By the side of a wood, in a
country a long way off, ran a fine
stream of water; and upon the stream
there stood a mill. The miller's house
was close by, and the miller, you
must know, had a very beautiful daughter.
She was, moreover, very shrewd and
clever; and the miller was so proud
of her, that he one day told the king
of the land, who used to come and
hunt in the wood, that his daughter
could spin gold out of straw. Now
this king was very fond of money;
and when he heard the miller's boast
his greediness was raised, and he
sent for the girl to be brought before
him. Then he led her to a chamber
in his palace where there was a great
heap of straw, and gave her a spinning-wheel,
and said, 'All this must be spun into
gold before morning, as you love your
life.' It was in vain that the poor
maiden said that it was only a silly
boast of her father, for that she
could do no such thing as spin straw
into gold: the chamber door was locked,
and she was left alone.
She sat down in one corner of the
room, and began to bewail her hard
fate; when on a sudden the door opened,
and a droll-looking little man hobbled
in, and said, 'Good morrow to you,
my good lass; what are you weeping
for?...
So, turn off that MTV and get your
children reading the words that will
deepen their soul and exalt their
spirit as well as your own. Check
out the book from the library!