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- THE BELL OF ATRI
- ATRI is the name of a little town in Italy. It is a very old town, and is
- built halfway up the side of a steep hill.
- A long time ago, the King of Atri bought a fine large bell, and had it hung
- up in a tower in the market place. A long rope that reached almost to the
- ground was fastened to the bell. The smallest child could ring the bell by
- pulling upon this rope.
- "It is the bell of justice," said the king.
- When at last everything was ready, the people of Atri had a great holiday.
- All the men and women and children came down to the market place to
- look at the bell of justice. It was a very pretty bell, and was polished until
- it looked almost as bright and yellow as the sun.
- "How we should like to hear it ring!" they said.
- Then the king came down the street.
- "Perhaps he will ring it," said the people; and everybody stood very still,
- and waited to see what he would do.
- But he did not ring the bell. He did not even take the rope in his hands.
- When he came to the foot of the tower, he stopped, and raised his hand.
- "My people," he said, "do you see this beautiful bell? It is your bell; but it
- must never be rung except in case of need. If any one of you is wronged
- at any time, he may come and ring the bell; and then the judges shall
- come together at once, and hear his case, and give him justice. Rich and
- poor, old and young, all alike may come; but no one must touch the rope
- unless he knows that he has been wronged."
- Many years passed by after this. Many times did the bell in the market
- place ring out to call the judges together. Many wrongs were righted,
- many ill-doers were punished. At last the hempen rope was almost worn
- out. The lower part of it was untwisted; some of the strands were
- broken; it became so short that only a tall man could reach it.
- "This will never do," said the judges one day. "What if a child should be
- wronged? It could not ring the bell to let us know it."
- They gave orders that a new rope should be put upon the bell at once,—a
- rope that should hang down to the ground, so that the smallest child
- could reach it. But there was not a rope to be found in all Atri. They
- would have to send across the mountains for one, and it would be many
- days before it could be brought. What if some great wrong should be
- done before it came? How could the judges know about it, if the injured
- one could not reach the old rope?
- "Let me fix it for you," said a man who stood by.
- He ran into his garden, which was not far away, and soon came back with
- a long grape-vine in his hands.
- "This will do for a rope," he said; and he climbed up, and fastened it to
- the bell. The slender vine, with its leaves and tendrils still upon it,
- trailed to the ground.
- "Yes," said the judges, "it is a very good rope. Let it be as it is."
- Now, on the hillside above the village, there lived a man who had once
- been a brave knight. In his youth he had ridden through many lands,
- and he had fought in many a battle. His best friend through all that time
- had been his horse,—a strong, noble steed that had borne him safe
- through many a danger.
- But the knight, when he grew older, cared no more to ride into battle; he
- cared no more to do brave deeds; he thought of nothing but gold; he
- became a miser. At last he sold all that he had, except his horse, and
- went to live in a little hut on the hillside. Day after day he sat among his
- money bags, and planned how he might get more gold; and day after day
- his horse stood in his bare stall, half-starved, and shivering with cold.
- "What is the use of keeping that lazy steed?" said the miser to himself
- one morning. "Every week it costs me more to keep him than he is worth.
- I might sell him; but there is not a man that wants him. I cannot even
- give him away. I will turn him out to shift for himself, and pick grass by
- the roadside. If he starves to death, so much the better."
- So the brave old horse was turned out to find what he could among the
- rocks on the barren hill-side. Lame and sick, he strolled along the dusty
- roads, glad to find a blade of grass or a thistle. The boys threw stones at
- him, the dogs barked at him, and in all the world there was no one to
- pity him.
- One hot afternoon, when no one was upon the street, the horse chanced
- to wander into the market place. Not a man nor child was there, for the
- heat of the sun had driven them all indoors. The gates were wide open;
- the poor beast could roam where he pleased. He saw the grape-vine rope
- that hung from the bell of justice. The leaves and tendrils upon it were
- still fresh and green, for it had not been there long. What a fine dinner
- they would be for a starving horse!
- He stretched his thin neck, and took one of the tempting morsels in his
- mouth. It was hard to break it from the vine. He pulled at it, and the
- great bell above him began to ring. All the people in Atri heard it. It
- seemed to say,—
- "Some one has done me wrong!
- Some one has done me wrong!
- Oh! come and judge my case!
- Oh! come and judge my case!
- For I've been wronged!"
- The judges heard it. They put on their robes, and went out through the
- hot streets to the market place. They wondered who it could be who
- would ring the bell at such a time. When they passed through the gate,
- they saw the old horse nibbling at the vine.
- "Ha!" cried one, "it is the miser's steed. He has come to call for justice; for
- his master, as everybody knows, has treated him most shamefully."
- "He pleads his cause as well as any dumb brute can," said another.
- "And he shall have justice!" said the third.
- Meanwhile a crowd of men and women and children had come into the
- market place, eager to learn what cause the judges were about to try.
- When they saw the horse, all stood still in wonder. Then every one was
- ready to tell how they had seen him wandering on the hills, unfed,
- uncared for, while his master sat at home counting his bags of gold.
- "Go bring the miser before us," said the judges.
- "Some one has done me wrong!"
- And when he came, they bade him stand and hear their judgment.
- "This horse has served you well for many a year," they said. "He has saved
- you from many a peril. He has helped you gain your wealth. Therefore
- we order that one half of all your gold shall be set aside to buy him
- shelter and food, a green pasture, where he may graze, and a warm stall
- to comfort him in his old age."
- The miser hung his head, and grieved to lose his gold; but the people
- shouted with joy, and the horse was led away to his new stall and a
- dinner such as he had not had in many a day.
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