Fifty Famous Stories Retold
blew hard; the waves dashed high; the lightning flashed; the thunder
rolled.
It seemed every minute as though the boat would sink. The captain was
in great fright. He had crossed the sea many times, but never in such
a storm as this. He trembled with fear; he could not guide the boat;
he fell down upon his knees; he moaned, "All is lost! all is lost!"
But Caesar was not afraid. He bade the man get up and take his oars
again.
"Why should you be afraid?" he said. "The boat will not be lost; for
you have Caesar on board."
THE SWORD OF DAMOCLES.
There was once a king whose name was Di-o-nys'i-us. He was so unjust
and cruel that he won for himself the name of tyrant. He knew that
almost everybody hated him, and so he was always in dread lest some
one should take his life.
But he was very rich, and he lived in a fine palace where there were
many beautiful and costly things, and he was waited upon by a host of
servants who were always ready to do his bidding. One day a friend of
his, whose name was Dam'o-cles, said to him,--
"How happy you must be! You have here everything that any man could
wish."
"Perhaps you would like to change places with me," said the tyrant.
"No, not that, O king!" said Dam-o-cles; "but I think, that, if I
could only have your riches and your pleas-ures for one day, I should
not want any greater hap-pi-ness."
"Very well," said the tyrant. "You shall have them."
And so, the next day, Damocles was led into the palace, and all the
servants were bidden to treat him as their master. He sat down at a
table in the banquet hall, and rich foods were placed before him.
Nothing was wanting that could give him pleasure. There were costly
wines, and beautiful flowers, and rare perfumes, and de-light-ful
music. He rested himself among soft cushions, and felt that he was the
happiest man in all the world.
Then he chanced to raise his eyes toward the ceiling. What was it that
was dangling above him, with its point almost touching his head? It
was a sharp sword, and it was hung by only a single horse-hair. What
if the hair should break? There was danger every moment that it would
do so.
The smile faded from the lips of Damocles. His face became ashy pale.
His hands trembled. He wanted no more food; he could drink no more
wine; he took no more delight in the music. He longed to be out of the
palace, and away, he cared not where.
"What is the matter?" said the tyrant.
"That sword! that sword!" cried Damocles. He was so badly frightened
that he dared not move.
"Yes," said Di-o-nys-i-us, "I know there is a sword above your head,
and that it may fall at any moment. But why should that trouble you? I
have a sword over my head all the time. I am every moment in dread
lest something may cause me to lose my life."
"Let me go," said Damocles. "I now see that I was mis-tak-en, and that
the rich and pow-er-ful are not so happy as they seem. Let me go back
to my old home in the poor little cot-tage among the mountains."
And so long as he lived, he never again wanted to be rich, or to
change places, even for a moment, with the king.
DAMON AND PYTHIAS.
A young man whose name was Pyth'i-as had done something which the
tyrant Dionysius did not like. For this offense he was dragged to
prison, and a day was set when he should be put to death. His home was
far away, and he wanted very much to see his father and mother and
friends before he died.
"Only give me leave to go home and say good-by to those whom I love,"
he said, "and then I will come back and give up my life."
The tyrant laughed at him.
"How can I know that you will keep your promise?" he said. "You only
want to cheat me, and save your-self."
Then a young man whose name was Da-mon spoke and said,--
"O king! put me in prison in place of my friend Pyth-i-as, and let him
go to his own country to put his affairs in order, and to bid his
friends fare-well. I know that he will come back as he promised, for
he is a man who has never broken his word. But if he is not here on
the day which you have set, then I will die in his stead."
The tyrant was sur-prised that anybody should make such an offer. He
at last agreed to let Pythias go, and gave orders that the young man
Da-mon should be shut up in prison.
Time passed, and by and by the day drew near which had been set for
Pythias to die; and he had not come back. The tyrant ordered the
jailer to keep close watch upon Damon, and not let him escape. But
Damon did not try to escape. He still had faith in the truth and honor
of his friend. He said, "If Pythias does not come back in time, it
will not be his fault. It will be because he is hin-dered against his
will."
At last the day came, and then the very hour. Damon was ready to die.
His trust in his friend was as firm as ever; and he said that he did
not grieve at having to suffer for one whom he loved so much.
Then the jailer came to lead him to his death; but at the same moment
Pythias stood in the door. He had been de-layed by storms and
ship-wreck, and he had feared that he was too late. He greeted Damon
kindly, and then gave himself into the hands of the jailer. He was
happy because he thought that he had come in time, even though it was
at the last moment.
The tyrant was not so bad but that he could see good in others. He
felt that men who loved and trusted each other, as did Damon and
Pythias, ought not to suffer un-just-ly. And so he set them both
free.
"I would give all my wealth to have one such friend," he said.
A LACONIC ANSWER.
Many miles beyond Rome there was a famous country which we call
Greece. The people of Greece were not u-nit-ed like the Romans; but
instead there were sev-er-al states, each of which had its own rulers.
