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WINTER
2000 Flora Russell
Mullica Hill MM
This story of Leo Tolstoi was retold by Flora Russell for Christmas 1994. We’re grateful for the opportunity to reprint it here. — Ed.
An old woman died and arrived at the Gate of Heaven, but she failed to gain admittance because she was not able to recollect any good deed she had done while on Earth. She was, therefore, declared “bad” and sent down to Hell, to the Eternal Fire.
Her son wanted to save his mother from this fate, so he asked her to try very hard to remember. He said, “Mother, can’t you remember doing anything good while you were alive?”
The mother thought for a long while, and finally answered, “I did give a carrot to a donkey once.”
“That’s enough!” said the son excitedly. “Now I can get you out of here!” So he went and found the carrot. He told his mother to grab one end, and he would pull her out.
When the other residents of Hell saw what was happening, they held fast to the old woman to be pulled out also. But the mother knocked them off of her, saying,
“This is my carrot!”
At that moment, the carrot lost its magical power, and everyone fell back into the Eternal Fire.
The moral of this story, my dear friends, is:
Let us not be selfish with the good fortune that is ours. Because if we don’t share it, we may lose it ourselves.
It is a fitting thought for Christmas that I am happy to share with all of you. Have a blessed holiday, and may all the joys of the season be yours.
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Last modified:
Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 08:19 AM
