The Boys and the Butter

1910
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
The Boys and the Butter
B-

A change of pace for Gilman, a story having nothing to do with feminism and set vaguely in the past.  (Mid 1800s?)  A great-aunt promises to reward two little boys with $50 each, which "at the time was like five hundred today," if they'll give up butter for a year.  Yes, Julia Child would shudder, and I know I couldn't make the sacrifice.  The aptly named Holdfast brothers meet the challenge, only to find out that Aunt Jane has made donations of $50 each in their names to the Missionary Society.  The boys are disillusioned and their parents angry on their behalf.  Luckily, the visiting missionary refuses the tainted donation, humiliates Aunt Jane, without using her name but everyone in town knows about the bet, and returns the money to its "rightful owners."