Chapter 12 magic water machine

Not long ago there lived a couple in a rocky and barren countryside in New England.They are simple and honest, and they work hard every day from morning to evening, so that they can harvest from this barren land and maintain their lives. Their home is a small one-story house, located on a steep hillside, the ground is full of stones, and no plants can grow.At the foot of the mountain, along the winding path, there is a small river.The housewife of this family has to go there to fetch water, and then carry the water home.It was an arduous task, which, along with other hard labor, left her gaunt, emaciated, and stooped.

She never complained, but silently shouldered the burden of life.Constantly doing housework, carrying water, helping her husband till the barren land and managing crops. One day, she walked along the path to the river.Her two big shoes made the pebbles bounce around.On the road there was a big beetle lying on the ground, struggling desperately to turn itself over.But I can't turn it over.The woman was very kind, and stooping down, she gently turned the chafer over with her fingers, and it crawled away along the path, and she continued on towards the creek. The next day, she went to fetch water again.To her surprise, she saw the beetle lying on the ground again, still struggling to turn over.The woman stopped again and helped it turn over.She bent over the little creature and heard a small voice say:

"Oh thank you! Thank you so much for saving my life!" Hearing the beetle talking, she became frightened and asked timidly: "My God! Why are you talking!" At this moment, she had regained her composure, and bent down again, the scarab told her: "If I have something to say, why can't I speak?" "But you are a scarab," answered the woman. "That's right. You saved my life and saved me from my natural enemy, the sparrow. You have given me aid for the second time, and I must repay you. Scarabs cherish their lives like humans, and you may Didn't know I was a bigger creature than you. Tell me, why do you go to Xiaohe every day?"

"To fetch water," she replied, staring blankly at the talking beetle. "Isn't this hard work?" asked the scarab. "Yes, but there is no water on the mountain," she said. "Dig a well and put a water press on it!" replied the scarab. She shook her head. "My man dug, but there was no water," she replied sadly. "Dig again," ordered the scarab. "In return, I promise you that if you don't get water from the well, you will get something more precious. I must go now. Don't forget to dig." A well." It crawled away in a hurry without saying "goodbye" and disappeared among the stones.

The woman returned home, still puzzled by the scarab's words, and she related the incident to her husband when he returned from the fields. He thought for a while, and said: "Old woman, I think it may be true what the cockchafer told you. If a cockchafer can talk, then there is magic in the world, and if there is magic in the world, we can get water from the well. The water press I bought for the well is now in the barn. According to what the scarab said, the only thing that needs to be done is to dig a hole. I am not afraid of getting tired, so I am willing to dig this well.” The next day, he got up and started.He dug so deep that he could barely climb up the well.However, he did not find a drop of water.

When he told his wife that no water had been found, she said, "Maybe, you haven't dug deep enough!" The next day he made a long ladder and lowered it into the well, and then he started digging deeper.He dug and dug until there was hardly any wellhead at the top of the ladder, but there was still no water. The woman started to carry the bucket again and walked towards the small river.She saw the beetle sitting on a stone by the road.So she stopped and said: "My husband has dug the well, but there is no water." "Did he put the press in the well?" asked the scarab.

"No." she replied. "Then, do as I say, put the press in the well, and if you can't press the water, I promise you, you'll get something more valuable." After speaking, the scarab quickly slid down the stone and disappeared in no time.The woman returned home and told her husband what the beetle had said to her. "Well," replied the simple man, "it won't do any harm to try." So he fetched the water press from the barn and put it in the well.Then, he grabbed the sex handle and started pumping water.His wife stood by, watching what would happen.

Still no water coming out.After a while a piece of gold fell from the spout, and then piece after piece fell until there were ten pieces of gold on the ground. He stopped pumping the water and ran to help his wife put the gold in the apron.Due to excessive excitement and joy, their hands trembled, and they could hardly pick up those gleaming gold markets on the ground. At last they put the gold market under her apron, and they ran into the house together.They dumped the gold market on the table and counted it. All gold markets were stamped with the American mark, and each piece was worth $5.Some of the gold coins look old and faded from use.Some look new and shiny, as if they have never been used.They added up the total amount of gold coins, and there was $300.

Suddenly, the wife said: "Old man, the beetle is right. We can get something more precious than water from the well. Go and take off the handle of the water press immediately. lest someone pass by here and discover our secret." The man ran to the water press, removed the handle, took it home, and put it under the bed. That night, with hardly any sleep, they lay on their beds, thinking about their good luck and what to do with the money.Before, they never got a few dollars, now, their teapot is almost full of gold coins. The next day was Sunday, and they got up very early to see if their treasure was safe.

