Catherine's Family Sent Her To The City

Grandma Lu continued her story about Catherine. "She was one of twelve children. She had five sisters and six brothers. Their father was very very rich. They lived in a house so large and beautiful it was well known to everyone in the city where they lived. It was filled with beautiful paintings and expensive furniture. They had many many servants to attend to all of their wants and needs. They had cooks, gardeners, and many maids. They had a butler and they had men that worked in the stables to take care of their many many horses."

Grandma Lu showed the folks a picture that she had seen on the internet of an old old stable that would hold lots of horses. "Sometimes the stables were as big or even bigger than their palaces or sometimes we call them castles. Horses were their only means of transportation and fun. They didn't have cars in those days."

Alyssa said, "We have stables at our house. We keep horses that need lots of help. Sometimes people are mean to them and other times they just can't take care of them. We get them all better then they are adopted by people that want a horse. It's lots of fun, but it's lots of work too."

Grandma Lu said, "I'm sure it is. I just never liked riding a horse because it didn't have a steering wheel or brakes!" Everyone laughed at her and started talking about horses and how much they liked them.

 Grandma Lu said, "Okay, well getting back to Catherine; it's a sad state of affairs what happened to her and her family. Their house caught on fire and they lost everything but the clothes that they wore for the most part. They saved a horse and a couple of cows, but otherwise they had nothing.
Then shortly after that her father's ships were robbed by pirates or were lost at sea. That's how he made all of his money. So now he was broke. He had a little cottage in the country that they had to live in so they all moved out of the city and into the small house.

Catherine's sisters weren't all that upset because they believed that all the handsome young men that wanted to marry them would come to the country and ask their father for their hand in marriage. Well, that didn't happen. They all wanted their father's money, not just them. In those days so very long ago when a young man in France where they lived, would receive money and lands and maybe houses from the girl's father, as well as his daughter. Since he no longer had any property or money the young men no longer wanted to marry his daughters.
Catherine and her sisters no longer wore beautiful gowns. They wore only woolen dresses and looked like the servants they used to have. They often were dirty and always tired and hungry. Catherine's parents decided that they just had too many children to feed and clothe so they would have to have at least one of the girls leave and get a job in the city. Hopefully she could work for her meals and a roof over her head.

The sons were working for their neighbors as farm hands in the fields and the stables. Since Catherine was so different and seemed to be happy most all of the time they sent her on her way with only some dry bread for food and the clothes on her back. Her parents could no longer provide enough food and clothing for her. She was so very sad, but knew that she had to make do with her new life away from her family. She was now all alone.

She walked and walked and finally found her way to the city. It was raining and she was so cold. "Oh, what will become of me? I am so very frightened," she whispered. "I need someone to take care of me. I am too young to be all alone."

A royal servant that was running an errand for his master saw and heard what the little girl had said. He told her to not be afraid. He thought he could find a home for her. He gave her what food he had and an old cloak to put over her wet clothes. He told her to wait for him, he would be back shortly.