THE house — the only one in the entire valley — sat on the crest of a low hill. From this height one could see the river and the field of ripe corn dotted with the flowers that always promised a good harvest.
Lencho was a farmer. He lived in the only house that was there on the top of a hill. The hill was not very high. From that house one could see the river and the field ripe corn. The field belonged to Lencho and he had the utmost confidence that the harvest would reap great profits.
The only thing the earth needed was a downpour or at least a shower. Throughout the morning Lencho — who knew his fields intimately — had done nothing else but see the sky towards the north-east.
The earth needed rain or at least a small amount of rain for a good crop. So the only thing that he awaited was rainfall. In this hope, he had been looking at the sky in the north east direction since morning.
“Now we’re really going to get some water, woman.” The woman who was preparing supper, replied, “Yes, God willing”. The older boys were working in the field, while the smaller ones were playing near the house until the woman called to them all, “Come for dinner”.
The man, while looking at the sky, confidently tells his wife that now they will surely get some rains. The woman replied that by the grace of God, it would surely happen. The woman was preparing dinner. The elder boys were working in the field. Younger boys were playing near the house. The woman called them for a dinner and all of them came to the house.
It was during the meal that, just as Lencho had predicted, big drops of rain began to fall. In the north-east huge mountains of clouds could be seen approaching. The air was fresh and sweet.
While they were having food , the big drops of rain began to fall. This was exactly as predicted by Lencho. One could see large numbers of very big clouds could be seen approaching from the north-east sky. The air was fresh and its smell was very nice .
The man went out for no other reason than to have the pleasure of feeling the rain on his body, and when he returned he exclaimed, ‘‘These aren’t raindrops falling from the sky, they are new coins. The big drops are ten cent pieces and the little ones are fives.’’
Lencho went outside to feel pleasure of rain falling on his body. When he returned and spoke with a lot of happiness. He referred to the raindrops drops coins. He said that the big drops are ten cent coins and small drops are five cent coins. [He says so because these raindrops would ensure a good crop which would eventually get them a lot of money.]
With a satisfied expression he regarded the field of ripe corn with its flowers, draped in a curtain of rain. But suddenly a strong wind began to blow and along with the rain very large hailstones began to fall. These truly did resemble new silver coins. The boys, exposing themselves to the rain, ran out to collect the frozen pearls.
Lencho was very much satisfied to look at his field of ripe corn and flowers. These were covered by rain falling on the field. Suddenly speed of the wind increased. And along with rains, hailstones started falling. These were of white color and were shining like new silver coins. The boys went outside into the rain to collect hailstones. The hailstones looked like pearls.
‘‘It’s really getting bad now,’’ exclaimed the man. “I hope it passes quickly.” It did not pass quickly. For an hour the hail rained on the house, the garden, the hillside, the cornfield, on the whole valley. The field was white, as if covered with salt.
Lencho spoke with sadness that the rains with hailstone is bad for the crop. He wished that it stopped very soon . But it did not stop quickly. It rained hailstones for one hour. It rained everywhere. The field had become white as if salt had been spread on the field.
Not a leaf remained on the trees. The corn was totally destroyed. The flowers were gone from the plants. Lencho’s soul was filled with sadness.
Every leaf from trees had fallen on ground. All the corn was completely destroyed. All the flowers had fallen on the ground. Lencho was now full of sadness.
When the storm had passed, he stood in the middle of the field and said to his sons, “A plague of locusts would have left more than this. The hail has left nothing. This year we will have no corn.’’
When the storm had stopped, Lencho went out of the house. He stood in the field and looked around. He told his sons that even a group of insects ( locusts ) would not have damaged our crop so much . Because of hailstorm everything has been destroyed . This year there will not be any corn for us.
That night was a sorrowful one. “All our work, for nothing.” ‘‘There’s no one who can help us.” “We’ll all go hungry this year.”
That night was full of sadness for them. Lencho said all our work has become a wastage. Nobody can help us now. We will be hungry this year.
But in the hearts of all who lived in that solitary house in the middle of the valley, there was a single hope: help from God.
Everybody lived in that only house of the valley had one hope. They hoped that God would surely help them.
“Don’t be so upset, even though this seems like a total loss. Remember, no one dies of hunger.” “That’s what they say: no one dies of hunger.”
His wife told Lencho not to be so worried although the crop was completely destroyed. She told him to remember that no one dies because of hunger. Lencho replied that people say that nobody dies because of hunger.
All through the night, Lencho thought only of his one hope: the help of God, whose eyes, as he had been instructed, see everything, even what is deep in one’s conscience.
Whole that night Lencho thought about the help of God. It was his only hope. He had been told that God can see everything. God can also see what is in the mind and heart of everyone.
Lencho was an ox of a man, working like an animal in the fields, but still he knew how to write. The following Sunday, at daybreak, he began to write a letter which he himself would carry to town and place in the mail.
