I came across this at Equiano’s Lost in Translation, a largely African orientated book blog. It comes from Dreams by Olive Schreiner (1855-1920) which is available for download from Project Gutenberg amongst other places.
I saw a woman sleeping. In her sleep she dreamt Life stood before her, and held in each hand a gift--in the one Love, in the other Freedom. And she said to the woman, "Choose!"
And the woman waited long: and she said, "Freedom!"
And Life said, "Thou hast well chosen. If thou hadst said, 'Love,' I would have given thee that thou didst ask for; and I would have gone from thee, and returned to thee no more. Now, the day will come when I shall return. In that day I shall bear both gifts in one hand."
I heard the woman laugh in her sleep.
A timeless piece.
Many thanks for the link - much appreciated! Have you read her STORY OF AN AFRICAN FARM?
ReplyDeleteI haven't read anything at all of hers yet, so I must look out for it.
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