James Baldwin

“ A few days afterward there was great joy in Rome. There was good news from Cincinnatus. The men of the mountains had been beaten with great loss. They had been driven back into their own place.
And now the Roman army, with the boys and the guards, was coming home with banners flying, and shouts of vic-to-ry; and at their head rode Cincinnatus. He had saved Rome.
Cincinnatus might then have made himself king; for his word was law, and no man dared lift a finger against him. ”

“ When he saw the ragged little fellow at his door, he said,—
"My lad, what are you doing here? I am afraid you are a lazy fellow, and that you want to live without work."
"No, indeed!" said Dick. "I would like to work, if I could find anything to do. But I do not know anybody in this town, and I have not had anything to eat for a long time."
"Poor little fellow!" said Mr. Fitz-war-ren. "Come in, and I will see what I can do for you." And he ordered the cook to give the lad a good dinner, and then to find some light work for him to do. ”

“ Then the sheriff rode on with his men; but every one that they met was doing some silly thing.
"Truly I believe that the people of Gotham are all fools," said one of the horsemen.
"That is true," said another. "It would be a shame to harm such simple people."
"Let us ride back to London, and tell the king all about them," said the sheriff.
"Yes, let us do so," said the horsemen.
So they went back, and told the king that Gotham was a town of fools; and the king laughed, and said that if that was the case, he would not harm them, but would let them keep their noses. ”

“ Then the wise men talked with one another for a little while, and when they had agreed among themselves, they spoke to the king.
"We find," said they, "that your eldest son, Robert, will be bold and gallant. He will do some great deeds, and make a name for himself; but in the end he will be over-come by his foes, and will die in prison.
"The second son, William, will be as brave and strong as the eagle; but he will be feared and hated for his cruel deeds. He will lead a wicked life, and will die a shameful death. ”

“ If, instead of being a boy, it had pleased God that you should be a bird, what kind of a bird would you rather be?"
"An eagle," answered William. "I would rather be an eagle, because it is strong and brave. It is feared by all other birds, and is there-fore the king of them all."
Lastly came the youngest brother, Henry, with quiet steps and a sober, thought-ful look. ”

“ Nearly two thousand years ago there lived in Rome a man whose name was Julius Cæ ́sar. He was the greatest of all the Romans.
Why was he so great?
He was a brave warrior, and had con-quered many countries for Rome. He was wise in planning and in doing. He knew how to make men both love and fear him.
At last he made himself the ruler of Rome. Some said that he wished to become its king. But the Romans at that time did not believe in kings. ”

“ Who was it coming down the street, on the other side of the puddle?
It was E-liz-a-beth, the Queen of England, with her train of gen-tle-wom-en and waiting maids. She saw the dirty puddle in the street. She saw the handsome young man with the scar-let cloak, stand-ing by the side of it. How was she to get across?
Young Raleigh, when he saw who was coming, forgot about himself. He thought only of helping the queen. There was only one thing that he could do, and no other man would have thought of that. ”

“ Another bright boy answered quick-ly, "To the min-er-al kingdom, sir! All metals belong to that kingdom."
"That is a good answer," said the king. "The gold piece is your prize."
The children were de-light-ed. With eager faces they waited to hear what the stranger would say next.
"I will ask you only one more question," said the king, "and it is an easy one." Then he stood up, and said, "Tell me, my little folks, to what kingdom do I belong?" ”

“ His fate was a warning to others, and it was a long time before another story-teller was so rash as to try the king's patience.
But one day a stran-ger from the South came into the palace.
"Great king," he said, "is it true that you offer a prize to the man who can tell a story that has no end?"
"It is true," said the king.
"And shall this man have your fairest daughter for his wife, and shall he be your heir?"
"Yes, if he suc-ceeds," said the king. "But if he fails, he shall lose his head." ”

“ Some have a slight historical value; some are useful as giving point to certain great moral truths; others are products solely of the fancy, and are intended only to amuse. Some are derived from very ancient sources, and are current in the literature of many lands; some have come to us through the ballads and folk tales of the English people; a few are of quite recent origin; nearly all are the subjects of frequent allusions in poetry and prose and in the conversation of educated people. Care has been taken to exclude everything that is not strictly within the limits of probability ”

