(原版)澳大利亞語文第三冊 LESSON 45
LESSON 45 A CUP OF COLD WATER
A CUP OF COLD WATER
1. In the days of Queen Elizabeth there lived a brave, handsome, and clever knight, called Sir Philip Sidney. There seemed to be nothing that Sir Philip could not do; and, besides being clever, he was so kind and gentle that everybody loved him. He was called the darling of the court [1] .
THY NEED IS GREATER THAN MINE.
2. The people of Holland were fighting to be free, and Sir Philip went over with the English army to help them. One day he set out with a small band of soldiers to meet the foe. It was a fierce fight, and Sir Philip was shot in the leg. His horse turned and bolted with him back to the camp.
3. Sir Philip was helped down from his horse. He lay on the ground in great pain, and his throat was dry and burning. He begged for a drink of cold water. There was no water near, and it was only after much trouble that a little was brought to him.
4. As he lifted his head to put his lips to the cup, he saw, close beside him, a dying soldier. The gaze of the poor fellow was fixed on the water, and the look in his eyes made Sir Philip forget his own thirst. Without tasting the water, he passed it to the dying soldier. "Drink," he said, "thy need is greater than mine."
5. Although it is three hundred years since the time of our story, Sir Philip Sidney's act of loving kindness has never been forgotten. In the Great War that was raging from 1914 to 1918, many, many acts of kindness were done by the soldiers for one another. The story of most of them has never been written down. Here are two, however, which remind us of the story of Sir Philip Sidney.
6. One day in France, forty soldiers, in a front trench, found that they were cut off from the rest of the army. They did not know when they would have the chance to crawl back to their friends. In the meantime, they were all worn out with fighting, and were nearly dying of thirst.
7. Thirty-nine of them were without a drop of water. One man had a little water in his water-bottle. He handed it round, saying, "Boys, this is all there is among forty of us."
8. The bottle was passed right round the thirty-nine men, and came back to the first. Would it surprise you to know, that there was more water left for him than any of the others had drunk? In that little band of men there were forty Sir Philip Sidneys!
9. The second story is of a dying German and two wounded English soldiers, who all lay together on the battle-field. One of the wounded men, in his pain and thirst, called out for a drink of water.
10. The dying German was pointing to his side. Thinking that he wished to be lifted up, the two English soldiers tried to raise him a little. They found that he was lying on his water-bottle. One of them held it to his lips.
11. "No, not me—I am dying. You drink," said the noble fellow. Thus the German soldier did a great act of kindness to the men that had been his foes.
* * *
[1] court: The place where the king lives, and the nobles and ladies who attend him.
