Story 12. Our Visit to a Village (II).
As we moved on to the next house, we came to a blacksmith's shop.
We all know that blacksmiths are people who create things from iron.
But what we don't know is how important their work was long ago.
The man told us, back then blacksmiths made tools for the villagers.
They also helped make and repair mill machines.
He went on, Blacksmith services were essential to people's everyday lives.
They kept a community in good running order.
How much did a blacksmith earn in a day, I asked.
A quarter, the man replied.
You mean twenty-five cents?
Yes, it was the highest paid job at the time.
said the man.
After that we watched the man skillfully make a horseshoe from a piece of red-hot iron.
We were tempted to try it ourselves.
The man handed us some hammers, and then my cousin and I hit the hot metal.
Strike the iron while it's hot.
Now we had done it.