“ But it will not be wise to make peace. True, we have been beaten in a few battles, but our army is gaining ground every day. The people of Carthage are afraid, and well they may be. Keep on with the war a little while longer, and Carthage shall be yours. As for me, I have come to bid my wife and children and Rome fare-well. To-morrow I will start back to Carthage and to prison ”

“ Just then another man of Gotham came from the market with a sack of meal on his horse. He heard his neigh-bors quar-rel-ing about sheep; but he could see no sheep between them, and so he stopped and spoke to them.
"Ah, you foolish fellows!" he cried. "It is strange that you will never learn wisdom.—Come here, Peter, and help me lay my sack on my shoul-der." ”

“ At last, after a great battle, the English army was broken up and scat-tered. Every man had to save himself in the best way he could. King Alfred fled alone, in great haste, through the woods and swamps.
Late in the day the king came to the hut of a wood-cut-ter. He was very tired and hungry, and he begged the wood-cut-ter's wife to give him something to eat and a place to sleep in her hut.
The wom-an was baking some cakes upon the hearth, and she looked with pity upon the poor, ragged fellow who seemed so hungry. She had no thought that he was the king. ”

“ THE KING AND HIS HAWK.
Gen ́ghis Khan was a great king and war-rior.
He led his army into China and Persia, and he con-quered many lands. In every country, men told about his daring deeds; and they said that since Alexander the Great there had been no king like him.
One morning when he was home from the wars, he rode out into the woods to have a day's sport. Many of his friends were with him. They rode out gayly, carrying their bows and arrows. ”

“ Many a man has been punished because he was wise, but I have never heard of any one being harmed because he was a fool. So, when the king's sher-iff comes, let us all act like fools." [44]
"Good, good!" cried the others. "We will all act like fools."
It was no easy thing for the king's men to open the roads; and while they were doing it, the king grew tired of waiting, and went back to London. But very early one morning, the sheriff with a party of fierce soldiers rode through the woods, and between the fields, toward Gotham. ”

“ Wilhelm went on; but he could not help wondering about the child, and thinking of her dark eyes and strange ways.
One day not long after that, there was a great outcry among the crowd that was watching the rope-dan-cers. Wilhelm went down to find out [168] what was the matter. He saw that the master of the dancers was beating little Mignon with a stick. He ran and held the man by the collar.
"Let the child alone!" he cried. "If you touch her again, one of us shall never leave this spot."
The man tried to get loose; but Wilhelm held him fast. The child crept away, and hid herself in the crowd. ”

“ Once there was a war between the Roman people and the E-trus ́cans who lived in the towns on the other side of the Ti-ber River. Por ́se-na, the King of the E-trus-cans, raised a great army, and marched toward Rome. The city had never been in so great danger.
The Romans did not have very many fighting men at that time, and they knew that they were not strong enough to meet the Etruscans in open [92] battle. So they kept themselves inside of their walls, and set guards to watch the roads. ”

“ He had pleased the king in more ways than one, and so the king put a good deal of trust in him.
One day this soldier was on board of a ship at sea when a great storm came up. The winds drove the ship upon the rocks, and it was wrecked. The soldier was cast half-drowned upon the shore; and he would have died there, had it not been for the kind care of a farmer who lived close by. [104]
When the soldier was well enough to go home, he thanked the farmer for what he had done, and promised that he would repay him for his kindness. ”

“ A-tri is the name of a little town in It-a-ly. It is a very old town, and is built half-way up the side of a steep hill.
A long time ago, the King of Atri bought a fine large bell, and had it hung up in a tower in the market place. A long rope that reached almost to the ground was fas-tened to the bell. The smallest child could ring the bell by pulling upon this rope.
"It is the bell of justice," said the king.
When at last everything was ready, the people of Atri had a great holiday. All the men and women and children came down to the market place to look at the bell of justice. ”

