The Harsh Mistess, the Little Girl, and the Churn
There once was a little girl who loved to play outside in the sun, chasing butterflies and splashing in the clear streams. But she didn’t often get to do those things for she had to make butter for the family that took care of her.
She would turn the crank on the churn until she felt she couldn’t go another round. Then, when the cream was almost butter and she could almost feel the warm sun on her face, her mistress would come in with another bucket of cream. And the little girl would have to start all over. The little girl was so tired, but she didn’t have any other choice. So she would turn and turn again the crank on that old churn.
And it never ended. Always, just when she was almost finished, along would come her mistress with another bucket of cream. The little girl nearly fainted under the strain. But she didn’t dare quit. So she would muster up all her determination and strength and churn and churn and churn and churn.
With no rest or play, it wasn’t long before the little girl became thin and sickly and scarcely able to turn the crank on the churn at all. And so the story doesn’t have a happy ending. For little girls need plenty of rest and time to play with dolls and swing in the back yard.
And so do stomachs.
