Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-01-17
A WONDERFUL QUERN
HOW THE NoRWEGlANS EXPLAIN
WHY THE SEA Is SALT.

Wanted the Quern to Grind Salt.
There is an old fashioned Norwegian
| folktale that accounts in very curious
way for the salt in the sea. According
to the story, the waters of the ocean were
not always salt. But long ago, before
Columbus sailed in his little caravels, be-
fore the Vikings crossed over to Iceland
and Martha's Vineyard, even before st.
Brendan rowed his boat made of skins
sewed together across from Ireland to
the mouth of the Chesapeake, there were
two brothers living away up in the
northland. One was very rich, and the
other was very poor. One brother had
herds Of cattle and focks of fat noun
tain sheep, while the poor one had just
about nothing at all except wife and
ever so many children.
One Christmas eve there was nothing
in the house for them ITO eat, and the
poor mans wife said to her husband:
"If had rich brother as you have,
would go and ask him for something
for these poor children to eat. Tomor-
row will be Christmas day, and there is
not crust of bread in the house."
So he went to his brother and told him
how much they needed his help. The
rich man gave him a nice fitch of bacon
and told him to go to an old magician
who lived somewhere in the mountains.
do not know why he sent the poor man
to the magician, for the latter did not
bear very good name in the neighbor-
hood. However, when he came to the
magician's stronghold everybody about
the place wanted to buy his fitch of ba-
con. He could not understand why it
was, but he thoughtif there was somuch
demand for the bacon he would at least
make the best bargain he could for it.
"Well," he said, * ought by rights to
take this bacon home to my good dame
for our dinner tomorrow, but since you
all seem to have set your hearts on it
suppose you must have it. If I sell it,
however, want a good price for it,
They offered him a good round sum,
but that would not do.
81 will let you have it," he said, eff
you will give me that quern yonder be-
hind the door,
A quern is one of the things that it
would be very hard to find nowadays be-
cause they have gone out of fashion, but
if you will look in the dictionary, as did
when 1 first heard this story, you will
see that a quern is mill for grinding
corn by hand, and that it consists of two
large stones, an upper and a lower one,
the upper one having a handle by which
it may be turned around on the lower
stone, grinding the corn or grain between
them.
The Old magician at first laughed out
right at the idea of any ones thinking
that he would part with his quern, but
the owner of the bacon insisted that he
would be satisfied with nothing less than
that, so he finally got it.
When he reached his own door, the
clock was striking 10 and his wife was
waiting for him, ready to scold him for
staying so long.
"What in the world kept you so long?"
she asked. And what are we going to
do with that old quern when we have no
corn to grind?"
Then he told her of his trading the ba-
con for the quern. She was dreadfu1ly |
put out about it, and especially at the |
loss of the bacon, which would have |
made them a good hot dinner and then |
would have lasted them week, sliced |
cold.
Just wait a minute" said her hus-
band, "before you begin to complain,
and see if did not do right this time"
And putting the quern on the table he |
told it to grind enough good things to |
make first rate dinner for ~ hungry |
mouths His wife could hardly believe |
her eyes as she stood there and watched |
the quern grinding out dainties enough |
to last week.
The rich brother CHANGED to hear how |
well his poor brothers family was liv-
ing, and when he came and saw what an |
elegant table they kept he was envious |
and wanted to know where they got the
money to buy the things. For a long
time they kept the secret of the old
quern, but somehow it got out at last.
They were so proud of it that they could
not help telling all about it, and the rich
brother insisted on buying the quern.
Finally they let him have it for $500.
1t kept on grinding for its new owner,
but he was afraid of it, never feeling
sure of what it would do next, so he
made his brother take it back at the
same price. The poor man was glad to
get it back again. and it ground out I'M
told riches for himself and his family
They had everything they desired, among
other things a golden house to live in,
and the people came from every land to
see the magnifcence of the family that
owned the wonderful quern.
One day stranger, an old seaman who
had been all around the then known
world, came to see the qlern, and want
ed it to grind salt.
1t is supposed that the owner of the
quern was rich enough by this time, for
he let it so for a moderate sum, and
fearing that he might repent of having
sold it the old sailor put to sea at
once with his prize, anxious to know
how it would work. When he had sailed
SO far out that no one could reach him,
he said to the quern:
Grind salt, and grind both fast and
good"
No sooner had he given the order than
the quern began to grind heaps and
heaps of salt all over the deck until the
ship was ready to sink to the bottom of
the sea. Scared half to death, the old
sailor begged the quern to stop grinding
salt. He got down on his knees to it.
But there was no use talking to it. 1t
went on grinding, grinding, and soon
the vessel went down with its weight of
salt. And the quern still keeps on grind
ing in the depths of the ocean-and that
Is why the sea is salt.-Virginia Nc
Sherry.