The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1883-12-20
THE WISH.RiNG.


lucky sat on his pillow moment to rest,
and Just then an old woman crept past
and cried "Why do you so on drudg
ing day and night without reward :?
Walk two days till you come to great
fir tree that stands all alone in the for
est and overtops all other trees. If you
can hew it down, you can make your
fortune"
Not waiting to have the advice repeat
ed, the farmer shouldered his AK and
started on his journey. Sure enough,
after trsmping 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 containing
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 il by enchantment, and when
it reached the size of man it spread its
wings IS if to try their strength; then,
soaring upward, it cried: You have
rescued me; take As Q reward tho ring
that lay on the other egg, it is . wish
ring. Turn it on your finger twice, and
whatever your wish is, it shall be full
filed. But remember there is but q
single wish in the ring. No sooner is
that granted than 1t loses its power, and
is only an ordinary ring. Therefore.
consider we'll what you desire. 80 that
you may never have reason to repent
your choice" So speaking, the eagle
scared high in the air. circled over the
farmers head few times, then darted,
like An arrow, toward tho east.
The farmer took the ring, placed it
on his finger, aud turned on his way
homeward. Toward evening he reached
. town where jeweler sat in his shop
behind . counter, on which lay many
costly rings for sale. The farmer showed
his own and asked the merchant its
value.
1T isn't worth a straw" the jeweler
answered.
Upon that the farmer laughed very
heartily, and told the man that it was a
wish ring, and of greater value than all
the rings in the shop together.
The jeweler was q wicked, designing
man, and so he invited the farmer to re-
main as his guest over night, For" he
explained, "only to shelter 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
lay sound asleep, the wicked man stole
the magic ring from his finger and
slipped on, in its place, q common one
which he had made to resemble the wish
ring.
The next morning the jeweler was all
impatience to have the farmer begone.
He awakened him at cock-crow, and
said: "You had better 60, for you have
still long journey before you"
As soon as the farmer had departed the
jeweler closed his shop. put up the shut
ters, so that no one could peep in, bolted
the door behind him, and, standing in
the middle of the room, he turned the
ring and cried: 81 wish instantly to
possess . million gold piecesr
No sooner said than the great shining
gold pieces came pouring down upon
him in . golden torrent over his head,
shoulders and arm. Pitifully he cried
for mercy, and tried to reach and unbar
the door; but before he succeeded he
stumbled and fell bleeding to the
ground. As for the golden rain, it
never stopped till the weight of the
metal crushed the floor, and the jeweler
and his money sank through TO the
cellar. The gold still poured down till
the million was complete, and the jew
eler 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 ex-
claimed:
"Doubly unfortunate he whom bless
ings kill" Afterward the heirs came
and divided the property.
home in high spirits and showed the
ring to his wife.
''Henceforth We shall never more be
in want, dear wife," he said. "Our for
tune 10 made. Only We must be very
careful to consider we'll Just what we
ought to wish"
The farmers wife, of course, proffered
sdvice. Suppose, said she, ''that we
wish for that bit of land that lies be-
tween our two fields"
''That is worth while," her husband
replied. "If we work hard for Q year
we'll earn money enough to buy it,"
$50 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 bit to spare. ''See.
said the man, I'VE have the land and the
wishes as we'll"
The farmers wife then suggested tina,
they had better wish for a COW and q
borre. But the man replied:
30 al