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- OTHER WISE MEN OF GOTHAM
- ONE day, news was brought to Gotham that the king was coming that
- way, and that he would pass through the town. This did not please the
- men of Gotham at all. They hated the king, for they knew that he was a
- cruel, bad man. If he came to their town, they would have to find food
- and lodging for him and his men; and if he saw anything that pleased
- him, he would be sure to take it for his own. What should they do?
- They met together to talk the matter over.
- "Let us chop down the big trees in the woods, so that they will block up
- all the roads that lead into the town," said one of the wise men.
- "Good!" said all the rest.
- So they went out with their axes, and soon all the roads and paths to the
- town were filled with logs and brush. The king's horsemen would have a
- hard time of it getting into Gotham. They would either have to make a
- new road, or give up the plan altogether, and go on to some other place.
- When the king came, and saw that the road had been blocked up, he was
- very angry.
- "Who chopped those trees down in my way?" he asked of two country lads
- that were passing by.
- "The men of Gotham," said the lads.
- "Well," said the king, "go and tell the men of Gotham that I shall send my
- sheriff into their town, and have all their noses cut off."
- "The two lads ran to the town as fast as they could, and made known
- what the king had said.
- Everybody was in great fright. The men ran from house to house,
- carrying the news, and asking one another what they should do.
- "Our wits have kept the king out of the town," said one; "and so now our
- wits must save our noses."
- "True, true!" said the others. "But what shall we do?"
- Then one, whose name was Dobbin, and who was thought to be the
- wisest of them all, said, "Let me tell you something. Many a man has
- been punished because he was wise, but I have never heard of any one
- being harmed because he was a fool. So, when the king's sheriff comes,
- let us all act like fools."
- "Good, good!" cried the others. "We will all act like fools."
- It was no easy thing for the king's men to open the roads; and while they
- were doing it, the king grew tired of waiting, and went back to London.
- But very early one morning, the sheriff with a party of fierce soldiers
- rode through the woods, and between the fields, toward Gotham. Just
- before they reached the town, they saw a queer sight. The old men were
- rolling big stones up the hill, and all the young men were looking on, and
- grunting very loudly.
- The sheriff stopped his horses, and asked what they were doing.
- "We are rolling stones uphill to make the sun rise," said one of the old
- men.
- "You foolish fellow!" said the sheriff. "Don't you know that the sun will
- rise without any help?"
- "Ah! will it?" said the old man. "Well, I never thought of that. How wise
- you are!"
- "And what are you doing?" said the sheriff to the young men.
- "Oh, we do the grunting while our fathers do the working," they
- answered.
- "I see," said the sheriff. "Well, that is the way the world goes everywhere.
- " And he rode on toward the town.
- He soon came to a field where a number of men were building a stone
- wall.
- "What are you doing?" he asked.
- "Why, master," they answered, "there is a cuckoo in this field, and we are
- building a wall around it so as to keep the bird from straying away."
- "You foolish fellows!" said the sheriff. "Don't you know that the bird will
- fly over the top of your wall, no matter how high you build it?"
- "Why, no," they said. "We never thought of that. How very wise you are!"
- The sheriff next met a man who was carrying a door on his back.
- "What are you doing?" he asked.
- "I have just started on a long journey, " said the man.
- "But why do you carry that door?" asked the sheriff.
- "I left my money at home."
- "Then why didn't you leave the door at home too?"
- "I was afraid of thieves; and you see, if I have the door with me, they
- can't break it open and get in."
- "You foolish fellow!" said the sheriff. "It would be safer to leave the door
- at home, and carry the money with you."
- "Ah, would it, though?" said the man. "Now, I never thought of that. You
- are the wisest man that I ever saw."
- Then the sheriff rode on with his men; but every one that they met was
- doing some silly thing.
- "Truly I believe that the people of Gotham are all fools," said one of the
- horsemen.
- "That is true," said another. "It would be a shame to harm such simple
- people."
- "Let us ride back to London, and tell the king all about them," said the
- sheriff.
- "Yes, let us do so," said the horsemen.
- So they went back, and told the king that Gotham was a town of fools;
- and the king laughed, and said that if that was the case, he would not
- harm them, but would let them keep their noses.
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