The daily morning Alaskan. (Skagway, Alaska) 1899-1904, 1903-03-08
TIE TASK OF FLAX

There was once a mother who bad q
very ugly aud bad daughter Of her OWE
that she was very fond Of and a very
beautiful and good stCpdaughter thai
she hated and wanted to set rid Of, but
she didn't know how In the world she
could set ria Of her 80 she went and
asked the hen wife's advice.
TIE hen wife says: "Tu tell you how
You can get rid OF her. There's an old
church below. and no one ever Jet
spent thc night In 1t and came out Of II
alive. You order your stepdaughter to
40 and sit up In Il all night. working
dax. and she'll surely be dead In the
morning"
Home the mother went. and she or
dcred her stepdaughter to get ready
and 20 on that night to work task Of
Gax in the Old church. aud Tor fear that
she might escape whatever should hap
pen To- her in the church during the
night she put a very great task OF hax
before her that nfty women couldn't
DO On one night aud threatened to have
her lie On the morning II she did not
have 8, done.
THE poor girl took her wheel and all
with her that night and went on to the
church aud sat down and began her
wosS
Grt she wasn't long sitting at her
work when she heard a great noise, and
Iu ttg-c came a great wild looking
ghost. and De- sat down on tho seat be
side l,r alJ said that be wanted bis
fc,, washed and his hair eombed, Tor
they hadn't been washed or Il hadn't
been cambod Tor 200 years
"Ol t.u. poor fellow" she says,
"Tm sorry Tor you, aud IN surely help
you .. cam"
So She a.l her fax aside. and she
washed bis Zee, and combed bis hair
very. very nicely indeed.
Aud when she had dnished the ghost
SAID. elm Ivo years I've never met as
good o. girl as you. Can DO anything
Tor yoUs'
well" said she. eve a stepmother
who isn't good TO me and has put be
fore me this night a task that ntty
women couldn't DO. but I don't know
whether or not you can help me. I've
an that OAK you see there TO work aud
have woven into cloth before morning"
"S.. down at your ease there" says
the ghost says be. and TIL soon do
this task for you"
So De took O breaker that was seven
mics long and broke the OAK; be then
took q STORYTELLING handle seven miles
long aud q block seven miles wide and /
cutcael o.. DEE then took q Glove that
was seven miles long and cloyed IL, and
De took "a hacker that was seven miles |
lou- and hacSied %. and a wheel that
was seven yucs high aud spun il. and |
a reel chat was seven miles round and |
rcc,cd It. and a loom that was seven |
miles wide and wove IL into cloth.
And when he bad all this done he |
gave Der comb that every time she !
should put it into her hair would comb |
a bug OF gold dust out Of Il
In the morning early. when the moth |
or came 10 the church TO see n she was
dead. she was astonished 10 and her
there alive and well. with all OF her
task done and all the hax made into |
cloth. and TO see her with this comb, |
combing a bag Of gold dust out OF her |
hair.
She asked her how she had worked |
an the lax and how she had come by |
the comb. and she told the stepmother
that q ghost came and worked the na1
Tor her and presented her with the |
comb.
When the stepmother heard and saw
this. she said she would give her own |
daughter a chance IN the church that |
night. 80 that she might get such val /
liable comb too. SO on the next night /
she sent her own daughter to the |
church with q task OF tax
The daughter hadn't been long sit /
ting az her work when the Wild big |
ghost came On and sat down beside her |
and asked her 20 wash his feet ana
comb his hair. Tor Il hadn't been done
Tor 700 years before.
But she told him that she was no |
scuu.0n 20 wash bis feet or comb his |
hair aud That she would be very sorry |
tr.do &C.. and the ghost struck her down !
With his hand. and she was dead
When the mother came before day |
had dawu,d On the morning to und n
she had done her work and got the !
golden coub. the ghost was there wait |
Ing Tor Der and struck Der down with
bis hand aud left her dead beside her
daughter.
But the good girl who had been kind
to him thriyCd and prospered from that
day. and &c wasn't long tin she married
q handsome and beautiful young prince
and lived happy ever after.
Srr-NTAS AfACMANUS.