coast, there lived a sailor who was well known for his seamanship. The sailor
was the captain of his ship and was known by all to be fair in his dealings. His skill and reputation
had earned him a fortune over the years which he had assembled well. Though he was wealthy,
his most prized possession was his daughter, pretty little Jenny who had cheeks as rosy and pink
as a flamingo and a forehead as shapely and elegant as that of a swan.
One day, the sailor was called upon by his countrymen to embark on a dangerous journey across
the sea. The wellbeing of his daughter his foremost priority, he sold all his valuable belongings
and exchanged them for gold coins. He packed them up in a sack and gave it to pretty little Jenny.
He said, ‘Dear daughter, here are a hundred gold coins. Take care of this bag while I’m away and
trust no one, especially strangers! I’m going on a perilous journey and I wish you take care of
yourself well while I’m gone.’
And so, the sailor set off, as his daughter bade her farewells.
The daughter took good care of the sack, never letting it out of her guard. Now after one winter
and one spring had passed and her father had not returned, came a man who was the bearer of
news. The man was stout and round with a thick mustache hiding his lips and big spectacles on
his round eyes.
He looked at the girl dolefully and said, ‘Poor little Jenny. Your father had an accident in the
middle of the sea. He wasn’t able to make out with his life.’
Upon hearing this, pretty little Jenny burst into tears and sobbed till her cheeks became pale. The
man with the thick mustache and big glasses consoled her and said, ‘but fear not, dear girl. I am
Mister Hocus Pocus Insurance Man. We can bring him back for all fathers that die go to the Island
of Dead Daddies.’
Jenny was overwhelmed with joy for she loved her father and wanted him to come back. But
before she could agree, she thought of her father’s advice and told Mister Insurance that she
wasn’t to trust anyone.
‘Dear honey, I’m not a stranger. Your father had entrusted me to protect you if any evil were to
befall him.’ He said, ‘But before we leave, you must take whatever your father has left in your
trust.’
Pretty little Jenny was taken by Mister Insurance’s affection and collecting the sack of hundred
gold coins, they set out together to sail to the Island of Dead Daddies.
A little way down the journey, their ship was halted by a band of pirates. Their leader was a dark
man with sun burnt skin and a thick bushy beard. He asked Jenny and Mister Insurance to spill
out whatever they had in their stores and decks. But just then, pretty little Jenny fell down to her
knees, weeping her eyes wet. She pleaded to the captain that it was all that her father had left her.
But the captain did not seem to relent.
This was when Mister Insurance interjected, ‘Jenny, my honey, pay him a quarter of the share for
that shall do us no harm. And I shall reimburse that which you lose here.’
The captain of the pirates was satisfied with this settlement and thus made away with his men,
leaving Jenny and Mister Insurance with seventy-five remaining gold coins.
Jenny and Mister Hocus Pocus resumed their journey and after traveling smoothly for a while,
their ship was halted by a mighty whale. The ferocious creature showed no remorse in causing
harm to the ship until pretty little Jenny fell on her knees and started sobbing anxiously. The
whale was appalled by Jenny’s crying and asked the little girl why she was so upset. Jenny told
the whale that they were traveling to the Island of Dead Daddies to rescue her father and the ship
was all the means they had to make their journey.
This is when the whale spoke, ‘I am in dept to King Neptune, the commander of aqua-life. I must
bring to him the wreckage of one ship each day, until I pay him a sum of twenty-five gold coins.
Pay me the money to my freedom or else face the misery of being marooned in the middle of the
sea.’
This was when Mister Insurance interjected, ‘Jenny, my honey, pay him a third of the share of
what we have left for that shall do us no harm. And I shall reimburse that which you lose here.’
And so, the whale took off, leaving Jenny and Mister Insurance with fifty remaining gold coins.
Jenny and Mister Insurance resumed their journey and they traveled smoothly for a while
although their ship was damaged. Suddenly, they heard a continuous squeaking sound coming
from the decks below. Through an opening in the main deck started littering out tiny little mice
until they were a hundred in number. The leader of these little creatures seemed to be a large rat
with black fur and a buccaneer’s patch on his right eye.
The leader of the rats addressed little Jenny and Mister Hocus Pocus, ‘Aye, we have repaired this
ship enough with our bric-a-brac. We have no more to use. The whale poked tiny little holes in
the lower deck with its large scales. Lend us some material if you want to keep going without
stray waters seeping in and sinking the ship.’ Little Jenny fell to her knees crying and told the rats
that a sack of gold coins was all they had.
