Bozo and Karo

Bozo, a village shopkeeper, embarks on a journey with his donkey, Karo. He is seeking to bring special new goods and children’s toys from the city of lights to sell in his shop in time for approaching Kurdish spring new year celebrations.

The journey would have to be made through a mysterious mountain pass, the only path to the city of lights. Legends spoke of the existence of a horrible hostile dragon preventing anyone passing through and anyone who attempted to cross never came back or was heard from again.

Bozo decided to take this dangerous journey with Karo, despite the advice of a village elder telling him not to. Bozo bids farewell to his family and the gathered villagers who wish him a safe journey across the winding path leading to the mountain pass and the city of lights. Will they ever come back alive to tell the story of their adventures, and reveal if they ever encountered the dragon in their way? And will they be able to get the special goods on time for the new year celebrations?

Ben Balata was born and raised in Kurdistan, Iraq and gained his degree in civil engineering there. He came to UK in 1974 for postgraduate study and has since settled in Scotland. He worked in the UK and the Middle East until he retired in 2016. He started writing his first book for children based on a bedtime story he used to tell his two toddler children long time ago. They loved it so much that they wanted to go to bed early to listen to the story again and again. He always wanted to publish the story and retirement gave him the opportunity to do it.