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http://zermoth.net/mabi/library/view/en/800-001
Food for the Soul of Good Deeds
A long time ago in Emain Macha, there was a girl named Lisa. Lisa was a cute girl with long brown hair and pure white skin, with cherry-red lips. So cute that she was the darling of everyone in the neighborhood. Of course, her parents loved her to death.
Lisa lived in a wealthy family. Her father ran a chicken farm, and they had a chicken that laid golden eggs.
Those golden eggs had golden eggshells as well, and it not only tasted great but it was great for sick people because it cured them of their illnesses. It only made sense that people paid a lot of money for those eggs.
Lisa grew up having everything and privileged. Her family was definitely a happy bunch.
Lisa had a friend name Katie. They would spend their afterschool hours hanging out in the playground, making flower crowns and drawing.
Lisa's father, however, did not really approve of Lisa hanging out with Katie because Katie's father was a woodcutter who was very poor.
Katie grew up helping her father out by carrying water, chopping firewood, and other tasks she could handle. Unlike Lisa, she was a tanned girl with freckles on her face, and had rough hands with clothes that had been passed down for generations. Despite all that, Lisa didn't mind that one bit, and Katie also enjoyed Lisa's company.
***
One day, Katie's dad hurt his arm while cutting down trees. Cutting trees didn't make much money to begin with, and now that he had hurt his arm, his wife was very much concerned about how to make a living.
When Lisa heard bout this, she grabbed a number of golden eggs from her house and gave it to Katie.
You should sell 'em to the market... and give this one to your dad... and you'll be alright for a while.
Ecstatic, Katie thanked Lisa and did as she told her to do.
The next day, Lisa's father noticed that his precious eggs were missing and scolded Lisa.
-Even if you may be friends, you just do not help others like that. If you keep helping out those that recognize that they are poor and struggling, then whenever they reach a crisis, they'll lean on people like us to help them out. They will not try to figure out how to overcome the crisis themselves.
We are not that well-off ourselves. We can't worry about others.
Katie's father got much better after eating the golden egg, but he too scolded his daughter after seeing her bring money home with the eggs sold to the market.
-You should not just receive help from others like that. When you do that, that means you are acknowledging the fact that the person that helped you is superior to you, and will have to live your life around it. It hurts already to live poor; you don't want to live your life around rich people, do you?
That's why the two families started distancing from one another even more. Lisa and Katie slowly grew apart as a result. As they grew up, the gap between the two seemed endless.
***
Then one day, a disaster struck. The Fomors came out from the dungeon of Emain Macha and wrecked havoc on the town. The Fomors burnt down homes, stole valuables, and made the place a living hell.
Lisa's family managed to escape the terror by fleeing the scene, but by the time they came back, the house was burnt to ashes and the chicken farm was destroyed by the Fomors... so much so that not a single chicken survived... even the chicken that laid golden eggs.
They took some valuables with them when they fled town, but they had to sell them to keep the family afloat. Soon, the family started experiencing what they've never experienced befor--poverty. Unfortunately, no one offered help. Even Lisa's fiance stopped calling after a while.
Adding to these problems, Lisa's father collapsed one day and became bedridden. All of a sudden, Lisa had to start working for scraps in order to keep the family afloat. Her white, peachy cheeks turned dry because she couldn't eat, and her previously pretty clothes became worn out. Her soft hands have toughend up, and the family had to spend the nights in a tiny room, shivering from cold.
Katie's father, however, started making a lot of money. The Fomors have burnt down many houses in Emain Macha, so the demand for wood skyrocketed, because the town needed to build new houses. Katie's father had transformed from a woodcutter into an owner of the wood factory, and Katie never had to help her father out with labor again.
The very same men that had avoided Katie began to line up, proposing and offering her a blissful wedding.
A few months later, Katie got a hold of Lisa's whereabouts and her plight.
Katie rushed to see Lisa. When the two finally met, they were shocked to see each other flip-flopped from their old days. It was enough to well up their eyes. After looking at one another for a long time, Katie finally told Lisa the following,
-If you'll let me, I'd love to help you out right now. That's because you and I were friends, and eventhough you have helped me before when I needed it the most, it's not the only reason I want to help you. It's because I am still thankful for that to this day, and you're still ma friend to me.
***
Thanks to Katie's help, Lisa's family slowly started to move back up, and although not as wealthy as they used to be, they were able to make enough money to not worry about it anymore.
The two were married to great men, and spent their days helping the poor. Not everything they touched was gold, but whenever they struggled, the same neighbors they helped out helped them get back on their feet.
The good deeds of the kids that the adults merely thought of as immaturity had, in fact, came back to them in a big way, and they helped spread the good deeds to others in the town.
The friendship and understanding these two kids displayed have since made their way all across the town, and that's how Emain Macha ended up being a much nicer, friendlier place to live.
Lessons learned
Write down what you've learned from reading this book.
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