
In a quiet, rural landscape a widowed mother, left penniless after her husband's death, must travel back to her native clan with only a handful of children to care for. Her journey is marked by the harsh reality of poverty, yet she carries a quiet faith that steadies her steps. Exhausted and with night falling, she knocks on the door of a wealthy but miserly farmer, hoping for a simple shelter.
The farmer, more interested in gossip than generosity, reluctantly offers her a meager meal and a straw bed in the coldest corner of his house. That night, he awakens to a strange, star‑like light and sees tiny, luminous beings circling the woman's bed, a vision that leaves him both startled and contemplative. When he tells her of the apparition, she calmly interprets it as a visitation from her lost children, revealing a deep, unseen layer of comfort amid hardship.
Language
en
Duration
~4 hours (273K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Release date
2004-06-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1824–1905
A Scottish writer, poet, and preacher, he helped shape modern fantasy long before the genre had a name. His stories of wonder and spiritual searching went on to influence writers including C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien.
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