Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84Plough Quarterly • Summer   “Not just everyday-crazy either. Completely insane. It’s frightening.” “Who’s lost their peppers then?” “In the village across the river, a bunch of different fields have been robbed.” “You better be careful too.” “I can’t watch for thieves every night.” The two women go down the hill together, and the red toy-elephant’s noses snort out a spicy blast of rage at the very thought. “This is intolerable!” “Intolerable, but it can happen.” “Can happen, but it’s intolerable.” “Heaven will punish the scoundrel.” “Heaven better punish him!” The peppers have all been talking at once, and now they snap their mouths shut. They realize that it could happen to them too, and fear almost freezes their hearts. That very night the thief might come and take them captive. “I wish we had hands and feet.” “So you could run away?” “Don’t be stupid. I’d fight.” “Fight the thief?” “Sure.” “But we’re stuck on the pepper plants. We can’t even move.” “We can get mad can’t we?” “Getting mad is childish. Let’s be courageous.” “Courageous?” “Right. Little peppers are spicy, aren’t they? We can use that if we’re smart.” The more the peppers talk, the more agitated they get, as if the thief might burst into the patch at any moment. That night, they don’t sleep at all. As they stare wide-eyed into the night, their faces get redder and redder. For four nights they watch, ready for battle at any moment. Toward evening one day, Changu’s mother comes up the hill.