Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1902-04-25

| InlS aaVlce, although very S0und,
was worse than useless to offer to
Chum Paw, who continued to fret her
self upon this one subject. "We cannot
tell" she argued, ''how long we shall
oe permitted to enjoy these benefits.
| When the change comes, and come it
WILL we shall make fortune il we.
| possessing more than enough grain for
our own use could sell the surplus 10
our less thrifty neighbors. Before the
rice ripens again we will pull down the
little granary that has stood on this
spot for so many generations. and erect
4 far larger one in its stead"
And the widow was as good as her
word Though her TWO daughters, fear
| ing they would give oliensc TO the
Rice Queen, begged their mother to
| think on more about the scheme she
| had in her head, she would not heed
them, and very soon the little building
was demolished, and in its place there
| appeared a huge structure capable of
| holding sufficient grain to supply the
| entire village, let alone three women,
each with small appetite. The
| " IuoN was tOO p'ilSiAiOlliOuS W illc
men to do the work, so for many hours
daily, beneath the fierce sun, she and
her Two daughters labored to complete
this unnecessary task before the rice
was due again.
But in spite OF their united efforts,
| they did not succeed, and one evening.
as the widow stood fastening the hasp
n,, to lA ,nfV- a lNn fnnpin1
thing touched her foot. But she was
| too absorbed in her task to really no.
| tice it, so she went on with her laborS,
her mind occupied meanwhile with n
| beautiful dream of the golden future
they We're preparing to reap Sud-
denly something tapped against her
toes for the second time. and before
| Chum Paw could look down she felt
| the same thing again, and then the
| taps came with such rapldity that she
was obliged 10 thrown down her tools
and see what was the matter. Round
her feet and all about the door rolled
| fine fat grains of rice, while from the
direction OF the fields she could see
more approaching, like a regular army
marching upon the little village.
The widow was so disappointed that
she never paused TO think what she
was doing; her daughters We're en-
ployed upon another part OF the build
| ing, so they could not check their
mothers hasty and ill-advised action,
us with Il cry of veXation she raised
her foot and kicked the nearest grain
| far away from her.
what Il nuisance you are"' she cried
in her Indignation. How dare you
come before we are ready TO receive
you? You should have waited on your
stalks in the fields until the proper
time had arrived. You have no right
to bother me now, when you are not
wanted. 1t is too bad. Get out of
my sight, do"
When the widow struck at the rice
with her foot, her temper had so mas
tered her that she hit it with sufficient
| force to break in into thousand frag-
ments. each of which hurried away
to tell the Rice Queen about the cruel
| treatment that had been meted out.
| When this fairy heard their state
|
| ously angry, they managed to keep per-
fectly accurate-she was exceedingly
| indignant, and, raising her hands three
| times above her head, she uttered the
following malediction:
Never shall the rice, which for ages
past has ripened on its stalks solely for
the use of human beings, roll up to the
| villa n i'm pr antnp thniV I ~ rigc
In the days to come let these greedy,
ungrateful people seek us out with
toll and labor. And as they pluck the
grain, which shall henceforth be small
and difficult for the aged to see, may
they recall, with bitter pain and re-
gret, the time of plenty which theyI
through their own wrongdoing, drove
away forever"
And thus it is to this day. The pros
perity of the people began to wane;
rarely, even by their most untlagging
efforts, can they succeed in storing
enough in their granaries to last them
until the next harvest, and as they
drudge, with bent backs and aching
limbs, do they shake their heads and
Chum Paw only remained satisfied
with what she had. we should not be
working here so hard to-day. Let us
remember, and make our children re-
member, too. that contentment with
little is better that possessing Il super
fully, and that greedy nature often
loses that which it hath. THE Culver.