‘Aye the gold coins shall work very well to cover the holes. Twenty-five shall be enough an
amount’ Said the leader of the mice.
This was when Mister Insurance interjected, ‘Jenny, my honey, pay him a half of the share of what
we have left for that shall do us no harm. And I shall reimburse that which you lose here.’
And so, the rats went back to the lower deck, leaving Jenny and Mister Insurance with twentyfive remaining gold coins.
Jenny and Mister Insurance resumed their journey and now they were very near to the Island of
Dead Daddies. As soon as they saw the first traces of the land on the horizon, Mister Insurance
shouted, ‘Land Ahoy! Land Ahoy!’ Pretty little Jenny was overwhelmed with joy for she was but
a few moments away from being united with her father. Mister Hocus Pocus Insurance man said
to Jenny when they finally hit the shore, ‘Dear Honey, climb down and seek among the crowd
the face of your father while I sort out the anchorage.’ And so, Jenny excitedly came down the
nose of the ship and swam towards the bed. But when she set foot on the pale sand of the island,
she saw that it was stranded and contained nothing but wild foliage and marshes. Jenny turned
back anxiously to look for Mister Hocus Pocus Insurance Man but it was then that she saw he had
turned back and was gone taking along the remaining twenty-five gold coins. Poor Jenny stood
there crying and calling out Mister Insurance’s name, begging him to come back. But it was all
for naught and Jenny kept weeping till she fell asleep.
Now, it was so that the island was completely barren with no substantial growth. However, there
was a small colony of flamingos and a bevy of swans that lived together in the inner recesses of
the Island. Towards morning, they came out and found Jenny stretched out in the sand. The eldest
among the flamingos exclaimed when he saw her, ‘By god, what a beautiful creature this is, she
has cheeks the color of our pink feathers’ and the eldest among the swans exclaimed when she
saw her, ‘By god, what a beautiful creature this is, she has a forehead as shapely as our elegant
countenance.’ They carried pretty little Jenny to their dwelling and put her in a comfortable bed.
When Jenny woke up, she found herself in the midst of a beautiful garden with fruits aplenty and
streams of honey and water. Jenny told them of the ill that had befallen her and the birds where
full of sorrow and sympathy. She told the birds that she longed to return home but was left with
no means to do so.
However, the birds devised a clever little trick that would enable her to go back. If each bird shed
a single feather every day, then in two months they would be able to gather an amount large
enough to build a nest for Jenny. Then the swans could carry her together on the nest and would
be able to fly her home. And so, Jenny spent the next two months working hard along side the
birds, assisting them in fishing and other chores. She would look at the horizon with longing
when she was tired. Finally, the day came when the nest was complete and the bevy of swans set
flight with Jenny. Before departing, Jenny thanked the flamingos for their hospitality and said
that she would never forget them.
Now when Jenny travelled back, she was full of hope and vigor. As soon as they reached their
destination, Jenny thanked the Swans before bidding them farewell. Then she sought out the
whereabouts of Mister Insurance. When she found him, she saw that he was a wealthy, fat man
feasting on his sinfully earned bounty. The pirates, the whale and the mice had been his
accomplices all along.
Jenny protested that the man had wronged her. When Mister Insurance heard this, he became
angry. His tone of voice, which had previously been sweet became a hoarse and sonorous one.
He produced a document from his pocket and said, ‘This is the document which your father left
with his humble signature and it declares me as your guardian. So, know that you can do nothing
about your situation. You, stubborn little lady!’ His face bloated red beyond recognition and he
approached Jenny with the intention to strike her.
Just then, a large, strong and sturdy figure came flying in. Bam! The figure kicked Mister Hocus
Pocus Insurance Man hard in his stomach and he fell down. It was Jenny’s father! They
immediately fell in each other’s arms, overjoyed that they had finally been reunited. The brave
sailor who was Jenny’s father told her that he had escaped successfully from the shipwreck and
had sought refuge on an island nearby till he could finally gather enough resources to return.
‘This man is a fraud,’ said Jenny’s father ‘the document that this man produced is forged.’
And so, it was that Mister Hocus Pocus Insurance was surrendered to the authorities. They
punished him and made him recompense all that he had squandered.
Pretty little Jenny and her father lived happily for many years to come…
Moral
Do not trust strangers and never lose hope!