18 lines
1.1 KiB
Text
18 lines
1.1 KiB
Text
The Three Sluggards
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A certain King had three sons who were all equally dear to him, and he
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did not know which of them to appoint as his successor after his own
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death. When the time came when he was about to die, he summoned them to
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his bedside and said, "Dear children, I have been thinking of something
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which I will declare unto you; whichsoever of you is the laziest shall
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have the kingdom." The eldest said, "Then, father, the kingdom is mine,
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for I am so idle that if I lie down to rest, and a drop falls in my
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eye, I will not open it that I may sleep." The second said; "Father,
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the kingdom belongs to me, for I am so idle that when I am sitting by
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the fire warming myself, I would rather let my heel be burnt off than
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draw back my leg." The third said, "Father, the kingdom is mine, for I
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am so idle that if I were going to be hanged, and had the rope already
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round my neck, and any one put a sharp knife into my hand with which I
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might cut the rope, I would rather let myself be hanged than raise my
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hand to the rope." When the father heard that, he said, "Thou hast
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carried it the farthest, and shalt be King."
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