jest. Then he grew angry and
said in an undertone, "One can surely do what he pleases with his own."

[Illustration: The judge sees the horse in the market place]

"For shame!" cried the judge. "Has the horse not served you for many
years? And has he not saved your life? You must build a good shelter for
him, and give him the best grain and the best pasture. Take the horse
home and be as true to him as he has been to you."

The soldier hung his head in shame and led the horse away. The people
shouted and applauded.

"Great is King John," they cried, "and great the bell of Atri!"

--ITALIAN TALE.

A DUMB WITNESS

One day at noontime a poor man was riding along a road. He was tired and
hungry, and wished to stop and rest. Finding a tree with low branches,
he tied his horse to one of them. Then he sat down to eat his dinner.

Soon a rich man came along and started to tie his horse to the same
tree.

"Do not fasten your horse to that tree," cried the poor man. "My horse
is savage and he may kill yours. Fasten him to another tree."

"I shall tie my horse where I wish," the rich man replied; and he tied
his horse to the same tree. Then he, too, sat down to eat.

Very soon the men heard a great noise. They looked up and saw that their
horses were kicking and fighting. Both men rushed to stop them, but it
was too late; the rich man's horse was dead.

"See what your horse has done!" cried the rich man in an angry voice.
"But you shall pay for it! You shall pay for it!"

Then he dragged the man before a judge.

"Oh, wise judge," he cried, "I have come to you for justice. I had a
beautiful, kind, gentle horse which has been killed by this man's savage
horse. Make the man pay for the horse or send him to prison."

"Not so fast, my friend," the judge said. "There are two sides to every
case."

He turned to the poor man. "Did your horse kill this man's horse?" he
asked.

The poor man made no reply.

The judge asked in surprise, "Are you dumb? Can you not talk?"

But no word came from the poor man's lips.

Then the judge turned to the rich man.

"What more can I do?" he asked. "You see for yourself this poor man
cannot speak."

"Oh, but he can," cried the rich man. "He spoke to me."

"Indeed!" said the judge. "When?"

"He spoke to me when I tied my horse to the tree."

"What did he say?" asked the judge.

"He said, 'Do not fasten your horse to that tree. My horse is savage and
may kill yours.