“They, too, listened in hushed surprise and as the inspiring lines poured forth, they bowed their heads in reverence, for they knew that the Lord had given the lowly shepherd the gift with which to voice His praise.
“And so this cow-herd, whose name was Cædmon, became a great singer and poet of England.”
Miss Martin concluded the first story and Maggie was greatly pleased, as she took the story to herself, but some of the boys who were beginning to show a gift in singing, also felt that the story was told for their benefit.
“Now I’m going to tell you how a very humble man became rich and famous. He was poorer than any of you Little Citizens could ever be, for he was a slave. He was the property of another man and even though he worked very hard, he could never have anything of his own while he was a slave.
“But one day, his master found he would have to sell his slaves, so he had them all go to a slave-market in a distant city.
“Each slave had to carry a load of goods, as the master expected to sell many of his valuable possessions at the same time that he accompanied the slaves.
“In those days there were no carriages or beasts to ride and carry baggage, for the slaves were expected to do this labor. Great bundles were made up so that each slave might have a goodly-sized load. These were waiting for them to shoulder when the procession came from the house.
“The young slave who was a deep thinker, had pondered over the various pieces of baggage, and thus had discovered which one held the food for the three days’ journey for the entire party.
“This great package, Æsop chose for his burden. The other slaves laughed at his foolish selection for their own burdens were smaller and lighter. But the young slave said nothing. He started away with his load, and the others followed him, jeering. The master rode last and also wondered why the best young slave he had should choose so cumbersome a load.
“They had started out at daybreak and after travelling several hours, stopped by a well for the morning meal. Æsop opened his baggage and spread out the rations for breakfast. All ate, and the slave again shouldered his load, but it was a bit lighter.