Halle and Rhoda were the daughters of a woodcutter. They would help their mother with the housework every day. Sometimes, their father would ask them to chop the wood while he was away at town and the girls would obey him. One day, the woodcutter fell ill. So, Halle and Rhoda offered to chop the wood. Halle said to Rhoda, “Let’s begin chopping the wood and see who chops the most.” They started working. After an hour, Rhoda said, “I need to rest.” While Rhoda rested, Halle doubled her efforts to chop the wood. After a few minutes, Rhoda resumed work. Rhoda took a break every few hours. In the evening, when the work was over, Halle was surprised to see that Rhoda had chopped more wood than her despite taking breaks. “How did you do it?” asked Halle. Rhoda replied, “Whenever I took a break, I sharpened my axe.”
The Woodcutter’s Daughters
