It’s been a while. We go back, with this post, to the storytelling of tale aficionado Harlow Berny.

By Harlow Berny

Centuries ago, in a long forgotten kingdom, there was an old woman. Surely you have seen a beggar before. The woman begged the same, always saying, “God bless you,” when given anything, be it a shiny coin or a small piece of stale bread. Once, the old woman walked to the door of an old house, and there, by a burning fireplace, was a friendly young man. “Come, old mother; warm yourself,” he said to the old woman as she shivered in the doorway. “God bless you,” she said as she stepped closer to the warmth. However, she stepped too close and her clothes caught fire. She did not notice, but the young man did, and he jumped to his feet. He looked around for a pail of water, but finding none, he began to weep. His streams of tears fell on the flames and quenched them before they touched the old woman’s skin. She turned toward the young man and said with a smile upon her face, “God bless you.”

Editor: Holden Hartle

A Re-Telling of Grimm’s