That Little Beggar

by Edith King Hall

"At first the hill went up so gently that they hardly noticed the incline. The way did not appear very difficult in the beginning. They went through a wood where the trees were all young, and the leaves a tender green, as you see in the springtime, Chris, my dear. And the sunlight fell through the trees and made a pattern on the ground, which moved slowly and gracefully as the gentle breezes swayed the branches. There were no rough places then, or, if there were, they were so slight that the two travellers hardly remarked them. And as they walked along they sang in the joy of their hearts; the sunshine, the soft light breezes, the pretty wild flowers, the trees—all made them so glad and so happy. Nor did they forget to give to all who passed by some of the fresh, pure water out of their golden flasks.

"By and by they came out of the pretty little wood, and the hill became steeper, the rough places rougher and more frequent.

"Then one grew impatient. He wanted to go on more quickly than he had done hitherto. It seemed to him a waste of time to stop so often to give to the passers-by that pure, refreshing water. Besides, he began to doubt the truth of the message he had received. It did not seem possible to him that he could give away the water in his flask and yet not suffer from thirst. He resolved to keep it all for himself. Nor could he believe that it was always necessary to follow the narrow path. It was a different thing when it led through the pretty wood, but now that it led so often over such difficult places, he determined to find an easier one. Therefore he separated from his companion, and went his own way, avoiding all the roughnesses of the road, and taking the paths that seemed less hard. Nor did he any longer stop to offer to others the magical water of his golden flask, he kept it all for himself, and let the wearied and sad ones pass him by without compassion.

"But he never remarked how dim the gold of the flask was growing, nor how fast the water was diminishing. Nor did he see that instead of going up he was really going down-hill, and that the paths he chose were misleading him. In his hurry he never noticed this, till one sad day it came upon him.

"He had been feeling very tired and out of heart, for the way seemed so long and tiring. Yet, he had been struggling on, hoping to find his rest at last. On this day, however, he found that his strength had gone; he could climb no further. He took out his flask, now so dim, hoping to quench the terrible thirst that was overpowering him; but alas! alas! there was hardly any water left; not nearly enough to revive him. So there, by himself, sad and disappointed—for he knew that now he would never see the happy land he had started for with such glorious hopes,—he died—died all alone and uncared for!

"And the other traveller? Well, he went straight on as the good Lord had directed. Often the rough places were terribly rough, and the sharp stones in the pathway wounded his feet sadly. Nevertheless, he never turned aside; he went right on as he had been directed, whilst to all those who passed by, thirsting for some of the beautiful, clear water from his golden flask, he gave freely and willingly. Little children who met him with tearful eyes went on their way laughing and singing. Older people, also, who were too tired to cry, whose hearts were heavy with many sorrows, drank of that water and went on their way refreshed. And his golden flask remained bright, and the water within it undiminished, right to the very end.

"What was the end? Ah, it came sooner than he thought it would! The journey was not so very long after all! And when he arrived at that beautiful country, and his eyes saw 'The King in His beauty', he forgot all about the rough places, and all about his past weariness. It was the land of sunlight, you see, and the land of shadows passed from his recollection for ever."

"Is that all?" Chris inquired, as I paused.

"Yes, that's all," I replied.

"It's a very nice story," he said, patronizingly. "I like it almost as much as 'Jack the Giant Killer' and 'Jack and the Beanstalk', and better than 'Cinderella'."