“Well said, my nephew; but let us see how you stand in other respects. Put your hand in my coat-pocket, and take out a little book. I brought it with me in order that you might read something out of it for my benefit. Have you found it?”
“Yes, sire, I have. It is the ‘Fables of La Fontaine.’”
“That is it! Now open the book at random. At what fable did you chance to open it?”
“Le Renard et le Corbeau.”[19]
“Now first read the fable in French, and then let me hear you translate it.”
The prince first read the fable with fluency and a correct pronunciation in the original language, and then rendered it with the same fluency and correctness in the German.
The king listened attentively, often inclining his head in commendation, and murmuring, at times, “Bravo, superb!”
He extended his hand to the prince when he had finished, and looked at him tenderly. “I am proud of you, Fritz,” he cried, “and you shall be rewarded for your diligence. Report to my chamberlain before you go, and he will give you ten Fredericks d’or. That is your reward for your impromptu translation.”
“No, I thank you,” said the prince; “I do not deserve this reward, and consequently cannot accept it.”
“What! You do not deserve it? And why not?”