Robert's Raves

Partners of Their Labors
by Robert Rodriguez

r. Watson. Margo Lane. Cato. California Carlson. Sam Gamgee.
Gabrielle. Cairo. Tonto. Jingles P. Jones. Mainard G. Krebs. Robin, the
Boy Wonder. Little Beaver. Rick Jones. Dale Arden. Dr. Petri. The
Ysabel Kid. Joe Bideau. Scada Dark-sister.

They are, and have been, known by various descriptions and designations: second
banana, trusty sidekick, faithful companion. Their names and deeds have been an
integral part of novels, short stories, radio dramas, television, cinema, and comic
books for many decades. They have been part of the cultural landscape along with the
legion of heroes and heroines they have accompanied, aided, and assisted through
their numerous adventures, travails, and journeys. As a sage observer once put it, if a
cowboy's best friend was indeed his horse, then not far behind was his always faithful
friend and trusty companion, always there to either add comic relief or actually make
a difference in the hero's eventual outcome and success in his endeavors.

It should, therefore, be no surprise that, if the faithful and constant companion is so
much a part of the modern cultural ethos, the realm of myth, legend, and folk story
also has its share of tales in which faithful companions and trusted comrades are
important to the plots of these narratives, and it should also be no surprise that these
tales represent all faces of world culture.

Lest one think that individuals with extraordinary powers and gifts are merely the
property of heroes and heroines of fantasy novels, cinematic block-busters, and
Marvel or D.C. Comics, this is definitely not the case. Individuals with strange
powers and abilities can be found throughout world folk literature, and the trusty
sidekick is prevalent among such narrative personages. In one truly international tale,
the story often known as "The Ship That Sailed On Both Land and Sea," the
extraordinary companion not only exists, but in multiple numbers. In one version or
another, the tale is known in places as far apart as Nova Scotia and Russia, North
Carolina and Turkey. Other variants have been collected from Quebec all the way to
Siberia. The tale usually involves the youngest of three sons who must undertakes a
distant journey, often to a royal court in order to win a princess or other royal
personage as his wife. He is usually a commoner; his name may be Ivan in Russia, Ti
Jean among the French, Per in Norway, Mirko in Hungary or Keloglan in Turkey. As
in a Jack tale from the southern U.S., he may have to disenchant a young woman
from a witch spell, or as in a story from Cape Breton, he may have to bring s ship that
can sail on both land and sea to the king's court. Told by an enigmatic old man to
pick up anyone he should see along the way, the hero eventually gathers an
extraordinary crew of helpers to aid him in his quest. Among those he gathers are
folks who have extraordinary abilities in marksmanship, eating and drinking, a man
who can run like the wind, individuals who can withstand great amounts of heat and
cold, men who have X-ray vision and hearing, and, in one version, a fellow who can
literally affect the hostile behavior of folks with his incredible musicianship. In a
Romany tale from Bulgaria, one of the faithful companions has the ability to foretell
the future, and slyly informs the king that if he does not give his daughter to the hero,
his very palace will be brought down around his ears as punishment for his arrogant
and contrary behavior. As in the story of the five Chinese brothers, all these faithful
friends aid the hero using their special talents when most needed, thus eventually
leading to the happy outcome of the story for all concerned, including the
companions themselves, who, more often than not, wind up with rich rewards and
remain friends with the hero for the remainder of their days.

In most of the stories of this type, the extraordinary helpers are never given proper
names, but are simply known as Eat-well, Shoot-well, Run-well, Hear-well, See-well
and so on, each according to their specific ability. In a variant collected in Hispanic
New Mexico, they are known as Cargin Cargon, Corrin Corron, Tirrin Tirron, and
Escutchin Eschutchon. In an unusual version from the French tradition of Missouri,
the king's daughter does not wish to marry Ti. Jean because of his lowly birth. So
instead, Ti Jean asks for as much gold as Strong-well can hold on his back. Due to
his strength, Strong-well can carry limitless amounts of the precious metal, thus
nearly bankrupting the king's treasury. Angry at this, the king orders his entire army
out to recapture the gold, only to run right into Blow-well, who scatters the soldiers to
every corner of the world with his mighty breath, thus bring war to all nations and
forcing the king to accede to Ti Jean's demands. In a version from Finland, when the
monarch sends out his army to capture Mikko and his companions, the fellow with
extraordinary musical skills begins to play his kantele-harp so sweetly that the entire
army falls under the spell of his music. Under Mikko's direction, the army returns to
the palace, dethrones the nasty king, and installs Mikko in his place. Mikko marries
the princess, and all live happily ever-after, including the companions who all become
Mikko's trusty ministers and share in all the ample rewards.

