The Talking Eggs

Long ago in Louisiana, a mother lived on a little farm with her two daughters, Rose and Blanche. Rose was the older one, and her mother spoiled her and let her do as she liked. Blanche was kind and gentle, but she had to do all the hard work.

One hot day, Blanche was sent to the well to fetch a bucket of water. At the well, she met a tiny old woman leaning on a stick. “Please, child, may I have a drink?” asked the old woman. “Of course,” said Blanche, and she held up the bucket so the old woman could drink. “You have a good heart,” said the old woman.

That evening, her mother scolded her for being slow, and Blanche ran into the woods, crying. There she met the old woman again. “Come home with me,” said the old woman, “but promise you will not laugh at anything you see.” Blanche promised, and they walked deep into the woods to a little cabin.

The cabin was full of strange and funny sights. Some of them made Blanche want to giggle, but she remembered her promise and did not laugh. For supper, the old woman put one grain of rice in a pot, and soon the pot was full to the top. Blanche helped her wash up and rubbed her tired back.

In the morning, the old woman took her to the henhouse. “Some of these eggs will say, ‘Take me,’ and some will say, ‘Don’t take me,’” she said. “Take only the ones that say, ‘Take me,’ and throw them over your shoulder on your way home.” Blanche did just as she was told, and she thanked the old woman and set off.

On the path, she threw the first egg over her shoulder, and out came a shower of shiny coins. The next egg was full of pretty dresses, and the next one held a little carriage with a pony. Blanche drove home, and her mother and Rose stared with their mouths wide open.

The next day, Rose went to find the old woman too, but she was rude, and she laughed at everything she saw. In the henhouse, she grabbed all the eggs that said, “Don’t take me,” because they looked bigger. When she threw them over her shoulder, out came frogs and toads and wriggly snakes. They croaked and hissed, and they hopped and slid away into the swamp. Rose ran home with mud on her shoes and nothing at all in her hands.

Blanche went to live in the city, and she was always kind to everyone she met. And some say that Rose, after that day, learned to be a little bit kinder too.