POWDER OF BREAD

Powder of bread Long ago, in a small English village, there lived a family so poor that he had not even the dishes to eat. The father had lost both legs in the war and his wife, giving birth to the only daughter, she became very ill and spent the whole day lying on a bed of straw because they did not have even a bed to sleep ... So when the daughter was sixteen, begged his parents to let her go. He wanted to go to London to look for a job. The health of both parents had deteriorated and the mother was slowly dying of cold and hunger. The father was desperate and so gave his consent for that trip. Husband and wife entrusted to the sky their only child, loved and adored above all else in the world. They knew the dangers of the city but trusted on common sense and prudence of the young man a few hours after he arrived in London. She gasped before that elegant city, full of carriages, ladies elegant strolling with long robes and feathered hats and frivolous, of impressive buildings. Passing in front of a shop that sold bread and sweets, she reads a sign attached to the window that said: "Wanted scullery maid." The young girl, dressed in rags, with the foot wooden shoes and a coat of coarse wool, worn and tattered. For a moment he looked at her, ashamed of his misery, not knowing that his hair had reflections of the sun and the eyes were the bluest of cornflowers. But she did not know the vanity or pride or arrogance. Life had given only cold and hungry but also the unconditional love of parents. Then he braced himself and entered by ringing the bell placed over the glass door of the shop. He found himself in front of a long wooden counter and inside, exposed in Bellavista, sweets, cakes, biscuits and sandwiches many fragrant. Cinnamon, vanilla and chocolate hovered in the air and the poor girl almost fainted from hunger. He could not remember the last time you ate. A funny ladies ruddy, with a strange hat and a big belly hidden behind a spotless apron came out of the back of the shop. He was drying his hands, and stopped at the sight of the girl staring awed and eyes bulging, that paradise of sweets. "You want?" He asked kindly. He had noticed the tattered clothes of the girl and her hungry air. The poor swallowed several times and with croaking voice replied timid: I read the sign outside and seeking a job. I just arrived from the country. " The Pastry, rubbing his chin fat asked: "You have references?" "No ... but I'm ready to do everything. My parents are sick and at home they need ... "the girl answered sincerely. Now he spoke ill dall'acquolina in the mouth that had come. He had just spotted a tower of chocolate with hazelnuts over. The shop owner was a good man and he realized that the girl was in trouble but he was not stupid. A beautiful job would attract more customers and would have made a good impression with its neighbors shopkeepers. "All right-said-thundering I pay with a loaf of bread a day, a piece of meat or cheese and a glass of milk. You can sleep in the back room and I'll give you a decent suit. I expect, however, that you clean everything, you get up early to help me make the bread, that you take care of customers. At the end of the month I will pay two pounds. " Every word seemed a treasure ... a surge of relief and joy invaded the girl's heart and looked heavenly for a moment, became clouded with tears and gratitude for that funny little man. At night, lying on a small bed in the back room of the bakery, he thought of what he had learned and had to play every day. He felt very tired but satisfied and did not seem real to try the feeling of fullness in the stomach. At the end of the day the pastry chef had given a glass of fresh milk, a loaf of bread still warm and a slice of salted meat. The poor thing, just one, devoured almost gulping bread with milk and savored the sweet taste of spiced salted meat. He finished his dinner in a moment and picked up from the ground bread crumbs fall, savoring them like they were candy. So, snuggling under the covers, she sank into a restful sleep. No longer a bed of straw ... no more wet and cold in the room ... no hunger pangs ... but a warm and comfortable environment. The next morning, at dawn, he helped the baker to make bread, cream cakes and cream puffs for frosted with cream. Already an hour of opening, a small crowd of customers had gathered at the entrance of the shop, attracted by the fragrance of the perfume of vanilla and cocoa but also from the view of the beautiful job that was struggling, behind the glass, to settle in the bellavista donuts with sugar and gingerbread. Throughout the day the bakery was full of customers, and in the evening the owner, happy, had the profit of the day. So he was quite happy to give the girl his dinner, then returned to his home. But it just as he was giving a nice bite to warm bread froze. Flashed before my eyes his poor parents, hungry and cold. So, feeling guilty, he put aside the bread and the meat and drank only milk. Since that night, all that was feeding the owner, he puts him away, eating only one glass of milk a day. Sunday went by parents carrying all the food that had sidelined. Parents wept with joy as they ate the cheese, meat and bread with a glass of milk the day before she had managed to keep cool. So generous and selfless girl living alone with a glass of milk a day, and on Saturday he remained completely fast. Its milk served to parents the following Sunday. The pastry chef made her work and not escaped him that the poor had begun to have him look hungry. But, sure the food they gave her every night, did not think much. One Saturday evening the biting hunger stomach. The girl had put aside all the food they had saved in the week and the next day would lead eventually to the parents also the two pounds that the master had given her. His first paycheck. But stomach cramps left her no respite and the smell of sweets in the shop, was a tantalizing. He decided to go to sleep, but in undress, she realized that she had left on the apron a little 'dust of the bread baked in the afternoon. With trembling hands he picked it up in the palm of the hand and ate it making it melt in your mouth. A bit 'of bread flavor was better than nothing! So that evening, gathering dust bread from his clothes, preserving all grain and if advancing from the trays, instead of throwing it away, it brought together in a handful eating it with milk. Slowly parents, feeding regularly, and they were better with the money that her daughter brought home, were able to buy some wood to keep warm and also a mattress and blankets. The confectioner every month paid the girl and was very happy with the way she worked. Everything was going so well, the clientele increased and it seemed that all of London wants his desserts. At one point the owner decided to open a second bakery. He had realized that taking this girl was a good deed and that the sky had rewarded him with the well-being and success. One evening, as usual, had given the girl to dinner and returned home. But halfway he realized he had forgotten his gloves and hat in the shop and so turned back. Quietly he opened the shop door, convinced that the girl was asleep and instead found himself facing a strange scene. The girl, kneeling in front of the main counter, was collecting dust from the floor of the bread, and then eat it. The poor man was stunned. It was so incredible that he was seeing that every sound had stopped in his throat. He gulped too astounded to speak. The girl, conscious of his presence, burst into tears, telling the reason for what he was doing. He told of the misery of his house, the sickness of his parents and of his great and immense love for the family. She was willing to starve just to help his relatives. The owner was moved to tears. That was not a girl ... but an angel from heaven ready to sacrifice himself for his mother and his father. From that day the baker doubled the food and wages. At his own expense he put the house of the parents and when the girl, now an adult, became engaged and married, gave her a store of his own because in those years, luck and well-being had accompanied every day of good baker ...