El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-02-01
The Crown
A short Story.

the queen of all the women of the
world. Unanimously they presented this
petition, each one OF them thinking in
her heart that she was sure to be
chosen.
But Zeus. who knew women tried to
avoid a choice which would create
nothing out jealousy, no matter how
Let each one of you try to become
the wOrthiest," he said, let your life
work make each a queen within her
own circle. and her crown viii be far
more valuable than any L might be-
stow"
But the women were not satisfied.
How are we to judge among our
selves, they asked, how are We 10
decide? We have always been admon-
ished to strive toward perfection and
to follow in the footsteps of the best
but how are We TO know VINO IS the
best2 We beg you to select one OF US
and we shall follow in her footsteps
Then Zeus had 10 give in, and he in
vited all the women OF the world TO
come to a big meeting, promising that
he would descend to earth and pro-
claim one woman the queen Of all
When the women had all come to-
gether he made a herald announce that
he would ask each woman two queS-
lions which she must answer as briefly
as possible and the one who gave the
hest answer Zeus would proclaim queen
of all women on earth
As soon as the herald had made this
announcement the woman standing
next to Zeus stepped forward She was
beautiful and noble; and the sacred
fire of enthusiasm was flaming IN her
eyes. Calm and proud, as If she were
a goddess. she bowed her head to Zeus
and waited for his questions.
Who are you the god asked
"A poetess," the woman replied.
And what is your life work .?
= try to drag humanity from the
nj I'M rlmr
intereStS-try to arouse within their
hearts enthusiasm for everything that
is good and noble. beautiful and true
TO bring light into their darkness and
make them happy and equals of the
gods. a pure honest humanity. dwell
ing on the heights Of truth and wis
dom, is the goal of my efforts"
Zeus felt bewildered- Should he per-
haps give the crown to the very first
woman, he asked the questions. It did
not seem quite right or fair, and still
woman worthy of the dignity Of
You may 60" he said at last. I
Will question the others"
Another woman stepped forward.
She wore a plain dress and had
earnest. soulful eyes. and a mouth
which seemed moulded to speak only
words OF cheer and consolation.
Who are your
a physician, oh Zeus-"
And what IS your life work.
service Of humanity" she said softly.
I bandage the wounds of men and stop
their pains, not those Of the soul, but
OF the body, for in a sickly body not
even the nOblest soul viii reach its full
Development I scare away the evil
angels Of disease and keep away death
as long as possible Everywhere where
men are SuIIerlng go among them,
help them and cheer them up"
"ECOu may go" said Zeus, and he
wondered If this one had not earned the
NunmH
had spOken he felt more bewildered
One charmed everyone by her divine
voice, another by her immortal works
, or brush or chisel Then came a
priestess who prayed for the salvation
of humanity. She thought that her
I purity must elevate her far above all
other women.
But the next told of her great and
powerful love, which had made her
. brave the whole awful world to follow
the man she loved through poverty and
misery. Then came a woman who was
the queen of great empire, and who
ruled wisely and made her subjects
happy. After her came one whose only
desire was not to rule but TO serve. for
tC serve is WOman's mission, and thus
she thought she fulfilled her task in
( life.
And every one who came forward
locked different and thought differ
ent from all the rest. still each seemed
. to have some claim to the crown
Then once more from the crowd came
: woman guided by a beautiful girl,
who looked at her with an expression
OF the sincerest love Slowly she walked
towards Zeus unconscious of her dig
nifty. She was neither tall nor very
. beautiful. and still there was some
thing so inexprcssibly gentle and
qUeenly about her, that it touched the
. hearts of all.
Who are your asked zeus.
"A mother"
And what is your life work.
live for my children.
And she said nothing more, but the
young girl threw hc- slender white
arms around her neck. and said in her
/ clear girlish voice. Let me tell you.
/ Oh Zeus, what these words mean: II
! live for my children In her Unselfish-
, ness mother VIII never know 10 speak
for herself or about herself. Since the
/ day when she became 4 mother, she
has forgotten that she has a life of
, her own, she has belonged entirely to
US, her children All the day she has
I spent with US. nurSsd Us. worked Tor
US, guided our first lettering steps. and
/ continued to guide US into life. When
we were small and could not sleep she
sat awake at our beds and carried US
I In her arms all the night; and when
we grew up she prayed to the gods to
protect US. Never once did she think
OF herself And when the days of sor-
row and poverty came she worked for
u.s. With her gentle hands she re-
moved all distractions from our path
and her love endowed her with SUPER
human strength. Oh Zeus how am T
to say enough in praise of her. and
even II you will not reward her with
the queenly crown, which is hers by
right, because not one Of these will
deny it or oppose her. she will NOT
miss It, for our great boundless love
VIII always surround her, and with orr
lives we shall reward her for what
she has done. and kneel to her as our
queen"
The girl was silent and the eyes of
ali the women were on Zeus But he
was undecided no longer. He arose
walked up to the mother and said.
The crown is yours. You arr the
queen OF women, for you are the hest
Of all
He sat down and read approva1 81
every eye. No one dared object to his
choice, for they had all had n notber
ard recognized how far more v-ortbv
she had been than themselves. Even II
the heart Of the priestess a FEELING Vvss
awakened Of a happiness Greater ey-er,
than that Of serving the gods maj
there is a love greater than her ov-1
nc0ler purer and more sublime than
any other earthly feeling:
Mother love.
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