The Old Beggar Woman



A poor beggar woman catches fire and a boy does nothing. The narrator only questions whether he should not have put her out.

Once upon a time there was an old woman, you must have gone begging before you saw an old woman? This woman also begged, and when she got something, she said, "God reward you." The beggar woman came to the door, and there stood a friendly rogue boy by the fire, warming himself. The boy said kindly to the poor old woman, as she stood trembling at the door, "Come, old mother, and warm yourselves." She came over, but went too close to the fire, so that her old rags began to burn, and she was not aware. The boy stood and saw that, shouldn't he have deleted it? Shouldn't he have deleted it? And if he hadn't had water, then he should have wept all the water in his body out of his eyes that would have made two pretty brooks to quench.