Salvation & the Devil Dancer

Tasmin told Sandra about the marvellous stories her grandmother knew.

'Are they true?' asked Sandra.

'Probably not.'

'Will she tell me one?'

'Sure.'

Tasmin asked her grandmother to tell Sandra the story about the dancer.

Grandmother told Tasmin and Sandra that the dancer's name was Salvation.

She usually danced with a young man called Hopeful.

Salvation was chosen to be carnival queen one year.

It took five people to make her costume.

Hopeful wasn't even asked to be in the parade.

He didn't mind.

He was the best dancer on the island and people always wanted to watch him.

The young man chosen as carnival king was called Gilbert. He couldn't dance but he looked good.

The parade lasted all afternoon.

When it was over, a devil dancer suddenly appeared from nowhere.

The way he danced frightened people. They believed it was a warning from the Devil.

Then the devil dancer dropped with exhaustion. Everyone thought he was dead.

Instead of celebrating all night, everyone went home to bed.

Salvation took the devil dancer' s mask off.

It was a Hopeful.

Hopeful wasn't dead, but he had ruined the carnival.

The next morning, Salvation scolded him.

She was about to leave when an earthquake far out at sea shook the island.

The tide rapidly went out more than a mile.

Everyone dashed for high ground.

The town was evacuated just in time.

Moments later a wall of water crashed over it.

If the people had been at the carnival all night they would have been fast asleep.

They would have been washed away as well.

Now everyone was grateful to the devil dancer.

Hopeful placed a flower in Salvation's hair and asked her to marry him.

When grandmother had finished Tasmin asked, 'That story isn't really true is it? '

'I think it is,' said Sandra.

Tasmin' s grandfather came into the yard.

He picked a rose and carefully placed it in grandmother's hair.