A strong gust of wind burst through the window, almost tearing the curtains apart. It was a cloudy afternoon in England, and little Marie was alone in her room, wondering what to write next. Her mother had told her to look after her younger brother Susan and left to work, but ignoring the fact that Susan was busy nibbling cookies in the kitchen, Marie sat on a pile of hay in her room, which was covered by a large piece of cloth, holding a piece of crumbled paper and a small broken pencil. Marie was the only girl whom her widowed mother thought to be extremely bright in literature. But staying in a forest in a mud house where cracks would appear whenever there was a storm and water would drip from the holes through the roof meant that there was no chance of Marie's life including a school ever.
Marie always wanted at least one of her stories to be published in a newspaper or a magazine, but it cost 500, and there was no way she could afford it as the pocket money given to her and her brother each month was 5 rupees each to buy a few chocolates. Her mother, Lisa, would work in fields from 4:00 in the morning to 1:00 pm and then would walk to the town at 3:00 pm, which was 5 miles away from their house, and work in a big mansion whose owner was the richest man in the town. At the end of the month, poor Lisa earned a mere 1000 from the wretched field of hers and 2500 from the work she did in the mansion in the town to sustain the living of 4 people in her house- Marie, Susan, her mother (Marie and Susan's grandma), and herself.
Now, Marie sometimes used to go to the mansion when she was free, and she used to collect bits of crumbled paper from the dustbins in the town and used to write amazing stories. It was the only way in which a poor and lonely little girl like her could express her feelings and open her heart. She kept her writings in a big box made with pieces of wood and sticks stuck together with rubber. She had already written 100 stories of her own and was now wondering on which subject to write next. When her mother came at 8:00 pm in the night, Marie was informed that she was to go to the mansion the next day with her mother as the brother of the owner was to arrive and there was a lot of work to do. Marie slept in her room on the pile of hay, wondering how many crumbled papers she would get to collect the next day.
Marie woke up to find nothing unusual, and the day started like any other. Who could have imagined that this day would be the turning point of Marie's life? After breakfast, which consisted of an egg and a piece of toast, Marie started helping her old granny to clean the house. Her mother returned a bit early, and Mari,e after bidding goodbye to her brother, skipped and hopped to the town behind her mother. After helping her mother to clean some dishes, Marie went to her favorite sitting place, the corner of the kitchen, and started writing stories on the crumbled papers which she had just collected. Soon after, her mother came rushing in, worried, as the owner said that he and his wife were off for an important meeting and that Lisa was expected to welcome his brother in the grandest manner she could. After a few hours, Lisa went to the nearby shop to buy some fruits with the money the owner had given for the guest. Marie was so engrossed in her story that she was oblivious to the fact that a man was standing behind her and watching her with great interest. It was that, that the owner's brother had arrived a bit early and had come searching to the kitchen and had saw Marie.
Suddenly, the man coughed and Marie turned around, her heart beating fast in surprise. The man was tall and wore a large cloak over his shirt and trousers. His curly hair was muffled and he wore a cheerful, kind and caring look.
The man smiled and said cheerfully, "Hello, little girl. What's that you are doing there?".
For a minute, Marie stared at the man in surprise. Then she got it. 'Ah, so he must be the owner's brother!'.
Marie smiled back, stood up, greeted the man gracefully, and said, "What a pleasure to meet you, sir! May I take you to your room?".
The man was taken in by this girl. What polite manners! What a great sense of understanding!
The man sat on the floor just beside the place where Marie had sat before much to Marie's shock and surprise. He said, "No, thanks. I would love to talk and know more about you".
Marie smiled and sitting down beside the man wondered what was interesting about a poor, 9 year old girl like her that a rich man was sitting on the floor just to talk to her.
Marie asked politely, "May I know your name, sir?".
The man laughed and said, "Oh, little girl. Don't be so formal. Just call me uncle David. What's your name, little one?".
Marie said, "I am Marie. My mother works here and has gone out now to bring some fruits. Your brother and his wife have gone to an important meeting and I and my mother were supposed to welcome you grandly. I hope you found my service quite pleasant, uncle".
David said, "Of course. In fact, I am carried away by your manners, little Marie. Now, do you love writing stories? I saw you writing one when I just came".
Marie said, "Well, yes. My mother is too poor to afford my studies so I just make up my own stories during my free time".
David said, "Oh, can you show me your writings?".
At first, Marie was reluctant as she thought that the man might not like it but then seeing the look of eagerness on David's face, she gave up and handed some papers to him.
David read slowly for some minutes, then he looked up and said amazed, "Are you sure that you have written all of these by yourself?".
Marie nodded and thought, what made him ask that. Maybe because the stories were really stupid.
David stared at her and said, "Do you know what these stories can achieve? Well, they can be compared to the stories of the greatest authors of all time".
Marie stared at him and asked, "What?".
David smiled and said, "Well, you don't seem to know this yourself, but you must know that you are an expert in literature. These writings are just amazing".
Marie smiled and said, "It's because I can imagine a lot".
David laughed at this and said, "Yeah, because these are just amazing. Well, tell me one thing: I am the publisher of the most popular newspaper in England. Will you like your writings to be published? It would be my honour".
Marie was taken aback. She could not believe it. Her dreams for months were coming true now. She happily nodded.
When Lisa arrived, followed by the owner and his wife, they saw David and Marie in deep conversation. They smiled and started preparing the dining hall.
The next day, all of Marie's stories were published and Marie was the happiest in the world. People liked her stories so much that her stories soon earned many prizes and she helped her family to shift into a big mansion which was right beside the mansion in which Lisa earlier worked.
After many years, a woman published the story of Marie and her achievements. Marie had become one of the greatest authors of the world and was just 25 at the time. The story which the woman published inspired people by narrating how a small, poor girl made her family so rich by her hard work. The story was read by millions and people were touched. If you also want to hear about this story, well......., you have just read it now.
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