45 THE BELL OF ATRI

I

Good King John lived in Atri long ago. He wished everyone to be happy. He was sorry when anyone did wrong.

One day he said, “I have a plan that will help my people. I will build a tower with a bell in it. The bell-rope shall be so long that anyone can reach it. Even little children can ring the bell.

“When anyone is in trouble he may go to the bell-tower and ring the bell. Then one of my judges must go to the bell-tower, too. He must hear what the one who rings the bell has to say.

“The judge will find out why the man is in trouble. He will learn who has harmed the man. Then he must punish the one who did wrong.

“This will teach my people to do good. They will try to be kind to each other. They Will try to do no wrong to anyone.”

So good King John built a great bell tower. The bell-rope was so long that even a child could reach it. All the people thought it was a fine plan.

When anyone was in trouble he went to the great bell-tower and rang the bell.

Then the judge put on his rich robes and ran to the belltower. He heard what the man had to say and found the one who had done wrong. If he thought best, he punished him.

The bell hung in the tower many years. It was rung so often that at last the rope grew thin. Then someone tied a piece of hay around it to make it stronger.

One summer day the sun shone brightly on the bell-tower. It was very hot in Atri, and all the people were indoors. Everyone was taking a rest.

All at once the bell rang. “Ding-dong! I tell of wrong! Dingdong! I tell of wrong! ”it called.

The judge woke from his nap. “Some wrong has been done, ”he said, “I must see who is in trouble.”He put on his rich robes and went quickly to the tower. All the people ran to see who had rung the bell.

When they got to the tower—what do you think they saw?

A poor old horse was ringing the bell! He was eating the piece of hay that was tied around the bell-rope. As he ate the hay, he pulled the rope. Then the bell rang, loud and clear—“Dingdong! I tell of wrong! ”

II

At first the judge was very angry. “I have lost my nap, ”he said, “I came here as fast as I could to see what poor man was in trouble. But I find only a hungry horse eating the bell-rope.

“Who put that piece of hay on the rope? Find the man who did it, and bring him to me. Take this horse away. What right has he to be here? ”

Then the judge looked again at the horse. The poor beast was lame and almost blind. The judge saw that he was very thin. He knew that someone had done a wrong to the poor old horse.

“This poor horse is very hungry, ”said the judge, “He is almost starving. That is why he is so thin.That is why he is eating the piece of hay. Who owns this horse? ”

An old man answered him.

“This horse belongs to a rich man, ”he said, “See, he lives in that beautiful castle.

This horse carried him when he went to war. More than once this horse has saved his master's life.

“But when the horse got too old to work, his master turned him out. Now the poor old beast goes around and picks up his food wherever he can get it.

“He has nothing to eat unless he finds it for himself, and so he is hungry almost all the time.”

The judge was very angry when he heard that such a brave horse had a bad master.

“This poor horse is in trouble, ”he said, “He did well to ring King John's bell. Bring his master to me.”

So the master was brought to the judge.

“Why have you left this poor horse to starve? ”said the judge,“Did he not work for you as long as he could? Did he not save your life many times? ”

The master hung his head in shame. He had not a word to say.

“You must care for this poor beast as long as he lives, ”said the judge. “You must let him go back to his stable, and you must give him all the food he needs.”

All the people clapped their hands.

“The poor horse will never be hungry again, ”they said,“How glad we are.”

They led him back to his stable.

“There is no bell like the bell of Atri, ”said the people, “It helps all who are in trouble. Even a horse may ring it.”

(Italian Tale)

Word list

Atri: a town in Italy

tower: a large, tall structure

punish: to give a penalty to someone

nap: a short sleep

shame: a painful sense of having done something wrong

You Practice

A) Answer the following questions.

1) Who built a tower with a bell in it?

2) Why was the bell tower built?

3) Why did the king choose a judge to listen to the person who rang the bell?

4) Why was the horse ringing the bell?

5) Why was the judge angry at first?

6) Why did the judge stop being angry?

B) Fill in the blanks—Choose the correct words from the reading to fill in the blanks.

1) The bell was rung by people who were in t _ _ _ _ _ _.

2) The king wanted people to be k _ _ _ to each other.

3) Someone tied a piece of h _ _ around the bell.

4) A h _ _ _ _ tried to eat the hay.

5) The judge was very angry at the horse's m _ _ _ _ _.

C) True or false? Read the sentences carefully. Write true or false for each one.

1) _____ The king was a kind man.

2) _____ The judge was angry when he woke up.

3) _____ The horse was very fat.

4) _____ The horse's owner was very poor.

5) _____ The bell of Atri helped only people.