Lencho was a very strong man. He used to work very hard in fields. He knew how to write. Next Sunday morning, he started writing a letter. He thought that he would himself carry that letter to the town and send it by post.
It was nothing less than a letter to God. “God,” he wrote, “if you don’t help me, my family and I will go hungry this year. I need a hundred pesos in order to sow my field again and to live until the crop comes, because the hailstorm....”
It was letter to God. In his letter he requested God to help him and his family, otherwise we will remain hungry this year. I need one hundred pesos to put new seeds in my field. And to live until the new crop comes. Because the hailstorm .....
He wrote ‘To God’ on the envelope, put the letter inside and, still troubled, went to town. At the post office, he placed a stamp on the letter and dropped it into the mailbox.
He put that letter into an envelope and sealed it. He wrote ' To God ' on the envelope . He was still worried but went to the town. He pasted a stamp on the envelope and dropped it into the letterbox.
One of the employees, who was a postman and also helped at the post office, went to his boss laughing heartily and showed him the letter to God. Never in his career as a postman had he known that address.
One of the employees at the post office was a postman. He used to also do other works of post office. He went to his boss the postmaster. He was laughing a lot. He showed the letter to his boss. In his career as a postman, he did not know the address written on that envelope.
The postmaster — a fat, amiable fellow — also broke out laughing, but almost immediately he turned serious and, tapping the letter on his desk, commented, “What faith! I wish I had the faith of the man who wrote this letter. Starting up a correspondence with God!”
The post master was fat and a friendly person. He also started laughing. But immediately he became serious. He started tapping the letter on his desk. He wondered at the faith of the person who had written that letter. He wished he also had such faith. He was surprised that the man was sending a letter to God.
So, in order not to shake the writer’s faith in God, the postmaster came up with an idea: answer the letter. But when he opened it, it was evident that to answer it he needed something more than goodwill, ink and paper.
In order to keep the faith of the person in God, the postmaster thought of an idea. His wanted to write a reply to the letter. But when he read the letter it became clear to him he would need something in addition to paper, ink and kindness.
But he stuck to his resolution: he asked for money from his employees, he himself gave part of his salary, and several friends of his were obliged to give something ‘for an act of charity’.
But he accepted his decision. He asked money from his colleagues. He also gave a portion of his salary. Many of his friends agreed to donate money to help the farmer.
It was impossible for him to gather together the hundred pesos, so he was able to send the farmer only a little more than half. He put the money in an envelope addressed to Lencho and with it a letter containing only a single word as a signature: God.
It was not possible for the postmaster to collect a hundred pesos. He could collect slightly more than half of 100 pesos. He put that money in an envelope. He wrote the address of Lencho on the envelope. He also put a letter in the envelope. This letter had one single word ' God ' written on it. This word was written as a signature.
The following Sunday Lencho came a bit earlier than usual to ask if there was a letter for him. It was the postman himself who handed the letter to him while the postmaster, experiencing the contentment of a man who has performed a good deed, looked on from his office.
Next Sunday, Lencho came slightly early to the post office. He asked if there was any letter for him. The postman himself gave the letter to Lencho. The postmaster was looking at Lencho from his office. The postmaster had the satisfaction of a person who had done some good work.
Lencho showed not the slightest surprise on seeing the money; such was his confidence — but he became angry when he counted the money. God could not have made a mistake, nor could he have denied Lencho what he had requested.
Lencho was not at all surprised to see money in the envelope. Because he had a confidence in God. But he became angry after counting money. He thought that God cannot make any mistake. And God cannot refuse what Lencho had requested.
Immediately, Lencho went up to the window to ask for paper and ink. On the public writing-table, he started to write, with much wrinkling of his brow, caused by the effort he had to make to express his ideas.
Immediately Launch went to window of the post office and asked for a paper and a pen. There was a table in the post office where anybody could write. He went to that table and started writing. He was making a lot of effort in writing his thoughts on that paper. His eyebrows had folds because of the effort.
When he finished, he went to the window to buy a stamp which he licked and then affixed to the envelope with a blow of his fist. The moment the letter fell into the mailbox the postmaster went to open it.
When Lencho had completed writing letter, he went to the window to buy a stamp. He licked the stamp. He put the stamp on the envelope and applied blows of his fist to paste it. He put the envelope into the letterbox. Immediately the postmaster took the letter out and opened it.
It said: “God: Of the money that I asked for, only seventy pesos reached me. Send me the rest, since I need it very much. But don’t send it to me through the mail because the post office employees are a bunch of crooks. Lencho.”
Following were written on the letter. God, from the money I had asked, I have received only 70 pesos. Please send me the remaining money because I need it very much. But please do not send through the post because people of post office are dishonest. The letter was signed by Lencho.
Text Book Questions
Q1. What did Lencho hope for?A. Lencho hoped for a rain shower for his crop field.