Some of the people in the southern part of the country were called
Spar-tans, and they were noted for their simple habits and their
brav-er-y. The name of their land was La-co'ni-a, and so they were
sometimes called La-cons.
One of the strange rules which the Spartans had, was that they should
speak briefly, and never use more words than were needed. And so a
short answer is often spoken of as being _la-con-ic_; that is, as
being such an answer as a Lacon would be likely to give.
There was in the northern part of Greece a land called Mac'e-don; and
this land was at one time ruled over by a war-like king named Philip.
Philip of Mac-e-don wanted to become the master of all Greece. So he
raised a great army, and made war upon the other states, until nearly
all of them were forced to call him their king. Then he sent a letter
to the Spartans in La-co-ni-a, and said, "If I go down into your
country, I will level your great city to the ground."
In a few days, an answer was brought back to him. When he opened the
letter, he found only one word written there.
That word was "IF."
It was as much as to say, "We are not afraid of you so long as the
little word 'if' stands in your way."
THE UNGRATEFUL GUEST.
Among the soldiers of King Philip there was a poor man who had done
some brave deeds. He had pleased the king in more ways than one, and
so the king put a good deal of trust in him.
One day this soldier was on board of a ship at sea when a great storm
came up. The winds drove the ship upon the rocks, and it was wrecked.
The soldier was cast half-drowned upon the shore; and he would have
died there, had it not been for the kind care of a farmer who lived
close by.
When the soldier was well enough to go home, he thanked the farmer for
what he had done, and promised that he would repay him for his
kindness.
But he did not mean to keep his promise. He did not tell King Philip
about the man who had saved his life. He only said that there was a
fine farm by the seashore, and that he would like very much to have
it for his own. Would the king give it to him?
"Who owns the farm now?" asked Philip.
"Only a churlish farmer, who has never done anything for his country,"
said the soldier.
"Very well, then," said Philip. "You have served me for a long time,
and you shall have your wish. Go and take the farm for yourself."
And so the soldier made haste to drive the farmer from his house and
home. He took the farm for his own.
The poor farmer was stung to the heart by such treat-ment. He went
boldly to the king, and told the whole story from beginning to end.
King Philip was very angry when he learned that the man whom he had
trusted had done so base a deed. He sent for the soldier in great
haste; and when he had come, he caused these words to be burned in his
forehead:--
"THE UNGRATEFUL GUEST."
Thus all the world was made to know of the mean act by which the
soldier had tried to enrich himself; and from that day until he died
all men shunned and hated him.
ALEXANDER AND BUCEPHALUS.
One day King Philip bought a fine horse called Bu-ceph'a-lus. He was a
noble an-i-mal, and the king paid a very high price for him. But he
was wild and savage, and no man could mount him, or do anything at all
with him.
They tried to whip him, but that only made him worse. At last the king
bade his servants take him away.
"It is a pity to ruin so fine a horse as that," said Al-ex-an'der, the
king's young son. "Those men do not know how to treat him."
"Perhaps you can do better than they," said his father scorn-ful-ly.
"I know," said Al-ex-an-der, "that, if you would only give me leave to
try, I could manage this horse better than any one else."
"And if you fail to do so, what then?" asked Philip.
"I will pay you the price of the horse," said the lad.
While everybody was laughing, Alexander ran up to Bu-ceph-a-lus, and
turned his head toward the sun. He had noticed that the horse was
afraid of his own shadow.
He then spoke gently to the horse, and patted him with his hand. When
he had qui-et-ed him a little, he made a quick spring, and leaped upon
the horse's back.
Everybody expected to see the boy killed outright. But he kept his
place, and let the horse run as fast as he would. By and by, when
Bucephalus had become tired, Alexander reined him in, and rode back to
the place where his father was standing.
All the men who were there shouted when they saw that the boy had
proved himself to be the master of the horse.
He leaped to the ground, and his father ran and kissed him.
"My son," said the king, "Macedon is too small a place for you. You
must seek a larger kingdom that will be worthy of you."
After that, Alexander and Bucephalus were the best of friends. They
were said to be always together, for when one of them was seen, the
other was sure to be not far away. But the horse would never allow any
one to mount him but his master.
Alexander became the most famous king and warrior that was ever known;
and for that reason he is always called Alexander the Great.
Bucephalus carried him through many countries and in many fierce
battles, and more than once did he save his master's life.
DIOGENES THE WISE MAN.
At Cor-inth, in Greece, there lived a very wise man whose name was
Di-og'e-nes. Men came from all parts of the land to see him and hear
him talk.
But wise as he was, he had some very queer ways. He did not believe
that any man ought to have more things than he re-al-ly needed; and he
said that no man needed much. And so he did not live in a house, but
slept in a tub or barrel, which he rolled about from place to place.
He spent his days sitting in the sun, and saying wise things to those
who were around him.
At noon one day, Di-og-e-nes was seen walking through the streets with
a lighted lantern, and looking all around as if in search of
something.