HANS IN LUCK: Part II

Dear Friends,
Sorry I have not posted sooner. The only excuse I can give is the holidays.
I'm sure you will understand.
Christmas for me was fairly uneventful. Except for the fact my fridge is not working. We ordered one on black Friday. It was suppose to be here on the 15th. No show. Now I'm told it won't be here till maybe the 6th of January at the earliest. So I'm not a very happy person right now. They never called to say that there was a delay in getting it. I did let them know how unhappy I am right now. After this I don't plan on doing business with them again. I could name them but I won't.
Anyway, other things are looking up for me. I like to look at it this way. Once this is settled things will be a little better. 2019 was not a good year. One phrase I've seen a number of time concerning this year: " What the Hell was that?" I like to say that 2020 will be better. We will be able to see things more clearly.

Here is the second part of Hans In Luck:

II
The Pig, The Goose, The Grindstone, and
Nothing.

So on he jogged, and all seemed now to go
well with him. He had met with some ill luck, to
be sure, but he was now well repaid. The next
person he met was a Farmer carrying a fine white
goose under his arm. The Farmer stopped to
ask what o'clock it was, and Hans told him all
his luck, and how he had made so many good
bargains. The Farmer said he was going to take
the goose to market.
"Feel," said he, "how heavy it is, and yet it
is only eight weeks old. Whoever roasts and
eats it may cut plenty of fat off it, it has lived
so well."
"You are right," said Hans, as he weighed
the goose in his hand; "but my pig is no
trifle." Now the Farmer began to look grave, and
shook hi head.
"Hark ye, my good friend," said he. "Your
pig may get you into a scrape. In the village I
just came from the squire has had a pig stolen
out of his sty. I was very much afraid whn I
saw you that you had the squire's pig. It will
be a bad job it they catch you; the least they
will do will be to throw you into the horse
pond." Poor Hans was in great fright.

"Good man," he cried," pray get me out of
this scrape. You know the country better than
I; take my pig and give me the goose,"
"I ought to have something into the bargain,"
said the Farmer. "However, I will not be hard
upon you, since you are in trouble." Then he
took the string in his hand, and drove the pig
away by a side path, while Hans went on, free
from care.
"After all," thought Hans, "I have the best
of the bargain. First, there will be a capital
roast; then the fat will keep me in goose-grease
for six months; and there are all the soft white
feathers. I shall put them into my pillow, and
then I shall sleep soundly. How happy my
mother will be!"
As he came to the last village on the way, he saw
 a Scissors-grinder with his wheel, working
away and singing merrily. Hans stood by looking
on for a while, and at last said:--
"You must be well off, Master Grinder, you
seem so happy at your work."
"Yes," said the other; "mine is a golden
trade; a good grinder never puts his hand into
his pocket without finding money. But where
did you get that beautiful goose?"
"I did not buy it, but changed a pig for it."
"And where did you get the pig?"
"I gave a cow for it."

"And the cow?"
"I gave a horse for it."
"And the horse?"
"I gave a piece of silver as big as my head
for that."
"And the silver?"
"Oh, I worked hard for that for seven long
years."
"You have done well so far," said the
Grinder. "Now if you could find money in
your pocket whenever you put your hand into
it, your fortune would be made."
"Very true; but how is that to be brought
about?"
"You must turn grinder like me. You only
want a grindstone; the rest will come of itself.
Here is one that is a little the worse for wear; I
would not ask more than your goose for it;--
will you buy?"
"How can you ask such a question?" replied
Hans; "I should be the happiest fellow in the
world, if I could have money whenever I put my
hand into my pocket. What could I want more?
There is the goose!"
"Now," said the Grinder, as he gave him a
common rough stone that lay by his side,"this
is a capital stone; only use it cleverly, and you
can make an old nail cut with it." Hans took
the stone, and went off with a light heart. His
eyes shone for joy, and he said to himself:--

"I must have been born in a lucky hour.
Everything I want or wish for comes to me of
itself."
Now Hans began to be tired, for he had been
traveling ever since daybreak. He was hungry,
too, for he had spent his last penny. At last
he could go no further, for the stone was very
heavy. He dragged himself to the side of a
pond; there he meant to drink some water and
rest awhile. He laid the stone carefully by his
side on the bank, and stooped to drink; but he
forgot the stone and pushed it a little; down it
went plump into the pond.
For a while he watched it in the deep clear
water; then he sprang up for joy, and again fell
on his knees and thanked Heaven with tears in
his eyes for taking away his only plague, the
ugly heavy stone.
"How happy I am!" he cried. "Surely no
mortal was ever so lucky as I." Then he got
up with a light and merry heart, and walked
on, free from all his troubles, till he reached his
mother's house.


What a story. He started with a piece of silver as big as his head and by the time he reached his mothers house he had nothing. I wonder if his mother was able to get him to see how much he was taken advantage of by everyone he met. I do wonder what he did for seven years. Was he a good worker or did he only do the minimum amount of work?
What do you think is the moral of this story? 

Trying to find figure out what I should show you this time I found a news paper from here.
I scanned two things from The Star News Thursday May 11, 1978:

 I'm actually in this one. I'm on the left. 

I story on a local business. Believe me a lot has changed.

I choose another picture from the past:

I wonder how different this view is today.