Q2. Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like ‘new coins’?
Answer: After the rain, Lencho was confident that rain would be good for his crops. The harvest would be good and he would be able to sell it to generate money for him. Thus, he referred to the droplets as “new coins, the larger ones being equivalent to ten pesos and smaller ones, five pesos.
Q3. How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho’s fields?
Answer: Suddenly the wind became stronger. Large hailstones began to fall with rain. Thus, the rain turned into hailstorm. All the corn in Lencho’s field was destroyed. All the flowers had fallen on ground. The trees had shed their leaves. The whole field was looking white as if covered with salt.
Q4. What were Lencho’s feelings when the hail stopped?
Answer: After the hail stopped, Lencho was very sad. He realized that all his hard work had become a waste. They would have no corn that year. They will have to remain hungry for the year.
Q5. Who or what did Lencho have faith in? What did he do?
Answer: Lencho had a great faith in God. He believed that God sees everything even if it is deep in his conscience. God helps those who are in need of help.
He wrote a letter to God saying that he needed a hundred pesos to sow hos field again. He did not know the address of God. He wrote ' To God ' on the envelope and put it in the letterbox.
Q6. Who read the letter?
Answer: The postman read the address on the envelope and took it to the postmaster. The postmaster opened the envelope and read the letter.
Q7. What did the postmaster do then?
Answer: At first the postmaster laughed after reading the letter. But then he became serious. He did not want to shake Lencho’s faith in God. So he decided to collect some money and sent it to Lencho.
Q8. Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?
A. Lencho was not at all surprised to find a letter for him with money in it. It was because he had deep faith in God. He was certain that God would send him the money. Instead, he was angry when he found that the amount was less than what he had asked for.
Q9. What made Lencho angry? What did he think?
A. The amount of money in the letter made Lencho angry. He had asked God for a hundred pesos but he found only seventy pesos in the letter.
He thought that the post office people had stolen the money.
Q10. Who does Lencho have complete faith in? Which sentences in the story tell you this?
A. Lencho has immense faith in God. These lines are evident to this fact: “Lencho showed not the slightest surprise on seeing the money; such was his confidence – but he became angry when he counted the money. God could not have made a mistake, nor could he have denied Lencho what he had requested.“
Q11. Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter ‘God’?
A. The postmaster was deeply moved by Lencho’s faith in God. He did not want to shake his faith in God. Thus, he decided to send him the money.
He signed the letter in the name of God to conceal his identity. He wanted to make Lencho believe that the money was actually sent by God.
Q12. Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him? Why/Why not?
A. No, Lencho did not try to find out the sender because he had complete faith in God. He was sure that the money was sent by Him. Therefore, there was no need for him to find out who had sent the money.
Q13. Who does Lencho think has taken the rest of the money? What is the irony in the situation? (Remember that the irony of a situation is an unexpected aspect of it. An ironic situation is strange or amusing because it is the opposite of what is expected.)
A. Lencho thought that it is the postmaster or the employees of the post-office who had stolen his remaining amount, as is evident from his second letter to God where he requests the deity not to send money by mail next time. The irony here is that, it was actually the postmaster and the employees who had collected the money out of their clean intent to keep Lencho’s faith intact, but are the ones who ended up getting blamed for stealing the missing amount.
Q 14. Are there people like Lencho in the real world? What kind of a person would you say he is? You may select appropriate words from the box to answer the question.
A. No, it is hard to find people like Lencho in reality. Lencho is naive and unquestioning because of his lack of judgement about the actual physical existence of God. He did not question receiving an actual reply from the almighty. Also, he is ungrateful in some manner because on seeing 70 pesos, he is not happy but instead, complained about the missing 30 pesos.
Summary in brief
‘A Letter to God’ by G L Fuentes is about a gullible and hard - working farmer named Lencho who has a full faith in God.Lencho was a hard - working farmer. He lived in a valley. His house was situated on the top of a hill. He expected a good crop. The fields only needed some showers. He was hopeful for rain.
During his meal, it began to rain. Soon the rain changed into a hailstorm. It destroyed his crop completely. There was no one who could help them. But he had firm faith in God. He thought that God would help him. So he wrote a letter to God and asked Him to send him a hundred pesos.
At the post office, the postmaster read the letter. After reading he letter, he was greatly impressed by Lencho’s faith in God. He did not want to shatter his faith. So he decided to help him.
The writer had asked for a hundred pesos. Since it was impossible for the postmaster to collect a hundred pesos all by himself, he asked for money from his employees. He himself gave a part of his salary. He even requested his friends to contribute some pesos. He put all the contributed money in an envelope and sent it to Lencho.
The following Sunday, Lencho received the letter. When Lencho counted the money, he became angry because the money was only seventy pesos. He wrote another letter to God to send him the rest of the amount. He requested God not to send it to him by mail, because he thought that the post office employees were a bunch of crooks.
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