Mother to Many
[An original story, based on a folktale called, "The King's Child"] After one year, there was still no child. On her 21st birthday, the young bride left her house clutching a wad of cash tighly in her hand. Walking quickly, she headed to a nearby street. As she walked she glanced around furtively, hoping not to see anyone she knew. A cascade of small bells went off as she pushed open the door. An old woman beckoned her through a bejeweled curtain and into the back room. She sat down across a battered wooden table from the woman who looked deep into her eyes and said, "What would you like to know my child?" Looking down at her hands, and then up at the old woman, the girl asked the question that had been in her heart for many years, "When will I have a child?" The woman said, "You are but a child yourself, my dear. Go back to school and learn about the world; then you will be ready to mother a child." The girl l...