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Famous StoriesMaximilian And The Goose BoyOne summer day King Max-i-mil'ian of Ba-va'ri-a was walking... Sir Philip Sidney A cruel battle was being fought. The ground was covered wit... The Sword Of Damocles There was once a king whose name was Di-o-nys'i-us. He was ... Bruce And The Spider There was once a king of Scot-land whose name was Robert Br... Androclus And The Lion In Rome there was once a poor slave whose name was An'dro-c... The Endless Tale In the Far East there was a great king who had no work to d... Sir Walter Raleigh There once lived in England a brave and noble man whose nam... Diogenes The Wise Man At Cor-inth, in Greece, there lived a very wise man whose n... The Story Of Regulus On the other side of the sea from Rome there was once a gre... King Alfred And The Cakes Many years ago there lived in Eng-land a wise and good ... Julius Caesar Nearly two thousand years ago there lived in Rome a man who... The Bell Of Atri A-tri is the name of a little town in It-a-ly. It is a very... King John And The Abbot The 3 Questions. There was once a king of England whose... Grace Darling It was a dark Sep-tem-ber morning. There was a storm at sea... King Alfred And The Beggar At one time the Danes drove King Alfred from his kingdom, a... Doctor Goldsmith There was once a kind man whose name was Oliver Gold-smith.... The Blind Men And The Elephant There were once six blind men who stood by the road-side ev... Casabianca There was a great battle at sea. One could hear nothing but... How Napoleon Crossed The Alps About a hundred years ago there lived a great gen-er-al who... Antonio Canova A good many years ago there lived in Italy a little boy who... |
THE UNGRATEFUL GUESTAmong the soldiers of King Philip there was a poor man who had done some brave deeds. 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. 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. But he did not mean to keep his promise. He did not tell King Philip about the man who had saved his life. He only said that there was a fine farm by the seashore, and that he would like very much to have it for his own. Would the king give it to him? "Who owns the farm now?" asked Philip. "Only a churlish farmer, who has never done anything for his country," said the soldier. "Very well, then," said Philip. "You have served me for a long time, and you shall have your wish. Go and take the farm for yourself." And so the soldier made haste to drive the farmer from his house and home. He took the farm for his own. The poor farmer was stung to the heart by such treat-ment. He went boldly to the king, and told the whole story from beginning to end. King Philip was very angry when he learned that the man whom he had trusted had done so base a deed. He sent for the soldier in great haste; and when he had come, he caused these words to be burned in his forehead:-- "THE UNGRATEFUL GUEST." Thus all the world was made to know of the mean act by which the soldier had tried to enrich himself; and from that day until he died all men shunned and hated him. Next: ALEXANDER AND BUCEPHALUS Previous: A LACONIC ANSWER
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