The Chest of Broken Glass - Original Writing

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The Chest of Broken Glass - Original Writing

John had lived all alone ever since his wife died. He had worked hard

as a tailor all his life, but misfortune had left him penniless, and

now he was so old he could no longer work for himself. His hands

trembled too much to thread a needle, and his vision had blurred too

much for him to make a straight stitch. He had three sons, but they

were all grown and married now, and they were so busy with their own

lives, they only had time to stop by and eat dinner with their father

once a week.

Gradually the old man grew more and more feeble, and his sons came by

to see him less and less.“They don’t want to be around me at all now,”

he told himself, “because they’re afraid I’ll become a burden.” He

stayed up all night worrying what would become of him, until at last

he thought of a plan.

The next morning he went to see his friend the carpenter, and asked

him to make a large chest. Then he went to see his friend the

locksmith, and asked him to give him an old lock. Finally he went to

see his friend the glassblower , and asked him for all the old broken

pieces of glass he had.

The old man took the chest home, filled it to the top with broken

glass, locked up tight, and put it beneath his kitchen table. The next

time his sons came for dinner, they bumped their feet against it.

“What’s in this chest?” they asked, looking under the table.

“Oh, nothing,” the old man replied, “just some things I’ve been

saving.”

His sons nudged it and was surprized how heavy it was. They kicked it

and heard a rattling inside.

“It must be full of all the gold he’s saved over the years,” they

whispered to one another.

So they talked it over and realized they needed to guard the treasure.

They decided to take turns living with the old man, and that way they

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