II
One hot summer noon everything was very still. All the people were indoors taking their noonday rest.
Suddenly they were awakened by the arousing bell:
Some one—hath done—a wrong,
Hath done—a wrong!
Hath done—a wrong!
The judge started from a deep sleep, turned on his couch, and listened. Could it be the bell of justice?
Again the sound came:
Some one—hath done—a wrong!
Hath done—a wrong!
Hath done—a wrong!
It was the bell of justice. The judge put on his rich robes and, panting, hurried to the market place.
There he saw a strange sight: a poor steed, starved and thin, tugging at the vines which were fastened to the bell. A great crowd had gathered around.
"Whose horse is this?" the judge asked.
"It is the horse of the rich soldier who lives in the castle," said a man. "He has served his master long and well, and has saved his life many times. Now that the horse is too old to work, the master turns him out. He wanders through the lanes and fields, picking up such food as can be found."
"His call for justice shall be heard," said the judge. "Bring the soldier to me."
The soldier tried to treat the matter as a jest. Then he grew angry and said in an undertone, "One can surely do what he pleases with his own."
"For shame!" cried the judge. "Has the horse not served you for many years? And has he not saved your life? You must build a good shelter for him, and give him the best grain and the best pasture. Take the horse home and be as true to him as he has been to you."
The soldier hung his head in shame and led the horse away. The people shouted and applauded.
"Great is King John," they cried, "and great the bell of Atri!"
—ITALIAN TALE.
[A DUMB WITNESS]
One day at noontime a poor man was riding along a road. He was tired and hungry, and wished to stop and rest. Finding a tree with low branches, he tied his horse to one of them. Then he sat down to eat his dinner.
Soon a rich man came along and started to tie his horse to the same tree.
"Do not fasten your horse to that tree," cried the poor man. "My horse is savage and he may kill yours. Fasten him to another tree."
"I shall tie my horse where I wish," the rich man replied; and he tied his horse to the same tree. Then he, too, sat down to eat.
Very soon the men heard a great noise. They looked up and saw that their horses were kicking and fighting. Both men rushed to stop them, but it was too late; the rich man's horse was dead.
"See what your horse has done!" cried the rich man in an angry voice. "But you shall pay for it! You shall pay for it!"
Then he dragged the man before a judge.
"Oh, wise judge," he cried, "I have come to you for justice. I had a beautiful, kind, gentle horse which has been killed by this man's savage horse. Make the man pay for the horse or send him to prison."
"Not so fast, my friend," the judge said. "There are two sides to every case."
He turned to the poor man. "Did your horse kill this man's horse?" he asked.
The poor man made no reply.
The judge asked in surprise, "Are you dumb? Can you not talk?"
But no word came from the poor man's lips.
Then the judge turned to the rich man.
"What more can I do?" he asked. "You see for yourself this poor man cannot speak."
"Oh, but he can," cried the rich man. "He spoke to me."
"Indeed!" said the judge. "When?"
"He spoke to me when I tied my horse to the tree."
"What did he say?" asked the judge.
"He said, 'Do not fasten your horse to that tree. My horse is savage and may kill yours.'"
"0 ho!" said the judge. "This poor man warned you that his horse was savage, and you tied your horse near his after the warning. This puts a new light on the matter. You are to blame, not he."
The judge turned to the poor man and said, "My man, why did you not answer my questions?"
"Oh, wise judge," said the poor man, "if I had told you that I warned him not to tie his horse near mine, he would have denied it. Then how could you have told which one of us to believe? I let him tell his own story, and you have learned the truth."
This speech pleased the judge. He praised the poor man for his wisdom, and sent the rich man away without a penny.
—ARABIAN TALE.
[GIVING THANKS]
For the hay and the corn and the wheat that is reaped,
For the labor well done, and the barns that are heaped,
For the sun and the dew and the sweet honeycomb,
For the rose and the song, and the harvest brought home—
Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!
For the trade and the skill and the wealth in our land,
For the cunning and strength of the working-man's hand,
For the good that our artists and poets have taught,
For the friendship that hope and affection have brought—
Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!
For the homes that with purest affection are blest,
For the season of plenty and well-deserved rest,
For our country extending from sea to sea,
The land that is known as "The Land of the Free"—
Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!