THE BELL OF ATRI

In olden times there lived in Italy a kind-hearted king. He was sorry for any trouble that came to his people, and did all he could to make them happy. Because of his goodness the people called him Good King John.

“I wish all of my people to be just,” said the king. “And I wish every one to be treated justly.”

Not all of his people were as good as King John himself. Many did wrongs to their neighbors. And the neighbors complained to the good King.

“I will set up a great bell in the market place,” said the King at last. “If any one is wronged, let him ring the bell. He shall have justice.”

So the King had a large bell set up in the market place, where any one could[49] ring it. Then he appointed a good judge to right the people’s wrongs.

Many people rang the bell in the years that followed. All received justice and went away happy. The bell was used so much that the rope was worn away little by little. At last it became so short that many people could not reach it. Then some one fastened a piece of grape vine to the rope.

Now, there lived in Atri an old Knight¹. In his younger days he had loved to hunt, and had kept many horses and dogs. Now he could hunt no more, and so sold all his horses except the one he had liked best.

It happened that the old Knight began to think of nothing but money. He wished to be very rich.

“What is the use of keeping this one horse?” he asked himself. “He does nothing but eat and sleep. It costs too much to keep him. I will turn him out to look after himself.”

[50]So the faithful old horse was turned out into the street. It was in the dry, hot summer, and there was little grass to be found. The horse wandered about under the burning sun, getting a bite here and a bite there.

In his wandering he came finally to the market place. He saw the vine hanging to the bell rope.

“These leaves,” he thought, “are better than nothing, though they are withered².”

He began to pull at the withered leaves. The very first pull set the great bell to ringing loudly. The poor horse was so hungry that he paid no attention to the ringing. He kept on eating, and the bell rang louder and louder.

The judge heard the sounds, and wondered who was ringing the bell so loudly. He put on his robe and hurried to the market place.

He was greatly surprised when he saw who had rung the bell. He felt sorry for the poor creature, however.

[51]“Even the dumb beast,” he murmured, “shall have justice. This is the horse of the Knight of Atri.”

A large crowd of people had gathered in a few minutes. They told the judge the story of the old horse. Their stories, however, did not agree. The judge, therefore, decided³ to call the Knight himself.

The heartless old Knight said that the horse was useless to him, and that he could not take care of him any longer. It cost too much money.

“Did he not always do his duty by you?” asked the judge. “Did he ever refuse to carry you to the hunt, or to bring you safely home?”

The old Knight had to confess that the horse had always been faithful.

“The law decides, then,” cried the judge, “that you shall provide him shelter and food as long as he lives.”

At this decision all the people clapped their hands and shouted loudly.

[52]The old Knight ordered his servant to lead the horse back to the stable. The people followed, cheering, because even a dumb animal could get justice.

The fame of the bell of Atri spread abroad through all Italy.

To-day people know very little about the other things that Good King John did. They simply remember him as the king who set up the bell of justice at Atri.
[53]
THE POT OF HOT PORRIDGE

In the beautiful land of Switzerland is a little town named Zurich. Not far from here is the larger city of Strasburg. The people of Zurich had long looked with envy on the larger city and wanted to become a part of it. At last they decided to send an appeal to the magistrates⁴. This they did, but the great magistrate⁵ of Strasburg bluntly refused the honor of such a union.

“Zurich is of no importance,” they said, “and besides it is too far away to be of any help in time of need.”

When the councilors of Zurich heard the Strasburger’s answer, they were very angry, indeed. They even talked of challenging the great magistrates.

“No,” said the youngest of the Zurich[54] councilors, “I will make them eat their words. I pledge you my honor that I shall bring you a different answer before long.”

The other councilors were glad to be relieved of the matter, so they agreed and returned leisurely⁶ to their dwellings⁷. The youngest councilor went home in a great hurry. He went at once to the kitchen and selected the biggest pot there.

“What are you going to do with that?” asked his wife.

“You will see,” he replied. “Fill it with as much oatmeal as it will contain and cook it as quickly as possible.”

His wife wondered much at this strange command, but she bade her servants build a roaring fire. This they did and soon the great pot of oatmeal was cooking. Then such a time as they had stirring the oatmeal to keep it from burning.

In the meantime, the youngest councilor ran down to the quay⁸ and prepared the swiftest vessel⁹. He collected a number[55] of the best oarsmen and when all was ready, bade two of them accompany him home.

He sprang breathless into the kitchen. The oatmeal was ready.

“Come boys,” he cried, “lift the vessel from the fire and run down to the boat with it.”

He followed them closely and saw it placed in the boat. Then, turning to the men, he exclaimed,

“Now, lads, row with all your might. We are bound to prove to those stupid old Strasburgers that we are near enough to serve them a hot supper in case of need.”

Aroused by these words, the youths bent¹¹ to the oars¹⁰. The vessel shot down the Simwat, Aar, and Rhine, leaving town, village, and farms in its wake. Never did it stop once till it reached the quay at Strasburg.

The councilor sprang ashore¹² and bade the two youths follow with the huge pot. He strode into the council hall and had[56] them set it before the assembled magistrates.

“Gentlemen, Zurich sends you a warm answer to your cold refusal,” he exclaimed.

With open mouths the Strasburgers gazed at the still steaming pot. When the young Zuricher explained how it got there they laughed heartily¹³. They were so amused with the wit and promptitude of their neighbors that they voted at once to grant their request.

The papers for the alliance were signed and sealed. Then the great magistrates called for spoons and ate every bit of the oatmeal. They called it excellent, and it proved hot enough to burn more than one councilor’s mouth.

Ever since then this huge iron pot has been known as the “pot of alliance.” It has been carefully kept in the town hall of Strasburg, where it can still be seen.

1 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

2 withered   

adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The grass had withered in the warm sun. 这些草在温暖的阳光下枯死了。
• The leaves of this tree have become dry and withered. 这棵树下的叶子干枯了。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 magistrates   

地方法官，治安官( magistrate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to come up before the magistrates 在地方法院出庭
• He was summoned to appear before the magistrates. 他被传唤在地方法院出庭。

5 magistrate   

n.地方行政官，地方法官，治安官

参考例句：

• The magistrate committed him to prison for a month.法官判处他一个月监禁。
• John was fined 1000 dollars by the magistrate.约翰被地方法官罚款1000美元。

6 leisurely   

adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的

参考例句：

• We walked in a leisurely manner,looking in all the windows.我们慢悠悠地走着，看遍所有的橱窗。
• He had a leisurely breakfast and drove cheerfully to work.他从容的吃了早餐，高兴的开车去工作。

7 dwellings   

n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The development will consist of 66 dwellings and a number of offices. 新建楼区将由66栋住房和一些办公用房组成。
• The hovels which passed for dwellings are being pulled down. 过去用作住室的陋屋正在被拆除。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 quay   

n.码头，靠岸处

参考例句：

• There are all kinds of ships in a quay.码头停泊各式各样的船。
• The side of the boat hit the quay with a grinding jar.船舷撞到码头发出刺耳的声音。

9 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

10 oars   

n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He pulled as hard as he could on the oars. 他拼命地划桨。
• The sailors are bending to the oars. 水手们在拼命地划桨。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

12 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

13 heartily   

adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很

参考例句：

• He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。
• The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。