Twenty-Four Unusual Stories for Boys and Girls

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY MAUD AND MISKA PETERSHAM NEW YORK HARCOURT, BRACE AND COMPANY 1921 COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY HARCOURT, BRACE AND COMPANY, INC. PRINTED IN THE U. S. A. THE QUINN & BODEN COMPANY RAHWAY. N. J.
It has been suggested that the boys and girls who have so often listened to these stories in the clubs and story-hours of the New York Public Library, might like to have a few of their favorites in one book; that other boys and girls might be interested in reading them; and that the story-teller, in search of stories for special occasions, might find this little volume useful.
Anna Cogswell Tyler. 1920

THE CONVENT FREE FROM CARE
ONCE when the Emperor Charles V was traveling in the country, he saw a convent, and in passing by a little door he read this strange inscription:
Here you live without a care.
The Emperor was very surprised and could scarcely believe his eyes.
It seems to me an impossibility, he thought; does some one really exist on earth who is free from care? As Emperor I am overwhelmed with troubles, while here in this convent, which is a little kingdom in itself, one would have nothing to worry about. I cannot believe it.
Immediately on setting foot in the village inn, the Emperor sent the hostess to fetch the Abbot of this singular convent.
You can imagine what a state of mind the latter was in when he heard he was summoned to the Emperor's presence.
What have I done to displease him? he asked himself. On the way he examined his conscience over and over again, and he could think of no fault of which he was guilty. I am in troubled waters; I must steer my way through, he said.