Well that's all I have to share with you today.
I look forward to sharing more things with you in 2020.
I hope you will come back soon for more Fading History.
Till then.
Your friend,
Sandy

Hans In Luck: Part 1

Dear Friends,
I hope this post finds you all well. I know I should have posted sooner. But, to tell the truth, I have not been in the mood to sit down at the computer and write. Not to say I don't have anything to say. Just not in the mood. Maybe it's the coming holidays. Maybe it's just other things in life getting in the way. Maybe I'm just procrastinating about getting somethings done. Oh well, I'm here now.
It's finally looking like the Decembers I remember from my childhood.

This was taken Thanksgiving at my parents house. There is more snow on the ground now.
Anyway, here is the first part of the next story from The Riverside Literature Series:

HANS IN LUCK
1.
The Silver, The Horse, The Cow, and The Pig

Hans had served his master seven years, and
at last said to him:--
"Master, my time is up; I should like to go
home and see my mother; so give me my
wages." And the Master said:--
"You have been a good and faithful servant,
so your pay shall be handsome." Then he gave
him a piece of silver as big as his head.
Hans took out his handkerchief, put the piece
of silver into it, hung it over his shoulder, and
jogged off homeward. As he went lazily on,
dragging one foot after the other, a man came
 in sight, trotting along gayly on a capital horse.
"Ah!" said Hans aloud, "what a fine thing
it is to ride on horseback! there he sits as if he
were at home in his chair; he trips against no
stones, spares, his shoes, and gets on he hardly
knows how." The Horseman heard this, and
said:_-

"Well, Hans, why do you go on foot then?"
"Ah," said he, "I have this load to carry;
to be sure it is silver, but it is so heavy that I
cannot hold up my head, and it hurts my
shoulder sadly."
"What do you say to changing?" asked the
Horseman. "I will give you my horse, and you
shall give me your silver."
"With all my heart," said Hans. "But I
will tell you one thing-- you will have a weary
task to drag it along." The Horseman got off,
took the silver, helped Hans up, put the bridle
into his hand, and said:--
"When you want to go very fast, you must
smack your lips, and cry 'Jip.'"
Hans was delighted as he sat on the horse and
rode merrily on. After a time he thought he
should like to go a little faster, so he smacked
his lips and cried"Jip." Away went the horse
full gallop; Hans held on tightly, but soon he
was thrown off, and lay in a ditch by the road-
side. His horse would have run away, if a Cow-
hers had not stopped it. Hans soon came to
himself, and got upon his legs again. He was
greatly vexed, and said to the Cowherd:--
"This riding is no joke when a man gets on
a beast like this, that stumbles ans flings him off
now once for all. I like your cow a great deal

better. I could walk along at my ease behind
her, and have milk, butter, and cheese every day
into the bargain. What would I give to have
such a cow!"
"Well," said the Cowherd," if you are so
fond of her, I will change my cow for your
horse."
"Done!" said Hans merrily. The Cowherd
jumped upon the horse and away he rode.
Hans drove his cow quietly, and thought his
bargain a very lucky one.
"If I have only a piece of bread-- and I cer-
tainly shall be able to get that-- I can eat my
butter and cheese with it. When I am thirsty I
can milk my cow and drink the milk. What can
I wish for more?"
Now he came to an inn; he halted, and gave
away his last penny for a piece of bread, and ate
it. Then he drove his cow toward the village
where his mother lived. The heat grew greater
as noon came on, till at last he found himself on
a wide plain; it would take him more than an
hour to cross the plain. He began to be so hot
and parched that his tongue cleaved to the roof
of his mouth.
"I can find a cure for this," Thought he;
"now I will milk my cow and quench my thirst."
So he tied her to the stump of a tree, and held
his leathern cap to milk into it; but not a drop
was to be had.

While he was trying his luck and doing very
ill, the uneasy beast gave him a kick on the
head; the kick knocked him down, and there he
lay a long time senseless. Luckily a Butcher
soon came by, wheeling a pig in a wheelbarrow.
"What is the matter with you?" asked the
Butcher, as he helped him up. Hans told him
what had happened, and the Butcher gave him
some water.
"There, drink and refresh yourself. Your
cow will give you no milk; she is an old beast,
fit only to be killed and eaten."
"Alas, alas!" If I kill her, what would she
be good for? I hate cow-beef; it is not tender
enough for me. If it were a pig now, I could
do something with it; it would at any rate make
some sausages."
"Well," said the Butcher," to please you, I
will change, and give you the pig for the cow."
"Heaven reward you for your kindness!" said
Hans, as he gave the Butcher the cow. He
took the pig off the wheelbarrow, and drove it
along, holding it by the string that was tied to
its leg.

Well what do you think of this story so far?  So far he started out with silver as large as his head, and now he has a pig. Do you think any of his trades were very smart or did all the others see a not so bright person?
Stay tuned  till next time for the conclusion of this tale.

Since it is winter time and Christmas is almost here I'll share with you once again a few pictures I posted before.

 A winter scene from the past that looks like it does today right now.

 A Christmas greeting from the past.

Me and my siblings at Christmas time.(I'm on the right).

Well that's all I have for you today.
I hope you have a good week.
Come back soon for more Fading History.
Till then.
Your friend,
Sandy