Twenty-Four Unusual Stories For Boys And Girls

Book excerpt: " ONCE when the Emperor Charles V was traveling in the country, he saw a convent, and in passing by a little door he read this strange inscription: "Here you live without a care." The Emperor was very surprised and could scarcely believe his eyes. "It seems to me an impossibility," he thought; "does some one really exist on earth who is free from care? As Emperor I am overwhelmed with troubles, while here in this convent, which is a little kingdom in itself, one would have nothing to worry about. I cannot believe it." Immediately on setting foot in the village inn, the Emperor sent the hostess to fetch the Abbot of this singular convent. You can imagine what a state of mind the latter was in when he heard he was summoned to the Emperor's presence. "What have I done to displease him?" he asked himself. On the way he examined his conscience over and over again, and he could think of no fault of which he was guilty. "I am in troubled waters; I must steer my way through," he said. When he was in the Emperor's presence, the latter expressed his astonishment of what he had read. The Abbot now knew why he had been summoned, and smiled. "Sir," said he, "does that astonish you? However, it is very simple; we eat, we drink, we sleep, and worry over nothing." "Well, Reverend Abbot, that state of things must come to an end," said the Emperor, "and in order that you may have your share of trouble, I command you to bring me to-morrow the answers to the three following questions: "First, What is the depth of the sea? "Secondly, How many cows' tails would it take to measure the distance between the earth and the sun?"