at this was bizarre,
And then this pattern, he began to trace.

These men were indeed one and the same!
The great man was struck with revelation.
This peculiar freak, with no name,
Had been the source of his inspiration!

He headed down the muddy trail,
Into the forest he would withdraw.
There he dropped his water pale.
He could not believe what he saw.

There he found a slab of stone
Just as the freak had said.
He wondered how this could go unknown
As the words on the stone he read,

In the event of a flood
This lesson should be learned
Unless you like to live in mud,
The valve must be turned.

Below these words there was an arrow
And it was pointing to the creek.
The creek had begun to overflow.
No doubt this was the source of the leak.

The great man was indeed happy to learn
How the flood had been produced.
He found the valve and gave it a turn.
And the water immediately was reduced.
_________________________________________________________________

He went back up the muddy trail,
And told the people what he had done.
The people all gathered to hear his tale,
And all were intrigued, but one.

Knowledge is power, the great man began.
A man who knows power is a man who is wise.
The greater the problem, the greater the man
Who can find the answer thats little in size.

Great men do heroic deeds.
Over the common men they tower.
Great men are what this town needs...
Men who face danger, and do not cower.

I am a great man, but a hero am I?
Thats a title I cannot claim.
There are those whose talent we may deny,
But they are heroes just the same.

As they heard those words so profound,
The people hailed the great man and cheered.
The freak looked down at the ground.
He knew to them he would always seem weird.

The girls who argued about the sun walked by.
They offered him words so sweet,
Youre a nice man, theres no need to cry.
Hes a great man, and he cant be beat.

The freak looked at the girls and smiled.
He could see that a leader is all they need.
Its noble to protect the innocence of a child.
Yes, he said, He is a great man indeed.

The End

***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A HERO AND A GREAT MAN***

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