They were still in place, densely packed in the teapot.They stared at the gold coins obsessively, feasting their eyes.It was a long time before the man lit the fire and the woman made breakfast. At breakfast the woman said: "We went to church today and prayed for the wealth that fell on us suddenly, thanking God for everything. And I'm going to give the pastor a gold coin." "Going to church is great," her husband replied, "and we should be thankful for what God has given us. However, last night I had decided what to do with the money, and left no money for the parson. "

"We can pump more gold out of the well with the press," said the woman. "Maybe, maybe not." The husband said seriously, "We have already taken possession of the existing gold coins, but whether there are any gold coins in the well is hard to say." "Well, let's go and see," she answered, "because I want to give something to the priest, who is also a poor man, and deserves to be rewarded." The husband took out the handle of the water press from under the bed, went to the side of the press, and installed the handle on the press.Then, put a large wooden bucket on the outlet of the water press and start pressing the water.To their delight, the gold coins quickly flowed into the barrel, and seeing that the coins were about to come out of the rim, she brought another wooden barrel. At this time, the flow of gold coins suddenly stopped.The husband cheered him up and said: "My good wife, enough gold for today! We have greatly increased our wealth, and the vicar will get the gold. Really, I think I should put a gold in the donation box, too." As no more coins could be placed in the teapot, the man emptied the gold coins from the barrel into a wooden box, and covered them with dry leaves and twigs, so that no one might suspect what lay beneath. Then they put on their best clothes and went to the church.They each took a gleaming gold coin from the teapot as a gift to the priest. They climbed the mountains and crossed the valleys, their hearts were filled with joy and excitement, and they did not feel that the journey was far away.At last they came to the little church in the village, and entered just in time for the service to begin. They were proud of their wealth and at the same time proud of the gifts they brought to their priests.They could hardly wait for the deacon to bring the donation box.At last the moment came, and the farmer raised his hand high, and dropped a gold coin into the box, so that all present might see what he was offering.His wife, too, was marveled at being able to give the pastor so much money. "The pastor stood watching from the preaching platform. When he saw a gold coin fall into the box, he couldn't believe it was real. He thought it was a fool's eye. But when the box was placed on his desk , indeed there were two gold coins. He was so surprised that he almost forgot his lecture. The service was over and people left the church one after another. The pastor stopped the couple and asked: "Where did you get so many gold coins?" The woman happily told him how she rescued the scarab and how the scarab repaid her by making the water press press out the gold coins.The priest listened gravely to the story, and when it was over he said: "According to legend, a long time ago, strange things happened in the world. Now I feel that strange things can still happen today. Because according to what you said, you once found a talking scarab, and you can also give you a huge Wealth." He observed the gold coins carefully, and continued, "This money is not fake, it is a real gold coin with the US government stamp on it. If it is fake, it will disappear within 24 hours. None of it works. If it is real gold, then the gold and turtle must have robbed someone else's gold and put it in your well. The money must belong to someone. If you don't use legitimate means Earned, but mysteriously, as you say, the money must have come from someone who owned it, and passed into your hands without their permission. Otherwise, where would these gold coins come from? " The couple looked at each other in dismay at what he said.They are all honest people, and they don't want to wrong others. "Then you think the chafer stole the money?" the woman asked the priest. "He probably stole the money from its rightful owner by magic. Since the beetle can talk, he must have no conscience and no sense of right and wrong. He steals money from other people and puts it in the From the wells you have dug, it is not water that you draw up from the wells, but gold coins." "It may be demon gold," said the man, "if so, we'd better go to town and spend it before it disappears." "That is wrong," answered the priest, "for the merchant has lost both his money and his goods. If you give these monster gold to the merchants, it is tantamount to robbing them. " "Then what shall we do?" asked the poor woman, rubbing her hands together in sorrow and disappointment. "Go home! Wait until tomorrow, if these gold coins are still in your hands, they are real gold, not demon gold. If this is real money, you must return it to its original owner, and you bring back the money you gave me. Two gold coins, I can't accept money from unknown sources." The poor couple sadly returned to their home, disturbed by what the priest had said.A sleepless night passed.On Monday morning they got up quickly to see if there was any gold coin. "It's real gold!" the man shouted. "Not a single piece of it disappeared." One day, the woman walked towards the small river, looking for the beetle, and sure enough, the beetle was sitting on a flat rock. "Are you happy now?" Looking at the woman standing in front of him, Scarab asked. "Very unfortunate," she answered, "though you have given us a great deal of gold, our priest says it belongs to