Chapter Seven The Poor farmer's son.

The poor famer's pig was pregnant and he was quite excited. As soon as the baby pigs were born, the farmer would sell them off and then make some more money for his family. The pig was all the farmer had.

But he was a kind farmer. He was generous with the little he had, and was friendly with his neighbors.

So when the two strangers came to him with their problems, he merely sighed and shrugged. Then he said, "My house is small and may not be suitable for gentleman like you to sleep in.But if it's a roof over your head you need for the night, you're most welcome."

He therefore brought the strangers to his house and introduced them to his family.

He had a kind wife and a young son who, at that moment, was sick with fever. The farmer's kind wife received the strangers very warmly. She brought water for them to drink.

"Thank you, madam," said the old strangers."You're very kind."

The strangers smiled and sat down. they felt at home and relaxed. It was a very small room, poorly furnished with old wooden furniture. There was only one bed in the house, which the entire family slept on. But the strangers felt warm and at home. They nodded, smiling softly.

Soon after they arrived, the farmer's wife offered them water to have their bath.

"You must be tired from your travel," she said quietly. "Please don't mind that the water is small. There's not much water in the house now."

"No problem," said the Heralds, and thanked her for the care.

When they had had their bath and had settle down again, the farmer's wife brought a small portion of porridge. It was the remnants from the previous meal of the family, which they hoped to eat in the morning. But she had quickly warmed it and brought it for the guests to eat. Though the stranger refused initially, the farmer insisted that they must put food in their stomach.

"You must be hungry, my friends," he said. " You must eat some thing, please."

So the strangers ate before going to bed. Oh, about the bed: the farmer graciously agreed to let the visitors sleep on the only bed they had, while he and his family slept on the floor.

"Oh, but we couldn't possibly take your bed, sir," the strangers protested quietly.

"Nonsense," answered the farmer.

"The bed is mine, and it would still remain here for my family to sleep in after you have left. Don't worry about us. We don't have very much, friends. But as our guest, you deserve our best hospitality tonight."

So everyone slept peacefully that night

In the morning when they woke up, two remarkable things had happened: one, the farmer's little boy who had been sick and shivering with fever the night before, was now suddenly as fit as a fiddle. In fact, he was the first one to be up that morning beaming with a charming smile as he greeted his parents. His temperature was now normal and the redness had cleared from his eyes.

How happy his parents were as they hugged him. It was surely a miracle, they thought. They could not believe it. The farmer's wife could not stop singing for joy. She even had tears in her eyes.

"You know," said the farmer, looking at the strangers," if I didn't know better, I'd say your presence in my house has been a blessing. Maybe you should stay for a few days more," he added playfully, and everyone laughed.

The other remarkable thing that happened was this: the farmer's pig, the main source of the family's livelihood, had died over the night! What a tragedy that was for the farmer, for he had been eagerly counting the days when the pig would give birth. Then afterwards, he might have also sold the sow at a handsome price, which would sustain his family for a while. But now, all the hope had been dashed. They were immediately plunged into sadness at the death of the pig.

The strangers quietly consoled the grieving family over the loss of their means of livelihood. then they thanked the farmer for his kindness as they left after a while.

The young strangers was very sad and heartbroken. He felt sorry for the poor family. But the old strangers did not show any sign of emotion. He kept a calm and straight face as he led the way out of the village that morning.

On their way out, the younger of the two Heralds turned and looked at the old man. " I don't understand," he said stiffly.

" Why did you not do anything to help the poor farmer's family?"

The old man looked at him with a kind smile. "Oh, but i already helped them," he replied quietly.

The young stranger looked surprised.

"No,sir you left them alone in their sorrow.

Now here we are, after enjoying their hospitality. We left them without any help, even after they lost their pig! They have nothing left. I Know that if you wanted to, you could have done something to help them. They deserve our help," he insisted.

"I can't say the same for the arrogant rich man we met yesterday. He was cruel and so unkind to us, and yet you lent him a help by repairing the breach in his wall. I do not understand why?"

Then the old stranger smiled and sighed softly. He put his hand gently on the shoulder of his young friend and said," son, remember what i told you when we were at the rich man's house 'some things are not what they seem'? So be patient, please."

"Why don't you make me understand, sir?" said the young man.

" Very well,then. Let me tell you what really happened on the two occasion; at the rich man's home and now at the poor farmer's home....."

At the rich man's dirty junk- room that early morning, as the Heralds got set to leave, the old man looked up and saw a glint deep within the crack of the wall. He moved closer and peered closely at it. Then he smiled softly. It was a large piece of gold lodged deep within the crack. It was the last piece of gold left from the treasure of the first owner of the house, Timi the unfortunate fisherman. Timi did not see the gold before selling off the house to the rich man.

in fact, this particular room was what served as the treasure room when Timi occupied the house .And somehow,the new owner of the house Mr kigali,had missed the gold buried in the crack of the wall because neither he nor his servants ever came to the room except to throw in junks and then shut the door again.