Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-11-08
TIE WISH RING.


A young farmer who was very I'M
lucky sat on his pillow moment to rest,
and just then an old woman crept past
and cried ''Why do you so on drudging
day and night without reward? Walk
two days till you come to q great fir
tree that stands all alone in the forest
and overtops all other trees. If you
can hew it down, you will make your
fortune"
Not waiting to have the advice re-
peated, the farmer shouldered his axe
and started on his journey. Sure enough
after tramping two days, he came to
the fir-tree, which he instantly prepared
to cut down. just as the tree swayed
and before it fell with crash, there
dropped out of its branches q nest con-
tanning two eggs. The eggs rolled to
the ground and broke, and there darted
out Of one young eagle and out of the
other rolled gold ring. The eagle
grew larger, as if by enchantment, and
when it reached the size of a man, it
spread its wings as if to trytheir strength,
then, soaring upward it cried: ''You
have rescued me; take as q reward the
RING that lay in the other eGg; it is q
wish-ring. Turn it on your finger twice,
and whatever your wish is, it shall be
fulfilled. But remember there is but
q single wish in the ring. No sooner is
that granted than it loses its power and
is only an ordinary ring. Therefore
consider well what you desire, so that
you may never have reason to repent
your choice. So speaking, the eagle
scared high in the air, circled over the
farmers head q few times, then darted,
like an arrow, toward the east
The farmer took the ring, placed it
on his finger, and turned on his wav
homeward, Toward evening, he reach
ed town where jeweler sat in his
shop behind counter, on which Law
many costly rings for sale. The farmer
showed his own, and asked the merchant
its value,
1T isn't worth q straw" the jeweler
answered.
Upon that, the farmer laughed very
heartily, and told the man that it was
wish-ring, and of greater value than all
the rings in the shop together.
The ieweler was 4 wicked, designing
man, and so he invited the farmer to
remain as his guest over night. For"
he explained, ''only to shelter a man
who owns q wish-ring must bring
luck
So he treated his guest to wine and
fair words; and that night rs the farmer
lay sound asleep, the wicked man stole
the magic ring from his finger and slip
ped on, in its place, a common one
which he had made to resemble the
Wish-ring.
The next morning, the jeweler was
al Impotence to have the farmer be-
gone. He awakened him at cock-crow.
and said: You had better 90, for YOU
have still long journey before YOU"
As soon as the farmer had departed,
the jeweler closed his shop, put up the
shutters, SO that no one could peep in,
bolted the door behind him, and, stand
INC IN the middle of the room, he tsrn-
ed the ring and cried: I wish instantly
to possess 4 million gold piecesr'
No sooner said than the great, shin
ing gold pieces came pouring down up
on him in a golden torrent over his head
shoulders, and arms. Pitifully he cried
for mercy, and tried to reach and I'M
bar the door; but before he succeeded,
he stumbled and fell bleeding to the
ground. As for the golden rain, it new
er stopped till the weight of the metal
crushed the floor, and the jeweler and
the money sank through to the cellar.
The gold still poured down till the mil
lion was complete, and the jeweler
lay dead in the cellar beneath his troas-
ure.
The noise, however, alarmed the
neIghbOrS, who came rushing over to
see what the matter was; when they saw
the man dead under his gold they ex-
claimed: 'Doubly unfortunate he whom |
blessings kill y Afterward, the heirs |
came and divided the property.
In the meantime, the farmer reached |
home in high spirits and showed the |
ring to his wife
''Henceforth we shall never more be |
in want, my dear wife, " he said. .'Ou1 |
fortune is made. Only we must be very |
careful to consider well just what we |
ought to wish.
The farmers wife, of course, proffered |
advice. Suppose" said she, THAT we
wish for that bit of land that lies be-
tween our two tields?"
That isn't worth while,n her hus- |
band replied. ''If we work hard for a |
year, We'll earn enough money to buy
So the two worked very hard. and at
harvest time they had never raised such
crop before. They had earned money
enough to buy the coveted strip of land
and still have a bit to spare. See" said
the man, eve have the land and the
wish as well.
The farmers wife then suggested that
they had better wish for a cow and
horse. But the man replied: '.Wife.