waters of gold by lawrence yep many years ago there lived a woman everyone called auntie lily she was auntie by blood to half of the county and auntie to the other half by friendship as she liked to say there's a bit of heaven in each of us as a result she was always helping people out because of her many kind acts she knew so many people that she couldn't go ten steps without meeting someone who wanted to chat so it would take her half the day to go to the village well and back to her home eventually though she helped so many people that she had no more money she had to sell her fields and even her house to her neighbor a rich old woman if you'd helped yourself instead of others you wouldn't have to do this the neighbor said smugly we are all those other where are all those other people when you need them that isn't why i helped them auntie lily said firmly she wound up having to pay rent for her house for the house that she had once owned she supported herself by her embroidery but since her eyes were going bad she couldn't do very much one day an old beggar entered the village he was a rag bag of a man a trash heap a walking pig wallow it was impossible to tell what color or shape his clothes had once been and his hair was as muddy and matted as a bird's nest as he shuffled through the village gates he called out water from my feet please water from my feet one little bowl of water that's all i ask everyone ignored him pretending to concentrate on their chores instead one man went on replacing the shaft of his home a woman swept her courtyard another woman fed her hands the beggar went to each in turn but they all showed their backs to him after calling out a little while longer the beggar went to the nearest home which happened to belong to the rich old woman when he banged at her door he left the dirty outline of his knuckles on the clean wood and when the rich woman opened her door his smell nearly took her breath away now it so happened that she had been chopping vegetables when the beggar had knocked when the beggar repeated his request she raised her cleaver menacingly what good would one bowl of water be you need a whole river to wash you clean go away a thousand pardons the old beggar said and shambled onto the next house though auntie lily had her to hold her nose she asked politely yes i'd like a bowl of water to wash my feet and the beggar pointed one grimy finger toward them her rich neighbor had stayed in the doorway to watch the beggar she scolded auntie lily now it's all your fault those beggars come into the village they know they can count on a free meal it was an old debate between them so until lily simply said any of us can have bad luck garbage the rich old woman declared is garbage they must have done something bad or heaven wouldn't have let them become beggars auntie lily turned towards the beggar may be joining you on the road someday wait here much to the neighbor's duress auntie lily went inside and poured water from a large jar in her kitchen into a bucket carrying it with both hands she brought it outside to the beggar and set it down the beggar stood on one leg just like a crane while he washed one callous leathery sole over the bucket you can put mud on any other part of me but if my feet are clean then i feel clean as he fussily continued to cleanse his feet auntie lily asked kindly are you hungry i don't have much but what i have i'm willing to share the beggar shook his head i've stayed longer in this village than i have any other heaven is my roof and the whole world my house auntie lily stared at him wondering what she would look like after a few years on the road are you very tired have you been on the road for very long no the road is on me the beggar said and held up his hands from his dirty sides but thank you you're the first person to ask and you're the first person to give me some water so place the bucket of water by your bed tonight do not look into it until the tomorrow morning as the beggar shuffled out of the village again auntie lily stared down doubtfully at the bucket of what was now muddy water then even though she felt foolish she picked it up again you're not really gonna take that scummy water inside laugh the rich neighbor he'll probably breed mosquitoes it seemed important to him she answered i'll humor him humoring people snap the neighbor has got you one step from begging yourself however auntie lily carried the bucket inside anyway setting it down near her sleeping mat she covered the mouth of the bucket with an old cracked plate so she wouldn't peek into it by mistake then she got so caught up in embroidering a pair of slippers that she forgot all about the beggar in his bucket of water she sewed until twilight when it was too dark to use her needle then because she had no money for oil or candles she went to sleep the next morning auntie lily rose and stretched the arches out of her back she signed the older i get the harder it is to get up in the morning she was always saying something like that but she had never stayed on her sleeping mat even when she was sick thinking of all the day's chores she decided to water the herbs she had growing on the side of her house her eyes fell on the beggar's bucket with its covered plate no sense in using fresh water when that will do as well after all dirt is dirt to a plant squatting down she picked up the bucket and was surprised at how heavy it was oh i must have filled it fuller than i thought she grunted she staggered out of the house and over to the side where the row of little green herbs grew here you go she said to our plants drink deep taking out the plate she upended the bucket but instead of muddy brown water there was a flash of reflected light and a clinking sound as gold coins rained down upon her plants auntie lily set the bucket down hastily and crouched not trusting her weak eyes however where some of her herbs had been there was now a small mound of gold coins she squinted and disbelieved and rubbed her aching eyes and stared again but the gold was still there she turned to the bucket there was even more gold inside scooping up coins by the handful she freed her little plants and made sure that the stalks weren't too bent then she sat gazing at her bucket full of gold until a farmer walked by tell me i'm not dreaming she called to him the farmer yawned and came over with his hoe over his shoulder i wish i were dreaming because that would mean i'm still in bed instead of having to go off to work until lily gathered up a handful of gold coins and let it fall tinkling golden shower