BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR
Long long ago, far far away. There lived a poor farmer and his daughter. They were poor even though they worked hard from day to night. The farmer's land was not fertile and the crops he grew did not sell well. His cow and hens could not produce enough products to support them and the family often went hungry, the farmer dreamt of obtaining a lot of gold. "With gold, anything is possible" was his motto. His kind daughter always advised him that there was more to this world than just wealth and riches but the farmer always ignored her deeming her naïve.
One dark and stormy night when the rain was pelting down and the wind howling like a banshee, an old crone knocked on their door. The farmer opened the door and asked curtly what she wanted. The old crone replied that she would appreciate if the farmer granted her permission to take shelter from the rain in his cottage. The farmer bellowed, "Be gone you old hag, we do not welcome suspicious looking people here!" the daughter hearing the commotion came to see what was going on. After understanding the situation, she invited the old crone in ignoring her father's objections.
Even though they were running short on food, she offered the old crone some broth and bread. The farmer was furious but his daughter paid him no heed. The old crone smiled and accepted the food gratefully. The storm thundered throughout the night, showing no sign of ending. The daughter then offered the old crone her bed for the night and this angered her father even more but he could do nothing. The old crone nodded her thanks and turned in for the night.
The next morning, the old crone thanked the daughter gratefully. The old crone introduced herself as a witch, and as thanks for the food and bed, she would grant the daughter a wish. The daughter was taken back but she had no need for the wish so she decided to give the wish to her father. Her father laughed scornfully and said, "if this witch really can grant any wish, I wish that anything I touch will turn into gold!" the old witch cackled and replied, " be careful what you wish for, you might end up regretting it." "I knew you couldn't do it!" the farmer laughed even louder. The witch raised her eyebrows and then muttered a spell, "There, enjoy your gold." She said and left.
The farmer sighed. "Crazy old hag. I better get back to work." He reached for his hoe, but as soon as he touched it, it turned into a solid chunk of gleaming gold. The farmer was astounded. His wish came true! He started turning everything into gold, chairs, tables, even cutlery. His daughter was also amazed that everything he touched turned into pure solid gold. They were extremely wealthy now. Even trees and water turned into gold when coming in contact with the farmer's hands.
The farmer and his daughter did not live in poverty anymore. He sold his gold, bought a mansion and hired many servants. The daughter could now have trinkets and jewelry which they could not possibly afford before. Unfortunately, the farmer quickly found out the disadvantages of the wish, he could not use his hands for anything else other than turning objects into gold. Food and drinks would turn into gold the moment he touch them, he could not wear clothes on his own and could not take a bath by himself for fear of turning anything he touches into gold. Even so, this did not bother the farmer for he had servants to do all that for him.
Time passed gradually, the farmer grew older and bitter. He could not find any meaning in life anymore. He had everything money could buy but he missed the feeling of water flowing through his fingers or patting an animal or hugging a person. The daughter also grew up and was soon to be wed. The farmer wanted her to marry a lord or a prince but the daughter had fallen in love with a simple shoemaker. They had frequent arguments because of that and their relationship deteriorated.
One night, the argument started again. The usually kind and soft spoken daughter shouted and screamed for she had made up her mind to marry the shoemaker. The farmer was outraged and refused to let her. Both had made up their minds and refused to back down. The daughter then started pointing out all the wicked deeds the farmer had done over the few years after he became wealthy. All the time she had kept silent, never going against his orders, never rebellious. Not this time. This time she was not going to keep silent not going to give in.
The farmer lost control and finally gave his daughter a slap. The shock registered on his daughter's face for an instant before she turned into a golden statue. The farmer realized what he had done and let out a cry of agony. He had turned his own flesh and blood into gold, now he had nothing left in this world. All the gold in this world could not return his most precious person to him. The farmer wailed and screamed in despair but there was no use crying over split milk.
The farmer lay beside the gold statue of his daughter, weeping uncontrollably. A memory came back to him. He remembered the morning after the stormy night years ago and what the witch said to him, "Be careful what you wish for." He now understood that sentence. At dawn, he stood beside his daughter and then with a silent, final farewell to the world, he raised his hands and touched his face.
For the next few decades, the famous golden statues of them drew countless of people over the country to see them. Some say that at dawn, tears will fall from the eyes of the farmer. Tears of bitterness and regret. They also said that this was the way the man atone for his many sins, by standing watch over his daughter till the very end.
(1034 words)