"Nay, Zoe is quiet and polite, she shall be helped first," said the
mother, and she drew a basket of luncheon from its hiding-place within
the hollow trunk of a tree. There was bread, cheese, olives and fresh
_mousmoula_, the most delicious of Grecian fruits, yellow as gold, with
four huge seeds within and a juice cool and refreshing. They ate with
health and laughter for sauce, and then Zoe begged for a story. "Just
one, my aunt, before we take a siesta."
"I shall tell you of the good Saint Philip," said the aunt, who was
very pious and thought that children should always be told holy tales
to make them think of good things.
"St. Philip was always very sorry for the poor. He was himself very
good, and though he had once had many _drachmas_ he had given away so
much that he had hardly a _lepta_ left. He had even given away his
food, and kept for himself only a cow, living upon the milk to keep
himself from starving. One night he slept and dreamed a strange dream.
He thought that he went to heaven and that our Lord did not smile upon
him. Instead he turned away his face. But the great St. Petro said,
'Our Lord, this is Felipo, lover of the poor. Wilt thou greet him?' 'He
loved the poor, but himself he loved more,' said our Lord with sadness,
and St. Philip awoke with a start. At that moment there came a loud
'moo!' from without his hut, and he jumped to his feet and said,
"'It is the cow! I have no need for a cow when God's poor starve! I
will kill her and let the starving eat!' So with grief in his heart,
for he loved the animal dearly, he slaughtered her and divided the
meat among his poor. That night he went to bed hungry, for he had no
milk for his supper, but his heart was full of joy, for he felt the
satisfaction of those who 'give to the poor and lend to the Lord.'
"He slept without dreaming and was awakened in the morning by a
familiar sound. It was the 'moo moo' of his cow without his door, and
he said to himself, 'Of a truth I dream, my poor cow is dead!' but
again he heard the call, 'Moo moo!' and he looked out of the window.
There stood his friend and favourite, at the door of her little shed,
awaiting her morning meal. He could not believe his eyes, but the
cow was hungry and did not at all like being left to stand at the
door until her master made up his mind that she was not a ghost. She
stamped the ground with her foot and mooed again, this time very loud.
'It is indeed she,' cried the saint. 'Now is the good God good indeed!
I have fed his poor and he has rewarded me by restoring life to my
favourite. Always hereafter shall I believe in his mercy.'"
"Oh, what a nice story!" cried Zoe, but Petro said,
"If God could do anything, why didn't He keep the cow from being
killed. It must have hurt her!"
"You are a heathen!" said his mother. "You talk like an unbelieving
Turk! Since God can do anything He doubtless kept the knife from
hurting her when she was killed. It is not well to talk so of the
stories of the saints."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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