Storyclover
Storyclover
At sunrise, Eli carried his iron axe into the forest. He hoped to cut enough wood to buy warm bread for supper.
The Honest Woodcutter and the Shining AxesA woodcutter refuses to claim golden and silver axes that are not his, and his honesty brings back more than he lost.
1. At sunrise, Eli carried his iron axe into the forest. He hoped to cut enough wood to buy warm bread for supper.
2. Eli chopped carefully beside the river. Then the handle slipped, and his iron axe splashed into the deep water.
3. Eli sat on a river stone. Without his axe, he could not work, and without work, he could not buy the bread.
4. A river spirit rose from the shining water. She asked, “Why are you sitting here?”
5. Eli told her the truth. “My iron axe fell into the river, and it is the only axe I own.”
6. The spirit returned with a golden axe. Its bright blade flashed like a tiny sun.
7. Eli shook his head. “That shining axe is not mine,” he said. “Mine is plain iron.”
8. Next, the spirit brought a silver axe. Eli shook his head again. “That one is not mine either.”
9. At last, the spirit lifted Eli’s plain iron axe from the water. Eli reached for it with both hands.
10. “Yes, that is mine!” Eli cried. The spirit smiled and gave him the golden and silver axes, too.
11. Eli sold only the wood he had cut and kept the axes safe. His honesty brought back more than he had lost, and supper was warm after all.
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