The Book that Would Not Burn

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The Book that Would Not Burn

By Josephine Cunnington Edwards

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Mother, Mother!” Tona called as she ran into the house. “There’s a strange man kneeling behind the gooseberry bushes.”

“Don’t get so excited, Tona,” her mother replied.

“But he might be one of those booksellers. They’re selling religious books all over the neighborhood. Father said they wouldn’t be welcome at our house, but the man’s coming right up the path to our door! Mother, what should we do?”

“We’ll let him in, of course. No true German woman ever turned a stranger away from the door.”

Mother dried her hands on the kitchen towel and then went to the door to welcome the stranger. After a few words of greeting, she invited him into the parlor. Tona sat on a stool beside Mother’s chair and listened to the Christian bookseller as he described his book. “The book begins with the terrible persecutions of Christians during the time of the early church,” he said. “Then there are stories about great Reformers. Some of them were from Germany.”

Mother seemed interested. “I studied about them in school,” she said.

They continued to explain the great controversy between Christ and Satan and how God’s people would finally live on the new earth, where sin and sorrow would no longer exist.

“Oh, I want that book,” said Mother, “but I am not very good at reading English. I went to school in Germany, and I never learned to read English very well.”

“I can get this book for you in German if you wish,” said the man with a smile.

Tona could see the longing in her mother’s eyes. “Let’s get it, Mother. We could save part of the egg money. Surely we would have the right amount by the time he comes to deliver it.”

Mother thought for a moment. It seemed like a lot of money for just one book. Tona needed new shoes and many other things. And what would her husband Franz say? He was totally against religious things. But she did want to know more about the German Reformers and about the reward of the faithful.

“I’ll give you the money I earned picking gooseberries,” said Tona. “I have more than enough for the down payment.” She went to her room and brought back her little jar of coins.

“I do not wish to take your money,” objected Mother.

“Well, we can call it my book, and I’ll help with the eggs. Please let’s order the book in German.”

Mother finally agreed, and the order was made out. Just before the colporteur left, he asked, “May I have prayer with you before I go?”

Mother was happy to grant his request. She had been raised in a Christian home, where prayers had been a daily routine. But it had been a long time since anyone had prayed in her home. She and Tona knelt by their chairs and reverently bowed their heads.

The man offered a simple prayer, asking God’s blessings on the home and on the book that had been ordered. Then Mother prayed in German, because that was more natural for her. She prayed that they would have enough money to pay for the book and that the book would be a great blessing in their humble home and in the little German settlement along the Missouri River.

When they rose from their knees, the man shook hands with Tona and Mother. “Thank you for your prayer. I don’t understand the German language very well, but I’m sure the Lord does.”

Then with a cheery goodbye, he went down the path toward the road, promising to return in three weeks with Tona’s book.

The days passed quickly. In great anticipation of her new book, Tona faithfully gathered the eggs and put them in the big egg crate, ready to be sold. Mother sold some vegetables and added some of the money to the pile of coins in Tona’s jar.

“We have more than enough for the book,” said Tona as she counted the coins one day. “We even have enough for my new shoes.”

Mother was glad and looked forward to reading the wonderful stories in her native language. She wondered whether Franz would read them too. He was a good reader, but he was definitely not interested in religion.

At last the day of delivery came. Tona saw the bookseller coming and wondered if he would kneel down to pray behind the gooseberry bushes as he had that first time. But he walked straight toward her. “I have a book for you, Tona.”

“Oh, thank you,” said Tona. “Now Mother can read those stories in German!”

That night after the dishes were done, Mother and Tona began reading the new book. They read about great men who were willing to die—even burn at the stake—for their faith.

One night Tona was reading the book by herself. She found it hard to read German, since her lessons in school were mostly in English. She missed Mother’s help, but Mother had gone to visit a sick neighbor. Father could read German too, but he was out doing the evening chores.

Tona stopped to take the bread out of the oven. She sniffed the air appreciatively and then returned to her book.

Several minutes later Father walked in with the milk. He washed his hands at the sink and smelled the warm, fresh bread.

“It looks and smells good,” he remarked. Then he noticed what Tona was reading. “German?”

Tona nodded.

“A religious book?”

“Yes, Father. It’s a very good book.”

“Where did you get it, Tona?”

Tona was almost too afraid to answer; She didn’t like the look on Father’s face. But she decided to be brave like the Reformers and tell the truth no matter what.

“Mother and I bought it with egg money and with what I saved from picking gooseberries.”

Father picked up the book, flipped through the pages, and then slammed the cover down. “You bought it from a Christian bookseller, didn’t you? The neighbors have been talking about those books. I will not have one of them in my house!”

He carried the book over to the wood-burning cook stove and lifted its lid.

“Please, Father, please don’t burn my book!” Tona begged, running toward him and clutching his sleeve. “It is a good book. It is a message from God.”

But Father pushed her aside and threw the book into the stove, on top of the red coals. He replaced the lid noisily and said, “There! Maybe that will put a stop to this religious nonsense.” He put on his cap and went outside.

Tona was too stunned to say a word. After the door closed behind Father, she lifted the stove lid, hoping she might still rescue her treasured book. But it was too late. The beautiful covers were already being devoured by the hot, yellow flames. Tona crawled into bed and cried herself to sleep.

It was quite late when Mother returned from the neighbor’s so she didn’t hear about what happened until the following morning. She started building a fire to make breakfast, she noticed the charred remains of something big that would not shake down. She removed it from the stove and brushed off the ashes. Tona walked into the kitchen just as Mother was wiping away the black char from the item’s remains.

“My book!” exclaimed Tona. “It didn’t all burn, did it?” She explained what had happened the night before.

“My poor Franz,” Mother said. “I was hoping this book would help him, too. Maybe it still can.” The fire had destroyed the covers, the preface, and the index, but the most important part was still readable.

Tona took the remains of the book to her room. From now on she would read it only when Father was gone. He would never know she still had it.

For many days Mother and Tona read the charred leaves of The Great Controversy while Father was in the field. They read the parallel scriptures from the Bible and knew it was the truth. They shared the experience with some of the neighbors, and they came to see the wonderful book God had protected from the fire.

One night while Franz was eating supper, he asked, “What happened to the book I tried to burn? Some of the neighbors had been talking about it.”

“We still have it,” said Mother. “Tona’s been taking care of it.”

“I would like to see it,” Franz said. “Will you get it for me?”

“Will you destroy it, Father?” Tona asked timidly.

“No, Tona, I promise not to harm it. I want to see the book that a hot fire could not burn.”

Tona went to her room and brought out the book. She handed it to her father, who took it hesitantly. He shook his head and said, “I don’t understand why it didn’t burn. The fire was hot that night—hot enough to bake bread.”

“Do you think it was because the man prayed about it?” asked Tona. “Maybe God has something special for it to do.”

“I think you’re right,” said Father. “Perhaps He has a message in it for me.”

During the following winter the three of them read and reread the book. Not “from cover to cover,” because there were no covers; but they read it from the first charred page to the last, comparing quoted scripture with the ones in Mother’s German Bible.

The following spring a man came to follow up the work of the Christian bookseller who had sold The Great Controversy. He was surprised to find many people who believed the book’s message about Jesus, including Tona and her father and mother. A church was soon established in the German settlement.

When the Christian bookseller knelt by the gooseberry bushes, little did he dream of the far-reaching results God would bring about through the sale of Tona’s book, the book that would not burn.

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