Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1904-01-28
WONDERFUL QUERN
low THE NORWEoiANs EXPLAIN
WHY THE SEA IS SALT,


rngic Mill That Ground Out Riches
For the Poor Brother while II
Frightened the Rich One-Thc Sail.
or who Made II Grind salt.
There is an old fashioned Norwegian
pix talk that accounts in a very curious
'ay for the salt In the sea- According
the story, the waters of the ocean
rere not always salt. But long ago
here were two brothers living away
p In the northland. One was very
ich, and the other was very poor. One
rother had herds Of cattle and nocks
( fat mountain sheep, while the poor
ne had just about nothing at all ex-
cpt wife and ever so many children.
One Christmas eve there was nothing
b the house for them to cat, and the
oor mans wife said to her husbands
"lf had rich brother. as you have,
would go and ask him for something
or these poor children to eat. Tomor-
ow will be Christmas day, and there
not crust of bread in the house"
So lie went to his brother and told
PIN how much they needed his help.
The rich man gave hiln a nice fitch Of
bacon and told him to 70 to an old ma
kician who lived somewhere in the
FOUNTAINS. do not know why he sent
he poor man to the magician. for the
after did not bear very good name
n the nelghborhOOd. However, when
be came to the n,agician's stronghold
Everybody about the place wanted to
buy his fitch Of bacon. He could not
Understand why 1t was but he thought
K there was SO much demand for the
bacon he would at least make the best
bargain he could for it.
"Well," he said. II ought by rights to
AXE this bacon home to my good dame
or our dinner tomorrow. bat since you
II seem to have set your hearts on it
buppose you must have it. If sell 1t,
however, l want good price for it,"
They offered him n good round sum,
but that would not do.
Il will let you have it," he said, IF
tou will give me that quern yonier be-
hind the door
a quern is one Of the things that it
would be very hard to find nowadays,
because they have gone out Of fashion.
A qucrn is mill for grinding corn by
hand and 1t consists of two large
btones an upper and n lower one. the
upper one having handle by which 1t
may be turned around on the lower
stone, grinding the corn or grain be-
ween them.
The old magician at first laughed out
light at the idea of any ono thinking
hat he would part with his quern. but
he owner Of the bacon insisted that he
would be satisfied with nothing less
han that, so he finally got it,
When he reached his own door the
block was striking IL and his wife was
waiting for him, ready to scold him for
btaying SO long.
"What in the world kept you so
ong?" she asked. "And what are we
going to do with that old qucrn when
ne have no corn to grind?"
Then he told her of his trading the
bacon for the quern. She was dread
Fully put out about it and especially at
the loss OF the bacon.
Just wait minute" said her hus-
band. before you begin to complain,
Ind SEQ II did not do right this time"
And. putting the qucrn on the table,
he told it to grind enough good things
10 make first rate dinner for twelve
hungry mouths. His wife could hardly
believe her eyes as she stood there and
watched the quern grinding out dain-
ties 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
mn elegant table they kept he was en-
vious 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 1t that
they could not help telling all about it,
and the rich brother insisted OIL buy
Ing the quern. Finally they let him
have it for $500.
1t kept on grinding for its new own
er, but he was afraid of it, never feel
ing 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 1t ground
out untold riches for himself and his
| family. They had everything they de-
sired among other things golden
house to live in. and the people came
from every land to see the magnifi-
ccnce of the family that owned the
wonderful quern.
one day a stranger, an old seaman
who had been all around the then
known world, came to see the quern
and wanted it to grind salt.
1t is supposed that the owner Of the
quern was rich enough by this time, for
| he let it go for 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 1t
would work. When he bad 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 I'M
I'll the ship was ready to sink to the
bottom of the sen. 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 t..