Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1861-12-22
THE KING AND THE HERD

scepteT. On one hot summer day, King Max
| imilian, clad IN very plain habaments, had gon'
out alone, (as was his WON'T to walk in the fin
/ park which surrounds his castle OF Tegemue
and after time, drew volume from his pocket
and seated himself on a bench to read. The sui
tTiness of the air, and the perfect stiffness of th
| place, made his eyes heavy, and laying down hi
| book on the bench beside him, the monarch fei
| into doze. His slumber did not last long, how
ever, and on awaking, he rose to continue hi!
walk but forgot his book, and left it lying OF
| the bench Wandering onwards, from one di
| vision Of the extensive park to another, he a
| length passed beyond its limits, and entered OF
| those grassy downs which stretch down to the
margin Of the lake
All at once, the king remembered his book
and the possibility that it might be seen and ap
| propriated by some stranger passing by. I'm
willing to loose book be valued, and unwilling
to retrsce the way he had come, while the lake
path to the castle lay temptingly before him, the
| king looked round in every direction, for some
| one whom be could send for the volume; but
| the only human being within view was a boy,
| tending large flock Of geese. The monarch
| therefore, went up to him, and said: " HesTken
my lad dost think thou could 81 find for me 8
book l left lying in such and such q part OF the
| park thoult get two zwanzigers'" for bring
| ing it to me"
The boy, who had never before seen the king,
cast a most incredulous look on the eorpulent
gentleman who made him 80 astounding su
| proffer, and then turned away, singing, with an
air of cOmical resentment: " am not so
stupid as you take me for"
why do you think consider you stupid p
asked the monarch.
Because you offer me two zwanzigers for so
trifng & service; 50 much money can not be
earned so easily" vas the sturdy reply.
Now, indeed, said the king, smiling good
humOredly, l must think thee q simpleton
why do you thus doubt my word 2"
Those up yonder, replied the boy, pointing g
in the direction OF the distant castle ." are ready
enough 10 make sport Of the Ike OF Us, and ye'Te
one Of them, I'm thinking"
"And suppose / were," said ths king; "but
see, hers are the two zwanzigers take them, and
fetch me the bO0k,
The heTd-boys eyes sparkled ss be held actu-
ally in his hand a sum Of money nearly equal to
the hard coin Of bis summers herding, and vet
be hesitated.
How now" cried the king " why don't you
set OF at Once ?"
| would fain 20 it-but dare uot, said the
poor fellow " for II the villagers hear | have
left the plaguy geese, they will turn me off, and
how shall earn my bread them"
Simpleton ~ exclaimed the king, l viii
herd the geese TIL you return
:" You ." said the rustic, with q most contempt
uous elongatiOn Of the pronoun; you would
make pretty g0ose-herd you are much too fat,
and much too stiff suppose they broke away
from you now, and got into the rich meadow
yonder, should have more tTespass money to
pay than my years wages come to. Just look
at the Court Gardener there, him with the black
head and wings he is a regular deserter, a false
L l.. 4 L. ,r 81
trash, and they, We all know, are good for moth
ing He would lead you fine dance Nay, nay,
it would never do"
The king felt ready to burst with suppressed
laughter; but mastering himself, asked, with
tolersble composuTe. "Why, can | not keep
geese in order as easily ss men ] have plenty
Of them to control"
"You," again said the boy, sneeringly, as he
measured the monarch from head to foot " they
must be silly ones, then; but perhaps you're
a schOolmasteT. Yet, even ifNe be, it is much
easier to manage boys than geese; that can
tell ye."
1t may De so" said the king "but cone,
make short work of it: will you bring the book
or viii you not J"
q would gladly DO it" Stammered the boy,
an be answerable for the geese" cried the
king, "and pay all damages, if such there
be-"
This decided the question; and so, after eK-
scting promise that his substitute would pay
special attention TO the dOings of the stately
gander, whom he designated as the Court
Gardener" and pronounced an incouigible
breaker Of bounds, and prime seducer of the
flock, and SO: of on his errand
But scarcely had be run few yards when he
turned back again.
"What is the matter now :" called out the
kingI
Crack the whip" resounded in return. The
swung it with his best effort, bat pro-
cured no sounding whack ~ thought so "
exclaimed the rustic. A schOolmaster, for
sooth, and cannot crack a whip! So saying,
be snatched the whip from the kings hand, and
began, with more zeal than success, to instruct
him IN the science of whip-crsckiug. The king,
though scarcely able to contain himself, tried in
right earnest, and at length succeeded in extract
ing tolerably sharp report from the leatbern
OF authority; and the boy, after once
more trying 10 impress the duties OF his response
bic Office on bis temporary substitute, ran off at
full speed IN the direction the king had indicated
The monarch, who could now indulge in a
hearty laugh, sat himself down on a tree-stump
which the goose herd had previously occupied, to
await the return of his messenger. But il really
seemed as if his featheTed charge had discovered
that the whip was no longer welded by their
accustomed prompt and vigilant commander, for
the treacherous Court Gardener" suddenly
stretched out his long neck, and, after Teconnoi-
tering on all Sides uttered two or three shTill
screams: upon which, as if a tempest had ali at
once rushed under the multitude Of wings, the
whole flock rose simultaneously into the sir, and
before the king could recover from bis surprise,
they were careeriDg, with loud screams, toward
the Tich meadows bordering the lake, over which
they quickly spread themselves in all possible
directions.
At the first Outburst, the rOysl herdsman called
" halt" with al his might he brandished and
tried hard 10 crack the whip, but extracted no
sound which could intimidste the Court Garden
er. He then ran to and fro, until, teeming with
and yielding to adverse late, ne re-
seated himself on the tree-stump, and, leaving
the geese to their own devices, quietly awaited
the return of his messenger.
"The boy was right, after all, ;" said ne to 6lm-
self: ~ it is easier TO govern couple of millions
Of men than a flock Of paguy geese, and
court gardener can do deal Of mischief
Meanwhile the boy had reached the bench,
f,und the book, and sped back in triumph, little
dreaming Of the discontinue his substitute had
exnarienced But when, on coming close up 10
the king. he looked round in vain for hls chaTge'
ond stiiI worse when their Yociterous cackllng
Ia his ewes in the direction OF the forbidden
-,a.5ov he was so overwhelmed that, letting fall
the hook, he exclaimed, half crying with grief
and yeTatjon, "There we have it | knew
how il would be Did not say from the fret
Won understood nothing And what is to be
done pow7 can never get them together oy
myself You must help, that's fact"
The king consented; the herdboy placed him
st one corner. showed him how to move his out
stretched arms up and down, whilst he must
,bo-,t with an his might; and then the boy him
self net out, whip in hand, to gather in the far
tbest scattered of the flock.
The king did his best, and after terrible exer-
+;ona the cackling runaways were once moIe
conoraOsted on their allotted territory.
But now the boy gave tss vent to his indig-