“ Charney did not know what to do. He gave it water, but still it drooped. The leaves were with-er-ing. The stones of the prison yard would not let the plant live.
Charney knew that there was but one way to save his treasure. Alas! how could he hope that it might be done? The stones must be taken up at once.
But this was a thing which the jailer dared not do. The rules of the prison were strict, and no stone must be moved. Only the highest officers in the land could have such a thing done.
Poor Charney could not sleep. Picciola must die. ”

“ One day King Philip bought a fine horse called Bu-ceph ́a-lus. He was a noble an-i-mal, and the king paid a very high price for him. But he was wild and savage, and no man could mount him, or do anything at all with him.
They tried to whip him, but that only made him worse. At last the king bade his servants take him away.
"It is a pity to ruin so fine a horse as that," said Al-ex-an ́der, the king's young son. "Those men do not know how to treat him."
"Perhaps you can do better than they," said his father scorn-ful-ly. ”

“ I might sell him; but there is not a man that wants him. I cannot even give him away. I will turn him out to shift for himself, and pick grass by the roadside. If he starves to death, so much the better. ”

“ There were so many of them that no man could count them. How could a handful of men hope to stand against so great a host?
And yet Le-on-i-das and his Spartans held their ground. They had made up their minds to die at their post. Some one brought them word that there were so many Persians that their arrows dark-ened the sun.
"So much the better," said the Spartans; "we shall fight in the shade." [112]
Bravely they stood in the narrow pass. Bravely they faced their foes. To Spartans there was no such thing as fear. The Persians came forward, only to meet death at the points of their spears. ”

“ The king was a man of sense, and he grew very tired of hearing such foolish speeches.
One day he was by the sea-shore, and his of-fi-cers were with him. They were praising him, as they were in the habit of doing. He thought that now he would teach them a lesson, and so he bade them set his chair on the beach close by the edge of the water.
"Am I the greatest man in the world?" he asked.
"O king!" they cried, "there is no one so mighty as you."
"Do all things obey me?" he asked.
"There is nothing that dares to dis-o-bey you, O king!" they said. "The world bows before you, and gives you honor." ”

“ There were nearly a hundred of these outlaws, and their leader was a bold fellow called Robin Hood. They were dressed in suits of green, and armed with bows and arrows; and sometimes they carried long wooden lances and broad-swords, which they knew how to handle well. When-ever they had taken anything, it was brought and laid at the feet of Robin Hood, whom they called their king. He then di-vid-ed it fairly among them, giving to each man his just share.
Robin never allowed his men to harm any-body but the rich men who lived in great houses and did no work. ”

“ And then he called very loud, "Here, Dick! What are you going to send out on the ship?"
Dick heard him, and came into the room.
"I have nothing in the world," he said, "but a cat which I bought some time ago for a penny."
"Fetch your cat, then, my lad," said Mr. Fitzwarren, "and let her go out. Who knows but that she will bring you some profit?"
Dick, with tears in his eyes, carried poor puss down to the ship, and gave her to the captain. Everybody laughed at his queer venture; [146] but little Alice felt sorry for him, and gave him money to buy another cat. ”

“ One day when Smith was in the woods, some Indians came upon him, and made him their pris-on-er. They led him to their king, and in a short time they made ready to put him to death.
A large stone was brought in, and Smith was made to lie down with his head on it. Then two tall Indians with big clubs in their hands came forward. The king and all his great men stood around to see. The Indians raised their clubs. ”

“ One day, news was brought to Gotham that the king was coming that way, and that he would pass through the town. This did not please the men of Gotham at all. They hated the king, for they knew that he was a cruel, bad man. If he came to their town, they would have to find food and lodg-ing for him and his men ”

“ There is only one King who is all-powerful; and it is he who rules the sea, and holds the ocean in the hollow of his hand. It is he whom you ought to praise and serve above all others."
THE SONS OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR.
There was once a great king of England who was called Wil-liam the Con-quer-or, and he had three sons.
One day King Wil-liam seemed to be thinking of something that made him feel very sad; and the [14] wise men who were about him asked him what was the matter. ”