XXV.—THE GOOD CHILDREN.
The Lord was angered at mankind, and for three years
there was a great famine over all the world; nowhere in the
world was even a grain of corn produced, and what people
sowed failed to come up from a drought so great, that for
three years there was not a drop of rain or dew. For one
year more people managed to live somehow or other, thrashing
up what old corn there was; the rich made money, for
corn rose very high. Autumn came. Where anybody had
or purchased old seed, they sowed it; and entreated the
Lord, hoped in the love of God, if God would give fertility,
`if God would forgive our sins.' But it was not so. They
did not obtain the love of God. When they cast the seed
into the holy earth, that was the last they saw of it; if it
germinated somewhat, if it sent up shoots, it withered away
close to the ground. Woe! and abundance of it! God's
world went on, sorrowed and wept, for now it was manifest
that death by hunger was approaching. They somehow got
miserably through the winter. Spring came. Where anybody
had still any grain, they sowed it. What would come
to pass? No blessing was poured forth, for the drought
began with wind. Moreover, there was but little snow in
the winter, and everything dried up so that the black earth
remained as it was. It now came to this—all the world
began to perish! The people died; the cattle perished; as
misery carried them, so did the people proceed.
There was at that time a powerful emperor in a certain
empire; as the young ordinarily cleave to the young, so
would he associate only with young men. Whether in
council or in office or in the army, there were none but
young men; no old man had access to anything anywhere.
Well, as young men, unripe in understanding, were
the counsellors, so was their counsel also unripe. One year
passed, a second passed; then, in the third year, they saw
that misery was already on every side, that it was already
coming to this, that all the world would perish. The young
emperor assembled his young council, and they began to
advise after their fashion; they advised, they advised, and
ah! the resolutions they came to were such that it is a sin
even to give an account of their resolutions! Well, the
emperor made proclamation after their advice, that all old
people were to be drowned, in order that, said he, bread
might not be wasted in vain, but there might be a supply of
bread for the young; and that no one should venture, on
pain of death, to maintain or harbour any old man. Well,
heralds went about throughout the whole country, and promulgated
the emperor's command everywhere—yea, brigands
seized old people where they chose, and drowned them
without mercy.
There were then in a certain place three own brothers,
who had an aged father. When they heard of this edict,
they told their father; and their father said: `My sons, such
is the will of God and the will of the emperor; take me, let
me perish at once, only that you, my children, may live on.
I am already with one foot in the grave.' `No, our own
daddy! we will die, but we will not give you up,' cried the
good sons with one voice, and fell upon his neck; `we will
keep you; we will take from our own mouths, and will
nourish you.'
The three brothers took their aged father, conducted him
into their cottage, dug under the raised portion of the floor,
made up a bed with sheets and frieze-coats, for straw was
scarce, and placed the old man there, brought him a loaf of
bread as black as the holy earth, and covered him over with
the floor. There the old man abode for two or three months,
and his sons brought him clandestinely all that they had.
The summer passed without harvest, without mowing. September
passed too. Autumn passed without joy. Winter
passed too. Now came spring; the sun became warm. It
was now time to sow, but there was no seed. The world
was large, but there was no seed-corn. When one kind was
used up, the people sowed others, hoping that there would
be a crop; but when they cast it into the holy earth, it
rotted there. It seemed as if the end of the world were
come.
Then the three sons went to their father, and asked him:
`Daddy, what shall we do? It's time to sow. God is now
sending showers of rain; the earth is warmed and is
crumbling like grits; but of seed there is not a blessed
grain.' `Take, my sons, and strip the old roof off the house,
and thresh the bundles and sow the chaff.' The lads stripped
the house and barn (anyhow, there was nothing in it), and
threshed away till the sweat ran from their brows, so that
they crushed the bundles as small as poppy-seeds. When
they sowed, God gave a blessing; so in a week's time it
became green like rue; in a month's time, in two months'
time, there was corn, ever so much—ever so much, and all
manner of seed was found there: there was rye, there was
wheat and barley; yea, maybe, there was also a plant or
two of buckwheat and millet. Wherever you went throughout
the world there was no corn to be seen; all the plain
was overgrown with grasses, steppe-grasses, and thistles, but
with
them was corn like a forest. How people wondered
and were astounded! The fame thereof went over the whole
world, and the news reached the emperor himself, that in
such and such a place there were three own brothers, and
with them corn had sprung up for all the world, and so
beautiful, never was the like beheld! The emperor ordered
the three brothers to appear in the imperial presence.
The brothers heard of it, and smacked the tops of their
heads with their hands. `Now it will be amen with us!'
They went again to their father. `Daddy! they tell us to
appear before the emperor. Advise us, daddy, what to do!'
`Go, my sons—what will be, will be; and tell the pure
truth before the emperor.' The brothers started off and
went to the emperor. The emperor inquired menacingly:
`Why, villains, did ye hoard up corn, when there was such
a famine that so many people died of hunger? Tell the
truth; if not, I shall order you to be tortured and racked
even unto death.' The brothers related all as it had been,
from the beginning to the end. `Now, most gracious
emperor, give us over to any torture whatever, or let thy
kindness have compassion on us!' The emperor's brow
became smooth, his eyes became serene. He then ordered
the old father to be brought before him at once, and made
him sit beside him close to his throne, and hearkened to his
counsel till death, and his sons he rewarded handsomely.
He ordered the corn to be collected ear by ear, and to be
rubbed out in men's hands; and sent it about for seed-corn
in all empires, and from it was produced holy corn for all
the world.
