One frosty, winter morning Monsieur Corbett went several miles to gather firewood with his horse and mule. When he thought that he had enough wood to last him five days, he hurried home. On his way home, he came upon an old man with a long, gray beard. The old man bent over to pick up a piece of wood, but he froze in position from being very old, cold, and stiff.

"You shouldn't be out on such a nasty day," advised Monsieur Corbett, concerned.

"I will freeze to death if I do not get some wood for my fireplace," said the old man.

"Here, take half of mine," offered Monsieur Corbett.

"You are kind," praised the old man. Then, suddenly, he straightened his upper torso and stretched his whole body--as nimble as a ten year old. "Come, I'll give you as much gold as you and your animals can carry, if you promise me that on your way home you will assist anyone who asks for your help."

Monsieur Corbett agreed, and he followed the old man to his cottage. "Take all you can carry," the old man offered, pointing to a mountain of gold nuggets in his backyard. "Use those," he instructed, pointing to a big stack of well-woven, strong baskets.

Monsieur Corbett stood in awe, with his mouth wide open and jaw dropped down to his chest. He stared at the mountain of glittering gold nuggets as if he were hypnotized.

"You had best get started if you wish to return home before dark," advised the old man.

Monsieur Corbett nodded, still speechless. He, then, removed the firewood from his mule to give to the old man. Afterwards he picked two small baskets and put them on his mule. He filled each basket only half full, so he would not over burden the mule. He left the wood that was on his horse alone. Then he thanked the old man and led his mule and horse toward home.

"Do not forget your promise," reminded the old man.

Monsieur Corbett had not traveled far when he heard a young woman and her two children weeping. The young woman pleaded, "Please, Monsieur, if you can help. My cow just died. Now I will have no more milk to take to the market to sell. What will my children and I live on?"

"Wipe those tears. I'll help," Monsieur Corbett comforted. "Buy yourself another cow. In fact, buy several cows." Monsieur Corbett gave the young woman and her children one of his two baskets of gold. Before he proceeded on, Monsieur Corbett gathered a bundle of wood and placed it where the basket of gold that he had just given away had been.

Shortly after, Monsieur Corbett came upon an old man leading a limping horse. The old man requested, "Please, Monsieur, would you give me a ride home? My horse fell into a hole and now he is lame. I will be late for supper, and my wife will be worried."

"Surely," replied Monsieur Corbett. "Let us trade horses. You shall not be late for supper, nor shall you let your wife worry." Monsieur Corbett took the wood off his horse, put the old man on it, and sent the old man merrily home.

As Monsieur Corbett did not want to burden the lame horse, he left most of the wood that he had removed from his horse behind. He continued on with his mule-- carrying a load of wood and a load of gold, followed by a staggering lame horse--carrying nothing. When he saw that the lame horse seemed to be in pain, he stopped to let the horse rest. He also decided to have a bite to eat.

While he was eating, an old woman approached him. She begged, "Please, Monsieur, kindly spare a small piece of bread and a piece of cheese. I have had nothing to eat but wild berries in days."

"Here, you shall have bread and cheese, and you shall have all you want from now on." Monsieur Corbett gave the bread, cheese, and half of the remaining gold he had to the old woman.

Upon arriving home, Monsieur Corbett unloaded the bundle of wood and the basket (now just one-fourth-full of gold) from his mule. He quickly fed his mule and the lame horse, then he went directly to bed after building a fire in the fireplace.

The night was chilly. Monsieur Corbett got up to fetch more firewood for the fire. He was nearly blinded when he entered the barn. There in his barn sat three large baskets HEAPED with GOLD. They glowed luminously-- lighting up the whole barn. "Can I be dreaming?" Monsieur Corbett was astonished.

Just then . . . Monsieur Marmion came running into Monsieur Corbett's barn. "I thought your barn had caught on fire. I didn't want it to spread to my property," Monsieur Marmion indicated, then he cried out, "What's this? How did you get such riches?"

Monsieur Corbett explained, but before he got to the part of the story about the old man's request of a promise, Monsieur Marmion rushed off. Early the next morning Monsieur Marmion went off with his horse and two mules to find the old man. When he met the old man, he offered to help him gather firewood. As soon as Monsieur Marmion was done helping, the old man said, "I'll give you as much gold as you and your

animals can carry, if you promise me that on your way home you will assist anyone who asks you for help."

"I promise," Monsieur Marmion answered, then he eagerly followed the old man to his cottage. The old man showed the gold and the baskets in his backyard to Monsieur Marmion, just as he had for Monsieur Corbett.

Unlike Monsieur Corbett, Monsieur Marmion was not amazed by the mountain of gold nuggets. He had only one thought on his mind--to take as much gold home with him as he could.

Monsieur Marmion rushed to select six of the largest baskets, and he put two on each of his animals. He loaded the baskets so heavily with gold; they almost made the poor animals sag to the ground. Afterwards, he covered the baskets with blankets, so no one would see the gold. He, then, filled his own pockets--also--with gold.

"Don't forget your promise," reminded the old man as Monsieur Marmion got ready to leave for home.

Monsieur Marmion had not gone far when he heard an old woman crying. The old woman was feeding her pigs and fell into a puddle of mud. "Please, Monsieur, give me a hand. I seem to be stuck," she pleaded.

"Get up yourself, old woman. I'm not going to get my shoes and pants all muddy and dirty," Monsieur Marmion replied angrily, then he left, leaving the old woman--in tears--in the mud.

Since Monsieur Marmion and his animals were carrying heavy loads, they traveled at a snail's pace. Soon Monsieur Marmion got tired. He stopped to rest and have something to eat. As he was eating, a young woman with two small children came up to him. She requested, "Please, Monsieur, kindly spare a small piece of bread and a piece of cheese. We have had nothing to eat but wild berries for days."

Monsieur Marmion was irritated. He shouted in a gruff voice, "Be off! You ought to be content with having wild berries to eat!" The young woman and her children went away, sadly, with their stomachs rumbling.

Monsieur Marmion, then, met an old man dressed in thin, ragged clothes. "Please, Monsieur, I am cold. Will you kindly spare one of your blankets?" begged the old man.

"Not a chance, old man! You ought to be pleased with what you have," Monsieur Marmion screamed coldly. Then he continued his journey homeward, leaving the old man behind, shivering.

Instantly upon reaching home, Monsieur Marmion led his horse and mules into the barn. He locked the door behind him and hurried to inspect his gold. When he removed the blanket from the baskets on his horse, he was shocked. Instead of gold, he found only MUD. At once he removed the second blanket. There the baskets on his first mule were filled with WILD BERRIES. Without delay, Monsieur Marmion raced to check the baskets on his second mule. He did not find gold there either. The baskets were filled with WORN, DIRTY RAGS. When Monsieur Marmion reached into his pockets, he found that the gold in his pockets had turned into WORTHLESS ROCKS.

You see, Monsieur Marmion had not learned that "a promise kept is as good as gold!"

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