The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1883-10-31
The WISH

a Young farmer VINO WIS very ullu|Ny
sat on his plow a moment to rest, and
lust then an old woman crcpt past and
cried: "Why do YOU 60 on drudglng
day and night without reward! Walk
two DAYS till you come to a fir tree that
stands all alone in the forest and over
tops all other trees. If YOU can hew 1t
down you will make your fortune"
Not waiting to have the advice re-
heated the farmer shouldcred his AK
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
ukefore it fell with Q crash. there dropi'eu
nut of its branches a nest containing two
eggs. The eggs rolledtothc ground md
broke. and there darted out of one a
Young eagle and out of the other rolled a
gold ring. The eagle grew larger, as If
by enchantmcnt, and when it reached the
size of a man it spread its wings as If to
try their strength, then, soaring upward,
it cried: You have rescued me ; take
as a 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 O NAV never have reason to re-
pent YOU 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 way home
ward. Toward evening he reached a
town where a jcweler sat in his shop be-
hind a counter on which lay many costly
rings for sale. The farmer showed his
own, and asked the merchant its value
..It isn't worth Il straw" the jewcler
answered.
Upon that the farmer laughed heart
ilv, and told the man that it was a wish
ring. and of greater value than all the
rings in the shop together.
The iewclcr was Il wicked, designing
man. so he invited the farmer to remain
as his guest over night. For" nc eX-
planned, "only to shelter a man who
owns a wish-ring must bring luck
So he treated his guest to wine and
fair words; and that night, as the farmer
Law sound asleep, the wicked man stole
the magic ring from his finger and slipped
pson, in its place, a common II winch ne
had made to resemble the wish-ring.
The next morning the jcwclcr Ias all
impatience TO have the farmer begonc.
He awakened him at cock-crow and
said: "You had better go, for you Still
have a long journey before YOU" .
As soon as the farmer had departed
the jewelcr closed his shop, put up the
shutters so that no one could peep in,
bolted the door behind him, and, stand
ing in the middle of the room, he turned
the ring and cried: II wish instantly
to possess a million gold pieces"
No sooner said than the great, shining
gold pieces came pouring down upon
him in-a-solden torrent over his head,
shoulders and arms. Pitifully he cried
for mercy. and tried to reach and unbar
the door: but before he succeeded he
stumbled and Tell bleeding to the ground.
AS for the gHdcn rain it never stopped
till the weight of the metal crushed the
floor. and the jewelcr and his money
sank through to the cellar. The gold
still poured down till the million was
complete, and the jcwclcr lay dead in
the cellar beneath his treasure.
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 en-
claimed: "Doubly unfortunate he
whom blessings kill" Aftcrward 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 VIC shall never more be
in want, dear wife" he said. "Our
fortune is made. Only We must be very
careful to consider we'll just what we
ought to wish"
The farmers wife, of course, proffcred
advice.
"Suppose," said she. "that we wish
for that bit of land that lies between our
two ticlds!'
"That isn't worth while, her husband
replied. "If we work hard for a year
we'll earn enough money to buy t."
So the two worked very hard, and At
harvest time they had never raised such
a crop before. They had earned money
enough to buy the coveted strip of land
and still have a bit to spare.
HSoo - cold tho man - ryn have the
land and the wish as we'll"
The farmers wife then suggested that
they had better wish for q cow and a
horse. But the man replied: "Wifc,
why waste our wish on such %trifles? The
horse and COW We'll get anyway"
Sure enough, in a years time the money
for the horse and cow had been earned.
Joyfully the man rubbed his hands.
"The wish is saved again this year, and
yet we have what we desire. How lucky
we are"
But now his wife seriously adjured him
to wish for something at last "Now
that you have a wish to be granted" she
said, "you slave and toll, and are con-
tent with everything. You might be
king, emperor, baron, even a gentleman
farmer, with chests overlooking with
gold; but you don't know what you
want"
"We are young and life is long" ne
answered. "There is only n wish in
the ring, and that is easily said. Who
knows but sometime we may sorely need
this wish Are we in want of anything
Have we not prospered, to all peoples
establishment, since we possessed this
ring Be reasonable and patient for