back into the bucket and this is real the farmer's jaw dropped he picked up one coin with his free hand and bit into it he flipped it back in with the other coins it's as real as me auntie but where did you get that so auntie lily told him and as others spoke up and stepped outside auntie told them as well for she still could not believe her luck and wanted them to confirm that the gold was truly gold in no time at all there was a small crowd around her if the bucket had been filled with ordinary copper cash that would have been more money than any of them had ever seen in their wildest dreams they had never expected to see that much gold auntie lily stared at the bucket uncomfortably i keep thinking it's going to disappear the next moment the farmer who had been standing there all this time shook his head if it hasn't disappeared by now i don't think it will what are you gonna do with it auntie auntie lily stared at the bucket then suddenly she came to a decision stretching out her hand she picked up a gold coin i'm gonna buy back my house and i'm gonna get back my land the farmer knew the fields those old things i could buy a valley of prime land with half that bucket and a palace with the other half i want what i sweated for asking the farmer to guard her bucket auntie lily closed her hand around the gold coin then as the crowd parted before her she made her way over to her old neighbor now the rich old woman liked to sleep late but all the noise had woken her up so she was just getting dressed when the auntie knocked the old woman yanked her door open as she buttoned the last button of her coat who started the riot can't a person get a good night's sleep with some satisfaction auntie lily held up the gold coin will this buy back my house and land where did you get that the old woman demanded will it buy them back auntie lily repeated a rich old woman snatched the coin out of auntie lily's hand and bit into it just as the farmer had it's real the old woman said in astonishment willie auntie asked again yes yes yes the old woman said crabbily but where did you ever get that much gold when auntie lily told her the story and showed her the bucket of gold the rich old woman stood moving over her mouth like a fish out of water clasping her hands together she shut her eyes and moaned in genuine pain and i sent him away what a fool i am what a fool and the old woman beat her head with her fists a very afternoon the beggar the ragbag the trash heap the walking pig wallow shuffled once more through the village gates with feet as dirty as before as he went he croaked water for my feet please water for my feet one little bull's all i ask this time people dropped whatever they were doing when they heard us play hoes brooms and pots were flung down hems and pigs were kicked out of the way as everyone hurried to fill a bucket with water there was a small riot by the village well as everyone fought to get water at the same time still others rushed out with buckets filled from the jars in their houses here use mine here's my water one man shouted holding up a tub a woman shoved in front of him with a bucket in her arms no no use mine it's purer they surrounded the old beggar pleading with him to use their water in the process of jostling one another they splashed a good deal of water on one another and came perilously close to drowning the beggar the rich old woman auntie lily's neighbor charged to the rescue out of the way you vultures rich old woman roared you're going to trample him using her elbows her feet and in one case even her teeth the old woman fought her way through the mob no longer caring if she soiled her hands the old woman sees the beggar by the arm this way you poor misunderstood creature fighting off her neighbors with one hand and keeping her grip on the beggar with the other the old woman hauled him inside her house barring the door against the rest of the village she ignored all the fists and feet thumping on her door and all the shouts i wasn't really myself yesterday because i had been up the night before tending to a sick friend this is what i meant to do she fetched a fresh new towel and an even newer bucket and forced the beggar to wash his feet when he was done he handed her now the now filthy towel dirt is dirt and garbage is garbage he said however the greedy old woman didn't recognize her own words she was too busy trying to remember what else auntie lily had done won't you have something to eat have you traveled very far are you tired she asked all in the same breath the old beggar went to the door and waited patiently while she unbarred it as he shuffled outside he instructed her to leave the bucket of water by her bed but not to look into it until the morning that night the greedy old woman couldn't sleep as she imagined the heap of shiny gold that would be waiting for her tomorrow she waited impatiently for the sun to rise and got up as soon as she heard the first rooster crow herring to the bucket she plunged your hands inside expecting to bring up handfuls of gold instead she gave a cries dozens of little things bitter for the bucket was filled not with gold but with snakes lizards and ants the greedy old woman fell sick some said from her bites some claim from sheer frustration auntie lily came herself to nurse her neighbor take this to heart kindness comes with no price the old woman was so ashamed that she did indeed take the lesson to heart though she remained sick she was kind to whoever came to her door one day a leper came into the village everyone hid for fear of the terrible disease door slammed and shutters banged oh down over every window and soon the village seemed deserted only auntie lily and her neighbor stepped out of their houses are you hungry auntie lily asked are you thirsty the neighbor asked i'll make you a cup of tea the leper thanked auntie lily and then turned to the neighbor as if to express his gratitude as well but he stopped and studied her you're looking poorly my dear woman can i help with a tired smile the rich old woman explained what had happened when she was finished the leper stood thoughtfully for a moment you're not the same woman as before you're as kind as auntie lily and you aren't greedy anymore so take this humble gift from my brother the old beggar with that the leper limped out of the village and as he left the illness fell away from the old woman like an old discarded cloak but though the old woman was healthy again she stayed as kind as auntie lily and used her own money as well and wisely as aunty literally used the waters of gold