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Famous StoriesArnold WinkelriedA great army was marching into Swit-zer-land. If it should ... Three Men Of Gotham There is a town in England called Go-tham, and many merry s... The White Ship King Henry, the Handsome Scholar, had one son, named Willia... Damon And Pythias A young man whose name was Pyth'i-as had done something whi... Bruce And The Spider There was once a king of Scot-land whose name was Robert Br... Socrates And His House There once lived in Greece a very wise man whose name was S... King Alfred And The Cakes Many years ago there lived in Eng-land a wise and good ... The Story Of Regulus On the other side of the sea from Rome there was once a gre... Cornelia's Jewels It was a bright morning in the old city of Rome many hundre... George Washington And His Hatchet When George Wash-ing-ton was quite a little boy, his father... Sir Philip Sidney A cruel battle was being fought. The ground was covered wit... Grace Darling It was a dark Sep-tem-ber morning. There was a storm at sea... The Barmecide Feast There was once a rich old man who was called the Bar-me-cid... Diogenes The Wise Man At Cor-inth, in Greece, there lived a very wise man whose n... Pocahontas There was once a very brave man whose name was John Smith. ... The Inchcape Rock In the North Sea there is a great rock called the Inch-cape... Other Wise Men Of Gotham One day, news was brought to Gotham that the king was comin... Doctor Goldsmith There was once a kind man whose name was Oliver Gold-smith.... The Bell Of Atri A-tri is the name of a little town in It-a-ly. It is a very... Sir Walter Raleigh There once lived in England a brave and noble man whose nam... |
BRUCE AND THE SPIDERThere was once a king of Scot-land whose name was Robert Bruce. He had need to be both brave and wise, for the times in which he lived were wild and rude. The King of England was at war with him, and had led a great army into Scotland to drive him out of the land. Battle after battle had been fought. Six times had Bruce led his brave little army against his foes; and six times had his men been beaten, and driven into flight. At last his army was scat-tered, and he was forced to hide himself in the woods and in lonely places among the moun-tains. One rainy day, Bruce lay on the ground under a rude shed, lis-ten-ing to the patter of the drops on the roof above him. He was tired and sick at heart, and ready to give up all hope. It seemed to him that there was no use for him to try to do anything more. As he lay thinking, he saw a spider over his head, making ready to weave her web. He watched her as she toiled slowly and with great care. Six times she tried to throw her frail thread from one beam to another, and six times it fell short. "Poor thing!" said Bruce: "you, too, know what it is to fail." But the spider did not lose hope with the sixth failure. With still more care, she made ready to try for the seventh time. Bruce almost forgot his own troubles as he watched her swing herself out upon the slender line. Would she fail again? No! The thread was carried safely to the beam, and fas-tened there. "I, too, will try a seventh time!" cried Bruce. He arose and called his men together. He told them of his plans, and sent them out with mes-sa-ges of cheer to his dis-heart-ened people. Soon there was an army of brave Scotch-men around him. Another battle was fought, and the King of England was glad to go back into his own country. I have heard it said, that, after that day, no one by the name of Bruce would ever hurt a spider. The lesson which the little crea-ture had taught the king was never for-got-ten. Next: THE BLACK DOUGLAS Previous: A STORY OF ROBIN HOOD
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