Once, in a dream, a boy called Chris Everyman took the advice of a wise man to go on a journey. The wise man pointed his finger across the land and told him to go through the gate at the end of the fields to enter the City of Happiness. Chris said he could not see the gate, to which the other replied that the gate was where the bright sunshine shone in a golden mist.
So Chris set out on this journey. He had not travelled far from home when he came to a pond filled with mud and dirt, and as he was not careful, he fell in. The name of this pond was Depression. He moved around in it for a time, and became covered with dirt. Though he was able to move towards the bank, he was unable to climb out. Luckily a man came by whose name was Help. He gave him his hand and pulled him out. Chris thanked him and went on his way.
He had not gone far when he entered a very narrow passage between two mountains. He stopped and was afraid to go on, as on each side, he saw two lions. A shepherd told Chris not to fear the lions and to keep to the middle of the path. When Chris saw that the lions were tied to the rocks with chains, he realised that this was to test his courage. Though trembling with fear, he walked on. The lions roared and " pulled on their chains, but they were so short that the lions could not attack and harm Chris.
In the evening, Chris made himself a small shelter and fell asleep. Now, not far from the place where he lay there was a castle, called Doubting Castle. The King of the castle was Giant Despair. When he saw Chris, he shook him and asked what he was doing. Chris said that he had lost the way, but Giant Despair did not listen. He drove Chris to the castle and put him in a very dark prison, together with a man called Hope. For four days they were kept in this prison, without food or water. The next day Giant Despair beat them without mercy. He told them that the only end to their hardship would be to choose their own death. To this Hope answered that although their situation was terrible, no man should murder, nor take his own life.
The whole night Chris and Hope talked of escape. Hope reminded Chris of the courage he had shown in the first part of his journey, and the hardship he had gone through. They sat together and prayed. A little before dawn Chris suddenly, as if talking to himself, said what a fool he was to lie in that smelly prison while holding the key to freedom in his heart. Hope asked him what he was talking about, to which Chris answered that the key in his heart, called Promise, could open any lock in Doubting Castle. Hope said that that was good news and told him to take it out and try.
In less than ten minutes Chris opened the great prison door and the heavy iron gate, although that was not easy. When they saw that Giant Despair was not following them, they were happy and sang this song:
Out of the way we went and found
What it was to walk on forbidden ground
Let him who comes after us remember this thing:
To stay away from that Giant King
Whose name is Despair, and whose castle's called Doubting! |