its real mother, because it had been an infant when it was lost. Two women
claimed to be the real mother and demanded the right to take the child home.
The judge needed more information first and decided to interrogate the two
women.
The first woman told ofa terrible flood in her village, when people were
running for their lives and children were separated from their parents. The
judge understood but asked, “Why didn’t you return after the flood to look
for the child?” The first woman just shook her head and said that she believed
the child had died. Now the second woman gave her story, which told of ban-
dits who stole her cart, in which her baby had been sleeping. She explained
that she looked for the bandits and her child for weeks, but they had disap-
peared into the countryside, and the judge believed her. But who is the real
mother? the judge thought. He looked at the child and asked, “Do you know
which of these women is your mother?” But the sobbing child could only reply,
“I don’t remember my mother.”
“Then we shall have a test,” the judge said with a clever look on his face.
He placed the child in a ring of stones and told the two women to stand on
either side of the child. Each took the child by one hand, and they were told
to pull the child out of the ring of stones. They pulled to the right and then
to the left, and the child began to move one way and then the other.
The women pulled again, but once more the child did not leave the ring
of stones. Finally the first woman saw her chance and pulled as hard as she
could. The child fell forward and rolled out of the ring of stones. The first
woman laughed and proclaimed, “I have won, and the child is mine.” The sec-
ond woman began to sob, because she couldn’t bear to hurt the child anymore.
And the child sat on the ground, shaking and looking anxiously at the first
woman.
The judge stood up and said, “No, the second woman is the winner,
because the second woman would not harm the child. Therefore I am certain
that she is the real mother.”
He gave the child to the second woman and sent the first woman back to
her village with a sharp reprimand. The child had been reunited with its right-
ful mother, who embraced her and carried her off to their home.
Exercise 4.5Sample answers are provided.
The Joke
It was a cold day in the northern regions. Victor and Lara were school
friends and decided to enjoy the weather and the snow. The snow was fresh
and the hill was inviting, so they pulled their sled up the steep slope. When
Answer Key 221