DIY History | Transcribe | Hevelin Fanzines | Polaris, v. 2, issue 2, June 1941

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Polaris, v. 2, issue 2, June 1941

Page 8

8
SARA GABRIELSON GOES TO PARADISE
by Henry Andrew Ackermann

   Sara Gabrielson was married to Ira Gabrielson. They had together made the clearing for their little farm, and many an evening had lain down weary in their big, wide bed. Like two good plow-horses they had pulled hard and easily side by side, and they could barely imagine the possibility of anything happening to the one of them that did not happen to the other too. It is true that when Ira had been to town he came home drunk and beat his wife; but the next day he was so remorseful that he beat himself.
   One day Sara took to her bed, and Ira sat on a chair beside her, and asked over and over again whether she did not feel better. She kept on answering, too, that now, thank God she felt better; but at last Ira saw that his wife was so ill that it would be better to go for the priest.
   That night Sara suddenly saw that it was not Ira who sat by her bedside, but a man clothed in white garments, who had come to fetch her; and she burst into tears and pleaded: "No, no! I would rather stay with Ira!"
   "What do you say?" asked her husband, who was sitting watching beside her.
   But at last Sara saw the white-clad figure spread his wings, and heard him say: "Now, Sara, you must come with me." And Sara was obliged to go with him, for he took her up in his arms. They went out of the cottage and up into the air, and the Gabrielson buildings grew smaller and smaller; past both the sun and the stars, and much, much further. Then Sara began once more to whimper and complain, but the stranger dried her tears and said, "Be of good cheer, for now all your troubles are at an end."
   "Oh, I was so happy where I was," said Sara. "And Ira, will he be left there all alone, old and worn out as he is?"
   "God will take care of him," said the stranger. "Rejoice that soon you will be in Paradise."
   Sara tried to rejoice, for she had always intended to manage so that she would go to heaven when she died; but at the same time she could not help wondering whether Ira would remember to mend the sheep's tether.
   At last they stopped at a great golden gate, much larger than the gate of the county judge's home, and passed through a garden where a number of children were playing. Among these Sara recognized a neighbor's child that had died of scarlet fever, and she said to herself: "If ever I go back to earth again, I'll tell the mother that the little one's happy where he is." But this made her remember her own little boys down on the earth,who were probably asking after their mother now.
   Suddenly they turned up a mountain with terraces and little white houses, exactly like something she had once seen in the movies. And if that wasn't her brother standing outside one of the houses -- he who had been so poor and miserable on earth!
   "Why, is that you, Sara?" said her brother with some surprise. "I had not expected to see you here for many a long year," he went on. "This is my house and now I'm not bothered with either taxes or debts. I've plenty of food and fuel, thank goodness, and I've

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8 SARA GABRIELSON GOES TO PARADISE by Henry Andrew Ackermann Sara Gabrielson was married to Ira Gabrielson. They had together made the clearing for their little farm, and many an evening had lain down weary in their big, wide bed. Like two good plow-horses they had pulled hard and easily side by side, and they could barely imagine the possibility of anything happening to the one of them that did not happen to the other too. It is true that when Ira had been to town he came home drunk and beat his wife; but the next day he was so remorseful that he beat himself. One day Sara took to her bed, and Ira sat on a chair beside her, and asked over and over again whether she did not feel better. She kept on answering, too, that now, thank God she felt better; but at last Ira saw that his wife was so ill that it would be better to go for the priest. That night Sara suddenly saw that it was not Ira who sat by her bedside, but a man clothed in white garments, who had come to fetch her; and she burst into tears and pleaded: "No, no! I would rather stay with Ira!" "What do you say?" asked her husband, who was sitting watching beside her. But at last Sara saw the white-clad figure spread his wings, and heard him say: "Now, Sara, you must come with me." And Sara was obliged to go with him, for he took her up in his arms. They went out of the cottage and up into the air, and the Gabrielson buildings grew smaller and smaller; past both the sun and the stars, and much, much further. Then Sara began once more to whimper and complain, but the stranger dried her tears and said, "Be of good cheer, for now all your troubles are at an end." "Oh, I was so happy where I was," said Sara. "And Ira, will he be left there all alone, old and worn out as he is?" "God will take care of him," said the stranger. "Rejoice that soon you will be in Paradise." Sara tried to rejoice, for she had always intended to manage so that she would go to heaven when she died; but at the same time she could not help wondering whether Ira would remember to mend the sheep's tether. At last they stopped at a great golden gate, much larger than the gate of the county judge's home, and passed through a garden where a number of children were playing. Among these Sara recognized a neighbor's child that had died of scarlet fever, and she said to herself: "If ever I go back to earth again, I'll tell the mother that the little one's happy where he is." But this made her remember her own little boys down on the earth,who were probably asking after their mother now. Suddenly they turned up a mountain with terraces and little white houses, exactly like something she had once seen in the movies. And if that wasn't her brother standing outside one of the houses -- he who had been so poor and miserable on earth! "Why, is that you, Sara?" said her brother with some surprise. "I had not expected to see you here for many a long year," he went on. "This is my house and now I'm not bothered with either taxes or debts. I've plenty of food and fuel, thank goodness, and I've