The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1902-01-29

lUS luey HOuiu give OuCuoc W Ihe
Rice Queen, begged their mother te
think on more about the scheme So
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 a small appetite. The
widow was too parsimonious to hire
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
on to the new door, she fancied some
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 a
beautiful dream of the golden future
they were 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 rapidity that she
was obliged to 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 regular army.
marching upon the little village.
The widow was so disappointed that
she never paused to think what she
was doing; her daughters were en-
ployed upon another part Of the build
ing, so they could not check their
mothers hasty and ill-advised action.
as with a cry of vexation she raised
her foot and kicked the nearest grain
far away from her.
what 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
ments-which, though they were furi-
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
village again or enter their granaries.
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 they,
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 unfagging
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
cry one to another: "Alas! had Widow
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 super
fluffy, and that greedy nature often
loses that which 1t hath."-The Culver.