Some faithful companions and trusty amigos have become synonymous with certain
figures from history, legend, and folklore down the centuries and throughout the
world. Robin Hood, hero of Sherwood Forest and British legend, gathered about him
his stalwart band of friends and companions, including such as Little John, Much the
miller's son, Will Scarlet, and Friar Tuck. In two-score of traditional British ballads
and countless other tales and narratives, they would be part and parcel of the
numerous escapades in which Robin Hood took center stage. It was to be Little John,
for example, who would bury the beloved Sherwood outlaw after he received his
mortal wound and was betrayed to the Sheriff of Nottingham by a local prioress who
wished to collect the reward offered for the outlaw's capture and death. In the great
cycle of bylini, Russian hero ballads and tales, one of the best known of Russian folk
heroes was Ilya Murometz, who gathered around him his famous Druzhina, the
company of thirty, who played the same role in Russian legend as did the Knights of
the Round Table in the tales of Arthur of Britain. Among the most trustworthy and
faithful of Ilya's companions and squires were the likes of Aliosha Popovitch, Anakin
the Bold, Alexi the Wise, and Dobrinya the Reckless. Whether engaged in battle
against Tartar invaders or struggling against supernatural adversaries, they stood
shoulder to shoulder with their lord and swore an oath to die for him if necessary.
Other larger-than-life heroes would also gather their faithful retainers about them,
including Charlemagne of France with his paladins, Prince Marko of Serbia with his
gallant haiduti, and the two greatest heroes in Irish legend: Cuchullin and the Knights
of the Red Branch, and Finn MacCumhail and the Fiana.

Faithful companions are not always the gallant, dashing, heroic types, the stuff of epic
or ballad. In fact, they sometimes exhibit other qualities: craft, guile, a sense of
trickery or roguishness that would do a dishonest politician proud. In Rumania they
tell numerous tales about a pair of rascals and tricksters known as Pakala and
Tandala. They manage to survive by their very wits with the attitude that tomorrow
will take care of itself, so let's just manage to get through today without any major
mishaps. Not only are they out to bamboozle the powers that be, whether
over-wealthy clerics, greedy landlords, or the king himself, but more often than not,
they often engage in feats of wit and cleverness in order to out-do one another as well,
even though, in the end, they will wander off into the Rumania sunset still the best of
friends. There is indeed a Rumania proverb which goes, when one shakes hands with
either Pakala or Tandala, count how many fingers remain. In Haiti there are numerous
stories told about two beloved folk characters: the loveable, if rather naive and foolish,
Bouqui and the clever and artful Malise. Friends and constant companions they may
be, but Malise gets the best of Bouqui time and time again. As Bouqui is often heard
to say, "having a friend like Malise makes life most interesting." In Indonesia, the
same role is played by two rather irreverent fellows known as Guno and Koyo, both
of whose names just happen to mean the very opposite of their true natures. They are
scamps and rogues in every sense of the words, bout often as not, they also manage
to get themselves into trouble through their own beloved foolishness. Their
adventures and escapades are known and loved throughout the Indonesian
archipelago, from Bali to Irian-java, and when folks hear of their trials and tribulation,
they just laugh and shake their heads in wonder and amazement.

In Arabic and Middle Eastern tradition, one very popular theme in stories is that of
the disguised ruler who travels about his kingdom to see firsthand what is happening
in his realm. Just as James IV of Scotland is said to have done on many an occasion,
so too did the illustrious caliph Haroun Al-Rashid undertake to do in a whole host of
tales found within the corpus of stories known as the Thousand and One Nights. In
these nocturnal romps through Baghdad, the good caliph is always accompanied by
some of his best friends and sidekicks: Jafar, his grand vizier, Abu Nawas, his court
jester, and Masrour, his sword-bearer and the instrument of his justice. They too are
often in disguise, and in their adventures, they encounter blind beggars who were
former princes themselves, clever female courtesans, street-smart thieves of the most
cunning sort, and a whole host of natural and supernatural friends and foes. However,
when all is said and done, happy endings are usually the order of the day, and when
one of them reaps a grand reward, they all manage to share in the benefits, be they in
the form of new wives, wealthy purses of gold, or richly ornate palaces. I have
deliberately omitted the mention of tales in which animals play the role of faithful
companion or helper to a hero or heroine, for such tales are so numerous that they
would take an entire piece unto themselves. In these tales, the companion may be
anything from a fox, wolf, cat, or eagle to a jackal, horse, bear, or ordinary house cat.
But these stories are for another time and telling. I have also made no mention of tales
of a religious nature in which the faithful companions may be angels, saints, or even
gods disguised as human beings, traveling upon the earth on various adventures of
their own. Such stories come from ancient Greece, Scandinavia, India, Canada,
Mexico, Italy and Spain. Companions of this type include Hermes, Loki. Krishna,
Saint Peter, Gabriel, and the Virgin Mary.

When all is said and done, it matters little by what name a trusty friend or faithful
companion is called, be he a resourceful and diligent hobbit named Sam, a comic
frontier sidekick named Windy, a brilliant scientist named Dr. Zarkoff, a faithful
servant named John, or the gallant Sancho Panza aiding his master in various quests.
They all possess that eternal spirit of loyalty and perseverance that allows them to
stand and do what must be done to aid their friend, be he an outlaw, prince, or a
simple peasant lad out to seek his fortune. Perhaps the best way to sum it all up is in
the repeated words of the sagacious prime minister in a Jewish tale from India who,
no matter what danger or trouble may threaten, always says to his king, "it is all for
the best."

Note: I should explain the origin of this piece's title. It is a bit of plagerism on the part
of yours truly, taken from the classic Masterpiece Theater dramatization of Robert
Graves' I Claudius, and slightly altered. The title is from "Episode Six: Partner of
His Labors," which dealt with Sejanus, the ruthless head of Emperor Tiberius's secret
police.

—first published in WIP Winter 2000

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