Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1909-07-16
THE GOOD MAN AND
THE EVIL. MAN.
A Story from the Far East.


good man was good, and was not elated,
for he owed all to the grace of God The
evil man was evil, and took no shame,
for it was ordained that he should do
evil. They walked along side by side
the desert track, while the sun blazed
down upon them, and their feet sank
into the heavy sand. Some days they
walked, toiling all day in sand and rest
ing at night on the ground Food ran
low, and water, for each carried his own
store. The good mans bottle failed
first, and he was faint and thirsty, and
the desert stretched dry before them
Il can 90 no farther" said the good
man; 'giye me drink from your bottle,
lest | die in the drifting sand'' "Why
should / do good?" the evil man replied
Il will give you no water to drink" The
good man struggled on, and, fainting
appealed again for water. II will not
give you water without price. Let me
pluck out one eye of yours, and will
give you one cup of water" The good
man sank down in the sand and vainly
struggled to rise. 'If / lose one eye,'
he said, Il still shall be able to see the
bright world and see the faces that /
love-" So the evil man plucked out one
eye and flung it on the ground, and then
gave him a cup of water.
The good man rose refreshed and they
continued their journey together. Again
they slept in the sandy desert and
struggled on next day, but the sand still
stretched before them and the way was
long. The good man felt the heat again
and cried out for water, but the evil
man refused. The good man tainted
and appealed again. "Shail not the evil
man do evil Give me your other eye
and | will give you another drink" The
good man said to himself, ct is better
to be blind than to die, for life is sweet
and / shall still hear the voices of my
friends" So the evil man plueked out
the other eyes and then gave him an
other drink. Then the two went on to-
gether, the good man and the evil man,
hand in hand. As the evening fell, the
lights of a town appeared ahead, but the
good man did not see them. The evil
man led him along till he came to deep,
dry well on the edge of the desert.
"Step here, friend" he said, and thrust
him in and saw him fall. "Shall not the
evil man do evil?" he said, and laughed
as he went towards the city There he
found food and refreshed himself and
went upon his way. But the good man
lay in the well, bruised and hurt and
blind. AS he lay there, night fell and it
grew dark, though it was now always
night to him, save in his heart, where
the sun still shone. He heard the pad
of wild beasts walking round the well,
and soon he heard their voices and knew
that he could understand what they said.
A nd nd
round the well. Said the others to the
lion, How do you keep so fat and sleek,
though game is scarce in the land"
"Game is scarce the lion replied, "and
must go far to kill, yet there is a
place in the desert, withered oak tree
near a stone; beneath are buried the
treasures of seven kings. When / am
hungry | lie there, and the thought of
the riches below fills me with fuilness.
But when the lion hungers the iackal
hungers; how do you keep so well,
jackal?" Il too have secret said the
iackal. "West of the city, in the grove,
is white Towering plant. The very
sight of the leaves gives comfort to the
hungry, and it has virtues to cure lepers.
There | lie and am happy. But the wolf
has a secret too" yes" replied the
wolf. 81 too have a secret. In this well
grows a fern which gives sight to the
blind and strength to the weak | am
here now to smell it and to get
strength The good man lay below and
listened. and knew that God had heard
him. He lay till dawn broke and the
animals stole away. Then he arose and
felt with his hands, and found the fern,
and, breaking off some branches, rubbed
them on his face and smelt them; and at
the touch sight came again to him, and
the smell brought healing to his wound
ed body. He saw the sun again. and
felt his strength return, and gave
thanks to God. Slowly he clambered up
the ruined well till he stood on the bank
above, and saw the world again, and the
city amidst green palm trees and glisten-
ing springs, frightening in the morning
He went on alone to the city, and as he
reached the gate he saw proclamation
and heard a herald who beat upon
drum and cried aloud to all who heard
He cried that the kings daughter, who
was his only child, was i'll of leprosy,
and that he who cured her should have
her to wife and the half of his kingdom.
The people listened and cried with grief
and beat their breasts, for they loved
their king and knew that his daughter
was as beautiful as the day. The good
man was filed with pity for the grief
of the king and for the whole people
and for the daughter whom men said
was so beautiful Swiftly he hurried
away west of the city and searched the
grove and the white Towering plant of
which the jackal had spoken. He found
the plant and joyfully brought it back,
and running to the palace cried to be
brought to the kings daughter for he
could cure her disease. They brought
him in, and he laid the plant upon her
and she saw it, and it brought peace to
her trouble, and she was made whole
and was in very truth as beautiful as
the day. Then the king ordered and the
drums were beaten and the guns fred.
and proclamation made that the good
man had cured the princess and that he
should marry her at once So the king
gave him his daughter in marriage, and
there was great JOY ard feasting, and
the king gave him the half of his king