Lizards,
Leprechauns and Little Monks
There is a
small lizard (photo) guarding our house; at least,
I hope that's what it's doing. I realize that there are
other evolutionary scenarios that call for the lizard to
grow to the size of a komodo dragon and eat us, but I'd
rather not dwell on that.
My
wife's and my own current thinking is that the lizard
represents a manifestation of the "monaciello"
("little monk"), a kind of Neapolitan leprechaun, a
usually benevolent figure that protects you and, just
maybe, might show you where treasure is hidden. He is
one of the many such mischievous Pucks, leprechauns,
imps and sprites that show up in various cultures around
the world. Monaciello,
as the name indicates, normally looks like an itsy-bitsy
monk and is said to live in the wine cellar. We have no
wine cellar. I am puzzled by that theological
contradiction, but I have read that "monaciello" can
also assume the shape of a cat or a serpent. A lizard is
a serpent, of sorts, so maybe, just maybe...
So far, he
(henceforth "he", since a "little monk", in whatever
incarnation, is, by definition, a male) simply scurries
across the room, stops and stares at us for a while, does
that disgusting darting thing with his tongue, and then
scoots away. My wife claims he is getting bigger. I,
suggest hopefully that that comes from all the bugs he has
been eating. (Indeed, our abode is remarkably free of
insects.) He has also replaced a previous, smaller
lizard we found in the dearly-departed, shrivelled-up
state some months ago. This is either (1) a good sign, in
that there is, apparently, an entire cadre of good spirits
dedicated to our well-being, or (2) ominous, in that maybe
lizard number 2 killed lizard number 1 and is now just
biding his time (see "other evolutionary scenarios" in
par. 1, above) waiting for the return of the Age of
Reptiles.
Indeed, my
Neapolitan mother-in-law was convinced that ‘spirits’
(possibly a "monaciello" prankster) played tricks on her
by moving things around the house. Once they moved her
house-keys and before that they nabbed her sweater. I put
quotes around ‘spirits’ because that’s what she called
them. I suggested ‘hobgoblins', ‘demons’, or ‘howling
hunks of ectoplasm’. One does not joke about such things,
however.
—“I put them right there, and now they’re
gone, mister young punk rationalist know-nothing
unbeliever. How do you explain that?”
—“Easy, mother-in-law. You must have put them somewhere
else.”
—“Ha! If I had put them somewhere else, then that’s
where they would be, right? But they’re not there,
either! So where are they, if you know so much? Besides,
the things always turn up eventually, which proves they
were gone in the first place.”
Touché.
Now, I know that the
supernatural exists or does not exist quite
independently of whether or not I believe in it. Logical
Positivists among you may argue with that statement, but
then you brainoids have never tangled with lizards, so I
suggest you get with the program.
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