Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review Volumes 32 and 33.djvu/226

 214 Roinnanian Tales.

Over that country tlicre ruled a young king who gladly accepted the decision of the young people and gave strict orders that all the old men should be killed. The orders were carried out with the utmost severity. But there lived among these people a young man who had not the heart to kill his old father. Frightened at the consequences of disobeying the king's orders, he took his old father and hid him in the cellar under the house. There he fed him and looked after him, carefully visiting him only by night.

For a while things went well. The country was prosperous, the earth yielded its produce, vineyards flourished and the orchards were laden with fruit. But things did not remain in that state of prosperity. A summer came. There was such drought that for months not a drop of rain fell. The crops were burnt off the face of the earth. The trees withered, and there was dearth and famine in the land. This was followed by a severe winter so cold as the people had never experienced in their life. Heavy snow fell and covered the fields. No food w-as left, nay not even seed for sowing the field in the spring- time ; starvation had set in and the people did not know what to do, for they saw death before their eyes, for themselves and for their starved cattle. One night, when the son came as usual to his father, he could not bring more than a morsel of food. His father asked him what was the matter and why he looked so sad. The son told him what had happened. They had no seed to sow and did not know where to get any, there was nothing for them but rank starvation. They were all at their wits' end and had nowhere to turn for counsel or advice how to save themselves, and the father said, " My son, fear not, take a plough and plough up the road in front of the house and the adjoining road and do not reply to any questions." The son did as his father had bidden. The earth which had become moist and soft through the melting snow was easily ploughed up, when lo I to their great amazement, when the time came all kinds of grains seemed to sprout and to grow up from the ground which had been tilled, maize and corn and wheat were all growing up, and as the weather was favourable yielded a very good crop. His neighbours were greatly