The Water Bucketre
Cricket Magazine for Kids|January 2018

A Chinese Folk Tale.

Phillis Gershator
The Water Bucketre

WHEN SHUI_ MU WAS still a baby, her parents arranged for her to marry a boy in another village. Then, while still a child, even before she had grown old enough to marry him, she was sent away to live with his family.

Like a good daughter, she helped the boy’s mother wash, sew, cook, sweep, garden, scrub, polish, mop, and shop. But the harder Shui-mu worked, the more work she was given, all day long and late into the night. Though Shui-mu tried hard to please, no matter how exhausted she was, Mother always found fault.

“Lazybones, didn’t you see this speck of dirt on the floor?” Mother would scream. “Sweep it again!”

At mealtimes, she’d shout, “Taste these pickled vegetables! They’re far too salty!” And to prove it, she threw them to the pigs.

She was never satisfied, however spotless the floor or saltless the pickles.

Once Shui-mu grew a little older and strong enough to carry water, Mother dismissed the water carriers. “We cannot tolerate idleness, Shui-mu,” she said. “Since the water carriers no longer work for us, you must carry the water from the well yourself.”

“How can I feed the pigs, mend the clothes, cook the food, clean the house, and carry all the water, too?” Shui-mu asked. “The day isn’t long enough.”

“How can you do it? What a question! Do you have two arms and two legs? You ungrateful girl, do you think you can talk back to me? Do you think you can disobey your future husband’s mother? My son will hear of this!”

Roused from his afternoon nap, Shuimu’s future husband did hear of it, and said sleepily, “Shui-mu, my mother cannot do all the chores herself. You have to help. The least you could do is carry a bucket of water once in a while.”

This story is from the January 2018 edition of Cricket Magazine for Kids.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the January 2018 edition of Cricket Magazine for Kids.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM CRICKET MAGAZINE FOR KIDSView All
The Tale Of Paddy Ahern
Cricket Magazine for Kids

The Tale Of Paddy Ahern

THERE ONCE WAS a lad named Paddy Ahern who trod the green hills of Limerick, Ireland, offering to help farmers with their chores in return for food and lodging.

time-read
5 mins  |
October 2019
The Pedestrians
Cricket Magazine for Kids

The Pedestrians

EACH TIME HELGA Estby looked over her shoulder, the big cat was there. Crossing Wyoming’s Red Desert on foot, in the dust and heat of August 1896, was tough.

time-read
7 mins  |
October 2019
The Magic Gifts
Cricket Magazine for Kids

The Magic Gifts

A Basque Folk Tale

time-read
8 mins  |
October 2019
The Dragon's Scales
Cricket Magazine for Kids

The Dragon's Scales

“THREE YEARS I'VE been waiting, when Torquil promised he’d return them in three days. I’m not waiting three more days to get back what’s mine!” The dragon punctuated his remarks with a smoky snort and a lashing tail.

time-read
6 mins  |
October 2019
The Water Bucketre
Cricket Magazine for Kids

The Water Bucketre

A Chinese Folk Tale.

time-read
5 mins  |
January 2018
Between The Pages
Cricket Magazine for Kids

Between The Pages

One rainy night, while alone in the castle library with her talking gargoyle, Marcus, Princess Audrey finds a book with the odd title Finding Angel. Meanwhile, in modern times, a girl named Angel is celebrating her thirteenth birthday.

time-read
8 mins  |
November/December 2017
Swim Buddies
Cricket Magazine for Kids

Swim Buddies

I LEAN OVER the side of the catamaran and peer into the crystal blue water. This is my last chance, I think.

time-read
9 mins  |
July/August 2017
The Bushwhackers
Cricket Magazine for Kids

The Bushwhackers

I CAN’T ABIDE living one more day in this pigpen!” I groaned and rolled out of bed to pull on my dress.

time-read
8 mins  |
July/August 2017
As American as Appleless Pie!
Cricket Magazine for Kids

As American as Appleless Pie!

NOTHING IS MORE American than the humble apple pie. There’s even an old saying to prove it: “as American as apple pie.” So it may come as a surprise that many early settlers who forged the trails of our expanding nation were often without apples to make this most American of desserts. As pioneers headed west in pursuit of territory and gold, they had to leave many things behind, including apples. Not only did life on the trail make fresh fruit like apples hard to carry and keep, apple trees were native only to the east coast, which made finding apples in the West nearly impossible.

time-read
2 mins  |
July/August 2017
The Man Who Built A Better Leg
Cricket Magazine for Kids

The Man Who Built A Better Leg

THE CIVIL WAR was only a few weeks old when seven hundred and fifty Confederate recruits gathered in the fields around Philippi, Virginia. It was early June 1861, and as yet there had been no real battles. The men had eagerly volunteered, but most had no training as soldiers. Their only weapons were the ones they brought from home— old-fashioned flintlock muskets, cap and ball pistols, and a few shotguns.

time-read
5 mins  |
July/August 2017