Household Tales · Chapter
The Ear of Corn explained
In former times, when God walked the earth, corn grew abundantly with ears bearing four to five hundredfold.
What happens
In former times, when God walked the earth, corn grew abundantly with ears bearing four to five hundredfold. A woman used the ears to clean her child's dirty frock, angering the Lord, who declared that stalks would no longer bear ears. Bystanders begged for mercy for the sake of innocent birds, and the Lord relented, leaving the ears as they now grow.
Themes in this chapter
Virtue Rewarded and Vice Punished
The woman's wasteful act is punished by the Lord, but the bystanders' plea for mercy leads to a partial restoration of the corn's yield.
Greed and Its Downfall
Human ingratitude and wastefulness in times of plenty provoke divine anger, resulting in the loss of abundance.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“In former times, when God himself still walked the earth, the fruitfulness of the soil was much greater than it is now; then the ears of corn did not bear fifty or sixty, but four or five hundredfold.”
Long ago, when God was on Earth, the land was far more fertile, with corn ears producing hundreds of grains instead of today's dozens.
Sets the scene of past abundance.
“One day a woman was passing by a cornfield when her little child, who was running beside her, fell into a puddle, and dirtied her frock. On this the mother tore up a handful of the beautiful ears of corn, and cleaned the frock with them.”
A woman, seeing her child's dress soiled from a puddle, ripped off some corn ears to wipe it clean.
The wasteful act that triggers the Lord's anger.
“When the Lord, who just then came by, saw that, he was angry, and said, 'Henceforth shall the stalks of corn bear no more ears; men are no longer worthy of heavenly gifts.'”
The Lord witnessed this and declared that corn stalks would never again produce ears, as humanity no longer deserved divine blessings.
The Lord's punishment for ingratitude.
“The bystanders who heard this, were terrified, and fell on their knees and prayed that he would still leave something on the stalks, even if the people were undeserving of it, for the sake of the innocent birds which would otherwise have to starve.”
Horrified onlookers begged the Lord to spare some grain for the birds, who would otherwise die of hunger.
The plea that leads to mercy.
“The Lord, who foresaw their suffering, had pity on them, and granted the request. So the ears were left as they now grow.”
The Lord, moved by compassion for the birds, allowed the corn to keep its current, smaller ears.
The resolution explaining the modern corn plant.