A Fifty Cent Lesson in Persistence,

This story teaches much, it teaches me how to be persistent and determinant in every walk of life. This is the story of Mr. Darby and his nephew, and a small little colored child, will told you, how to use the power of persistence.  

One afternoon he (nephew) was helping his uncle grind wheat in old-fashioned mill. The uncle operated the large farm in which a number of colored sharecrop farmers lived. Quietly, the door was opened, and a small colored child, the daughter of a tenant, walked in and took her place near the door. The uncle looked up, saw the child, and barked at her roughly, “what do you want?, “Meekly, the child reply, “My mummy say send her fifty cents.”   “I’ll not do it,” the uncle retorted, “now you run on home.” “Yas sah” the child replied. But she did not move.

The uncle went ahead with his work, so busily engaged that he did not pay enough attention to the child to observe that she did not leave. When he looked up and saw her still standing there, he yelled at her, “I told you to go on home! Now go, or I’ll take a switch to you” The little girl said “Yas sah” but she did not budge.     The uncle drop the sack of grain he was about to pour into the mill hopper, picked up the barrel stave, and started towards the child with the expression on his face that indicated trouble. The nephew hold his breath. He was certain he was about to witness an assault. He knew his uncle had a fierce temper! When the uncle reached the sport where the child was standing, she quickly stepped forward one step, looked up into his eyes, and screamed at top her shrill voice, “My mammy’s gotta have that fifty that fifty cents!”

        The uncle stopped, looked at her a minute, then slowly laid the barrel stave on the floor, put his hand in the pocket, took out the half a dollar, and gave it to her.

The child took the money and slowly backed towards the door. Never taking her eye off the man whom she had just conquered. After she had gone, the uncle sat down on the box and looked out the window into space for more than ten minutes. He was pondering, with the awe, over the whipping he had just taken.