The Three Weavers--Annie Fellows

Hello all! The next book I will be reviewing is a Lamplighter book. For those of you unfamiliar with the Lamplighter company, it is a company that reprints old Christian books (mostly fiction). They edit them somewhat, revise them with lovely hardback covers, and keep the general "old fashioned" flavor to the books. The books they reprint are usually from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. I have several of their books, and you can expect a lot of reviews on them in the next few weeks and months. :-) Anyway...onward to the book itself!

Title: The Three Weavers: A Tale for Fathers and Daughters

Author: Annie Fellows

Published: Original date unknown, reprinted in 2001. I believe another edition of this book has been printed which is illustrated and designed for children.

Background Information: Annie Fellows is also the author of another Lamplighter book called "Joel: A Boy of Galilee."
This small book contains just under 60 pages and can be read very quickly. It is written in a way for younger girls/children, however, the story is good for all ages.
A great book for the whole family--especially for fathers and daughters! I bought this book awhile ago, and I just re-read it today so I could review it. :-)

"The Three Weavers: A Tale for Fathers and Daughters" is about, as you may have guessed, three weavers. :-) It is written in a classic sort of fairy tale way. The three weavers all live near each other, and equal blessings happen to each of them: they all have a daughter, born on the same day! However, even though their situations are very similar for each weaver, the individual weaver (father) has a different way of weaving their merchandise and in the way they raise their daughters. On the day of their daughters birth, "Clotho, the weaver of weavers" gives each child/father a gift--a tiny loom. The fathers are informed that their daughters will wed a royal prince. However, the girls, in order to wed their royal princes, must be worthy of them! They are to each make a mantle that is fit for their prince. The looms are also special in the way they are created. Every year that passes, the loom "grows" to fit the size of the daughter. Each father realizes he is imparted with the responsibility to help his daughter become ready for her prince. So...now the interesting part of the story begins.

The first father/weaver--he considers the loom to be something of a toy. He allows his daughter to play with it and "weave her fancies and dreams on her own." As the story progresses, his daughter will see a young man and think, "maybe this is my prince!" and she will make a mantle for him. The father, rather than correcting his daughter, allows her dreams and even encourages/teases her about other young men, saying..."maybe this is your prince." As a result, she gives a lot of mantles to many young men, and by the time her prince comes, she has given all of her cloth away and only has a small piece left to give to her prince. The prince sees the small garment and that it cannot fit him. He rides off, leaving a distraught father and daughter.

The second father/weaver--he worries about the loom, and he is afraid his daughter will use it unwisely and plans on not telling her about it until she is grown. So he hides it away. In the story, the first daughter tells the other two daughters about her loom. These other two daughters are quite surprised, as their fathers have not told them about such a loom and the prince they are to wed. This second daughter asks her father about it. The father, rather than telling her about the loom, dismisses it, and tells her to ask him about it when she is "a woman full grown." This second daughter is upset, and tells the other two daughters. The first daughter then helps her to find her loom. After finding it, this second daughter begins weaving in secret, disobeying her father. She soon sees a young man and thinks that maybe this is her prince. So she makes a mantle for this young man she believes to be her prince. When the true prince comes, the father is shocked and angry to learn what his daughter has done. He sees the young man his daughter thought was "the one" and takes the mantle off of him and tries to get the prince to wear it. However, this mantle was made in the daughter's youth and for another boy. The prince sees the mantle was not meant for him and rides off...leaving a distraught father and daughter behind.

The third father/weaver--he takes a similar approach to the second father. He does not tell his daughter about the loom, but he works with his daughter to help her learn the duties fit for a princess. When his daughter confronts him about the loom, he tells her about it. He explains to her the importance of the loom and making the right mantle for her prince and not allowing her temporary passions to get in the way. He shows his daughter a yardstick that they will use to measure the mantle for her prince. As he goes on to explain the importance of waiting for her prince, his daughter is sobered by it, and she promises to wait. As the story goes on, occasionally a knight comes by, and the daughter asks her father..."is this the one?" He tells her no and explains why. By the end of the story, the true prince comes, and the daughter is able to give him the mantle which she has worked on. It fits him perfectly! She is able, with the blessing of her father, to ride off with her prince.

The books ends with this verse: Proverbs 31: 30 "Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised."

This is a sobering allegory of the responsibilities of fathers helping their daughters waiting for the right prince. I hope you enjoyed the summary, I know it was long! :-) If you ever run into a copy of it, I recommend you read it. It would be a great gift for a father and/or a daughter! :-)