Once Upon A Time.......in the early 1800's in a the bland country parts of England, was a tattered old cabin house that was falling to pieces by the day. Parts of the roof was missing, so when it rained, sprinkles of water would fall through the ceiling . This home belonged to a mother named Hilda, who was very stern yet sad from being in poverty, and her eight year old son, Jack.
Hilda was just a young midwife when she was left alone as a widow , she was pregnant with Jack and left to give birth to him in a stable near a farm. She promised to raise her son to be strong and steadfast so that he could be the man who can save their family from poverty.
Today was morning and Jack was outside gathering some nearby twigs and branches for them to build a fire whenever they got cold.
" jack" ,yelled his mother loudly," where are you?"
He replied loudly, " I'm outside mom."
She came to the front door to where he was and said, " Jack, I need you to be responsible today. Can I trust you?".
" of course you can," he told her. She gave him a stern look as Jack was just a boy who always wandered off amongst his chores. Hilda would constantly have to remind him of his work and how it is done.
" the last time I trusted you," Hilda stated, " we ended up with a few more holes in our roof."
He added back, " it was an accident."
" we cannot afford accidents son", she said, " we are struggling to live as it is. I'm too old to preform this task, I won't make it far to the market."
Jack put down the wood aside the grass and looked to his mother saying, " to the market? What am I going there for this early?".
" You need to give up the cow", she told him.
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Jack's face looked down when he said to her, " but she's our only cow. I known that cow all my life."
" I understand that Jack" Hilda explained, " but , she's not healthy, she's thin, and she hardly produces any milk at all anymore. She will live longer and healthier with someone else, that is why I need you to go to the market and sell her."
" yes mom," the boy replied, " but what do we need the money for ?"
She answered , " we need more wood to rebuild the roof and to feed our bellies. If we do not sell that cow, it will be a lose-lose situation ."
