topics: |  fiction | fantasy | fable | juvenile

This book is practically unknown, but perhaps it deserves better.  At times
one wishes the writing wasn't so "The Alchemist", but on the whole it
carries considerable interest.

Excerpts

The dog sat up and scratched himself before replying. "My name, young
man, is Don Alfonso de Albaricoque y Dos Limones, at your service, and
I am walking to the Moon." - p.16

The tree of desire

  Toma\'s was amazed. "Is that all you want?" he asked. "This tree can
grant you anything we want, and all you can suggest is a loaf and
some sausage?"
...
  "Tomas, have you ever wanted anything really badly, so badly that
you couldn't get it out of your mind?"
  "I suppose so" [Tomas] agreed. [A thick leather belt].
  "And did you get it?"
  "Yes ..."
  "Where is this belt now?"
  Tomas laughed out loud. It dawned on him just what Don Alfonso was
talking about. "It broke ... and I had to throw it out."
  "You see, Tomas, desire is like a dead weight that slows you down.
... The Tree of Desire is a test. You must tread lightly on the
Earth, taking only what you need, not what you want."
	- p.44-5

  "We are both wanderers you know, Tomas; you and me. That's our Purpose,
you see. Besides, I know that I wouldn't be happy chained up in
some yard waiting for any scraps that someone thought to give me.
	- p.48 [An allegory on salaried jobs? The author lives in
		a farm in Spain with his father].

[THE RAINBOW WEAVER to Tomas] We are all part of the same whole, like
the colours of the rainbow -- we exist separately, but together. Can
you understand that?  - p.61

blurb:
Tomás, a young orphan, embarks on a journey to the Moon, after meeting a lame
dog. Their travels take them through real and imaginary landscapes, where
they encounter many eccentric and sometimes baffling companions.