A VERY rich widow had three children, a step-son, a fine young fellow, a
step-daughter of wonderful beauty, and a daughter who was not so bad.
The three children lived under the same roof, and took their meals
together. At length the time came when the children were treated very
differently. Although the widow’s daughter was bad-tempered, obstinate,
vain, and a chatterer, her mother loved her passionately, praised her,
and covered her with caresses. She was favoured in every way. The
step-son, who was a good-natured lad, and who did all kinds of work, was
for ever grumbled at, checked, and treated like a sluggard. As for the
step-daughter, who was so wonderfully pretty, and who had the
disposition of an angel, she was tormented, worried, and ill-treated in
a thousand ways. Between her sister and her step-mother her life was
made miserable.
It is natural that one should love one’s own children better than those
of other folk; but it is only right that liking and disliking should be
indulged in with moderation. The evil step-mother, however, loved her
child to distraction, and equally detested her step-children. To such a
pitch did she carry these feelings that when she was angry she used to
say how she would advance the fortune of her daughter even at the
orphans’ expense.
An old proverb says, “Man sets the ball rolling, but Heaven directs it,”
and we shall see what happened.
One Sunday morning the step-daughter, before going to church, went out
into the garden to pluck some flowers to place on the altar. She had
gathered some roses, when, on lifting up her eyes, she saw, right in
front of her, three young men who sat upon a grassy bank. They were
clothed in garments of dazzling white which shone like sunshine. Near by
them was an old man, who came and asked the girl for alms.
The girl was a little frightened when she saw the three men, but when
the old man came to her she took her last piece of money out of her
pocket and gave it to him. The poor man thanked her, put the piece of
money into his bag, and, laying his hand on the girl’s head, said to the
young men—
“You see this little orphan; she is good and patient in suffering, and
has so much pity for the poor that she gives them even the last penny
she has. What do you wish for her?”