someone else, and you stole it from someone else in order to repay us." "Your pastor may be a good man," replied the scarab angrily, "but he's not very clever. But if you don't want the gold, I can take Lun from you as easily as I gave it to you." .” "But we want gold!" cried the woman in horror, and added, "if it is obtained by right means, we will." "This gold was not stolen," the scarab replied unhappily. "Now, this gold belongs to no one but you. You saved me, so I will consider how to repay you. I know you are poor, and I think gold is better than others. Anything he can do will make your life happier." "You must know," continued the scarab, "that although I may appear small and insignificant, I am the true king of all insects. My subjects obey my will. These insects live on the earth. They often come across Gold and coins. These gold coins are lost by human beings, or fall in the cracks of the ground, in the crevices of ice, or covered in soil and weeds. Whenever my subjects find money on the road, they will report it truthfully to Me. But I always ignore it, because the money is useless to us insects. However, when I decide to give you gold, I know where to get it without robbing you humans. I sent several Thousands of insects are prowling, and they came to this mountain with the lost money of mankind. The gold was hard won, and it took days of hard work by my subjects. When your husband dug the well, the gold also began Collected here from all over the country. At night, I piled those gold coins into the well, so you can use them with peace of mind. You have not done anything to be sorry for others. " After hearing these words, the woman became happy.When she came home and told her husband what the scarab had said to her, he was also pleased. Immediately they took some gold coins, and came to the town, and bought food, clothes, and many things that were much needed. They were so proud of their sudden wealth that they didn't want to hide the gold.They want everyone to know they have money.Some bad people in the village saw the gold and wanted to take it for themselves. "They spend so much money," whispered one to the other, "they must have a lot of gold in the house." "That's right," replied the man. "Let's go and search their house before they get home." They left the village and climbed quickly to the farmhouse on the hill.They broke in, rummaged through boxes and cabinets, and made a mess of the house, and finally found the gold coins in the wooden box and the teapot.They put them quickly into their knapsacks and, putting them on their backs, hurried away.Because they fled too hastily, they didn't have time to tidy up the things that had been turned over in the house. At this time, the kind woman and her husband were climbing up the mountain from the village.They held packages in their hands and were followed by a group of young boys hired to help carry the goods.In addition, there are others trailing behind them.There were young men and country idlers, who followed with curiosity like the tail of a comet.Along the way, more and more people gathered, like a triumphant parade.Going last was Boss Guggins, carrying a new satin dress.The gift of this dress can only be paid to the boss after they go home.They spent all the money they had with them. The farmer had been an honest farmer before, but now he was so proud that he smoked a heavy snow, and soon became dizzy.His wife walked beside him like a peacock, proud of the respect and admiration her wealth had won her.In the past, those who didn't pay attention to her, now they regard her with admiration. However, the good times don't last long!As soon as they got home, they found that the door of the house had been kicked in, the furniture was lying on the ground, and their property was looted, and there was not a single gold coin left. Some people in the crowd grinned, some made comments, and Boss Guggins was also shouting for the silk dress he had brought. At this time, the mistress whispered to her husband, telling him to run and draw more gold coins from the well. It's up to her to keep everyone quiet.The husband quickly followed his wife's advice.However, after a while, the doctor came back with a pale face and told her that the water press was dry.Not a single gold coin came out of the spout. The team that had accompanied the couple to their triumphant return just now was laughing and thinking about it again.They mocked the couple for their pomp.Some naughty boys threw stones at their house from the top of the hill.Mr Guggins cursed the hostess as a liar and walked off with his clothes.In the end, it was just the two of them left in the house. As the sun was about to set, the hostess wiped away her tears, put on her old clothes again, and went to fetch water from the brook.When she came to a flat stone, she saw the scarab king sitting on it. "The well is dry!" she yelled angrily. "Yes," replied the Scarab calmly, "you have drained all the gold out of the well that my subjects could find." "But we are ruined now," said the mistress, and wept as she sat on the road, "the robbers have taken all our money." "It's a pity," replied the scarab, "that's your fault. If you hadn't flaunted your wealth so much, no one would doubt your wealth and rob you. In fact, the gold you got It's just someone else's lost gold. That's the way the world is, before its end, someone loses something, someone gets something, and so on." "What shall we do now?" asked the hostess. "What were you doing before I gave you money?" "We work from morning till night," replied the hostess. "Then, labor is still necessary for you." Scarab said calmly, "No one will rob you of your ability to work. You can believe this!" After he finished speaking, he slid off the stone for the last time and disappeared.