The Boy and the Robbers
In Persia, when Cyrus the Great was king, boys were taught to tell the truth. This was one of their first lessons at home and at school.
“None but a coward will tell a falsehood,” said the father of young Otanes.1
“Truth is beautiful. Always love it,” said his mother.
When Otanes was twelve years old, his parents wished to send him to a distant city to study in a famous school that was there. It would be a long journey and a dangerous one. So it was arranged that the boy should travel with a small company of merchants who were going to the same place. “Good-by, Otanes! Be always brave and truthful,” said his father. “Farewell, my child! Love that which is beautiful. Despise that which is base,” said his mother.
The little company began its long journey. Some of the men rode on camels, some on horses. They went but slowly, for the sun was hot and the way was rough.
Suddenly, towards evening, a band of robbers swooped down upon them. The merchants were not fighting men. They could do nothing but give up all their goods and money.
“Well, boy, what have you got?” asked one of the robbers, as he pulled Otanes from his horse.
“Forty pieces of gold” answered the lad.
The robber laughed. He had never heard of a boy with so much money as that.
“That is a good story” he said. “Where do you carry your gold?”
“It is in my hat, underneath the lining,” answered Otanes.
“Oh, well! You can’t make me believe that,” said the robber; and he hurried away to rob one of the rich merchants.
Soon another came up and said, “My boy, do you happen to have any gold about you?”
“Yes! Forty pieces, in my hat, said Otanes.
“You are a brave lad to be joking with robbers” said the man; and he also hurried on to a more promising field.
At length the chief of the band called to Otanes and said, “Young fellow, have you anything worth taking?”
Otanes answered, “I have already told two of your men that I have forty pieces of gold in my hat. But they wouldn’t believe me.”
“Take off your hat,” said the chief.
The boy obeyed. The chief tore out the lining and found the gold hidden beneath it.
“Why did you tell us where to find it?” he asked. “No one would have thought that a child like you had gold about him.”
“If I had answered your questions differently, I should have told a lie,” said Otanes; “and none but cowards tell lies”
The robber chief was struck by this answer. He thought of the number of times that he himself had been a coward. Then he said, “You are a brave boy, and you may keep your gold. Here it is. Mount your horse, and my own men will ride with you and see that you reach the end of your journey in safety.”
Otanes, in time, became one of the famous men of his country. He was the advisor and friend of two of the kings who succeeded Cyrus.
A Lesson in Justice
Alexander2 the king of Macedon,3 wished to become the master of the whole world. He led his armies through many countries. He plundered cities, he burned towns, he destroyed thousands of lives.
At last, far in the East, he came to a land of which he had never heard. The people there knew nothing about war and conquest. Although they were rich, they lived simply and were at peace with all the world.
The shah, or ruler of these people, went out to meet Alexander and welcome him to their country. He led the great king to his palace and begged that he would dine with him.
When they were seated at the table the servants of the shah stood by to serve the meal. They brought in what seemed to be fruits, nuts, cakes, and other delicacies; but when Alexander would eat he found that everything was made of gold.
“What!” said he, “do you eat gold in this country?”
“We ourselves eat only common food,” answered the shah. “But we have heard that it was the desire for gold which caused you to leave your own country; and so, we wish to satisfy your appetite.”
“It was not for gold that I came here,” said Alexander. “I came to learn the customs of your people.”
“Very well, then,” said the shah, “stay with me a little while and observe what you can.”
While the shah and the king were talking, two countrymen came in. “My lord,” said one, “we have had a disagreement, and wish you to settle the matter.”
“Tell me about it,” said the shah.
“Well, it is this way,” answered the man: “I bought a piece of ground from this neighbor of mine, and paid him a fair price for it. Yesterday, when I was digging in it, I found a box full of gold and jewels. This treasure does not belong to me, for I bought only the ground; but when I offered it to my neighbor he refused it.”
The second man then spoke up and said, “It is true that I sold him the ground, but I did not reserve anything he might find in it. The treasure is not mine, and therefore I am unwilling to take it.”
The shah sat silent for a while, as if in thought. Then he said to the first man, “Have you a son?”
“Yes, a young man of promise,” was the answer.
The shah turned to the second man: “Have you a daughter?”
“I have,” answered the man, “—a beautiful girl.”
“Well, then, this is my judgment. Let the son marry the daughter, if both agree, and give them the treasure as a wedding portion.”
Alexander listened with great interest. “You have judged wisely and rightly,” said he to the shah, “but in my own country we should have done differently.”
“What would you have done?”
“Well, we should have thrown both men into prison, and the treasure would have been given to the king.”
“And is that what you call justice?” asked the shah.
“We call it policy,” said Alexander.
“Then let me ask you a question,” said the shah. “Does the sun shine in your country?”
“Surely.”
“Does the rain fall there?”
“Oh, yes!”
“Is it possible! But are there any gentle, harmless animals in your fields?”
“A great many.”
“Then,” said the shah, “it must be that the sun shines and the rain falls for the sake of these poor beasts; for men so unjust do not deserve such blessings.”
Notes
1 Otanes (pro. o ta’n ez).
2 Al ex an’der.
3 Macedon (pro. mas’e don).