Mother Nature

In a quiet Valley, by a lake and forest, there was a peaceful farming village. The Farmers tended to the land and lived humble, but happy lives. Mother Nature watched over the world from her sanctuary in a glade in a deep forest.

Mother Nature was worried about the villagers becoming selfish from the Bountiful Harvests she provided them, so she decided to test the villagers in a most ingenious way. Every day she would visit the homes of the villagers in disguise to determine their character.

A family of a husband, a wife, and 2 daughters were about to sit down to dinner in their humble abode when there was a knock on the door. The Husband opened the door to find a frail old Woman in a burlap cloak.

"Good evening, sir! I hate to bother you, but I have no home of my own, and I am so very hungry...Can you spare a small amount of Food?" said the old Woman.

"Oh, my family and I were about to eat supper for the night! Do come in and join us!" said the Father.

"Oh, are you sure of this?" asked the old lady.

"Oh, honey! Do we have a guest?" asked the mother.

"A Guest! A Guest! Yay!!!" cheered the little girls.

The Old Woman saw that the family wasn't going to change their mind, so entered the home and sat with the family for supper with them. They all dined on a simple supper of Lentils and Corn Bread. Having had her fill of Sustenance, the Old Woman waved goodbye, said "Thank you very much for your generosity!" and went about on her way.

The next day, the Family was shocked and delighted to see an abundance in all manner of crops in their field. Apples, Corn, Wheat, Beans, Squash, Grapes, Lentils, and Cotton were all plentiful in their crop field.

That next late afternoon, a family of a Husband, a Wife and a son were about to sit down for supper when there was a knock on their door. The father opened the door to find a frail old woman in a burlap cloak standing in front of their home.

"Good evening, sir! I hate to bother you, but I have no home of my own, and I am so very hungry...Can you spare a small amount of Food?" said the old Woman.

"Get lost! We take care of our own! If you need food, I suggest you get your own food!" yelled the father. The father then slammed the door shut.

The Old Woman walked away. The boy took pity on the old lady, so he walked after her and presented her with a single Tomato.

"Thank you, young man. What's your name?" asked the old lady.

"Chachi!" said the boy.

"Would you be so kind as to accompany me on my walk, Chachi?" asked the old lady, offering her hand. 

"Sure!" Chachi replied.

The Old Woman and the little boy walked to another home. A woman and her son and daughter answered the door.

"Good evening, miss! I hate to bother you, but I have no home of my own, and I am so very hungry...Can you spare a small amount of Food?" said the old Woman.

"Oh, sure. Come in and make yourself at home!" The mother than turned to her son and daughter. "Tikal, Cuzco, We have dinner guests tonight, so let's be nice to them!" 

So the family, the old woman and the boy happily enjoyed a simple supper of Potatoes, Beans, and Rice. After saying "Goodbye", the old woman lead the boy out of the Village.

"Where are we going, ma'am?" the Boy asked.

"To my sanctuary in the forest." said the old lady.

The Old lady lead the boy to a glade in a forest where there was a temple inside of the roots of a massive tree. Birds chirped and Deer and Rabbits frolicked. The "Old Lady" then removed her cloak to reveal that she was Mother Nature in disguise the whole time. Mother Nature had Green Skin and the Crown of a Blossoming Tree for hair.

"Welcome to your new home, Chachi. I was the old lady that begged for food from your family. You passed my test by sharing in your bounty, but your father failed my test by being selfish, so his farm will no longer be able to bear crops again. As long as you take care of the Glade, I will take care of you from now on! Tomorrow I will test the rest of the families." Mother Nature declared.

The next day, the Woman and her son and daughter woke up to find that there crop field was abundant with Potatoes, Beans, Apples, Plums, Tomatoes, and Cabbages, whereas Chachi's father's field was dry, dead and barren. A Man, woman and their two sons were about to have supper for the evening when there was a knock on their humble abode. The Mother opened the door to find an old woman.

"Good evening, miss! I hate to bother you, but I have no home of my own, and I am so very hungry...Can you spare a small amount of Food?" said the old Woman.

"Come on in, have some food with us!" said the mother.

"Welcome!" Said the two boys simultaneously.

After a simple dinner of Tomatoes and Corn Bread, the Old lady went on her way.

Later that evening, the old woman saw a man tending to his plum trees. She approached the man.

"Please, sir, I am a humble poor old woman, can you spare a single Plum?" she asked.

"These are MY Plums! Not yours! MINE! Go away, beggar woman!" snarled the grower.

The old Woman walked away.

The next day, the woman and her two sons found that their crops were growing in abundance. Corn, Wheat, Cabbage, Tomatoes, Lentils and Cotton were plentiful in their plot. Whereas the Plum Grower's Plum Trees had all died in a single night.