The Black Box

Mr. Summers broke frequently to the villagers about making a new box but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box. The original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago and the black box now resting on the stool had been put into use even before old man Warner, the oldest man in town was born. Because so much of the ritual had been forgotten or discarded, Mr. Summers had been successful in having slips of paper substituted for the chips of wood that had been used for generations.