THE KING’S RULES
(Said to be a true story)
Late one summer afternoon a boy sat at his desk trying to learn a spelling lesson. It was warm in the schoolroom and the boy’s head ached. His teacher had gone out for a moment and he was alone.
A shadow fell across his desk. The boy looked up and saw a stranger standing before him. He thought he had seen this man before. He felt that he was a great man.
“Why are you not out of doors playing with the other children?” asked the stranger.
“I am studying my spelling lesson,” answered the boy. “I have to stay in every night because I just can’t learn how to spell. I hate it!”
“Nonsense!” said the man. “I can tell you in one minute how to learn to spell.”
The boy laughed. “You must be a magician,” he said.
“No,” said the man, “I am not a magician, but I am the king. Boy, do you think your king would tell you anything that is not true?”
“No, Sire,” answered the boy, springing to his feet, for now he recognized the king from pictures he had seen.