(原版)澳大利亞語文第六冊 LESSON 10

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LESSON 10 THE JUDGE'S DEBT

THE JUDGE'S DEBT

I

About three hundred years ago, there were two little boys at a famous school in London, called Westminster School. Their names were Nicholas and Wake, and although they were quite different in character, they were great friends.

Nicholas was a shy, timid boy. He was also very idle, and, I am sorry to say, he did not always speak the truth. Wake, on the other hand, was as upright and honest as the day, and although he was full of fun and mischief, he always owned up if he did anything wrong.

One day, when the boys were all seated at their desks in the great hall of the school, the master left the room for a few minutes. As soon as his back was turned, the boys jumped up, and began to play pranks as hard as they could.

The hall was divided into two parts by a heavy curtain, and as Nicholas was passing this curtain, he gave it a tug. He did not pull it very hard, but the curtain was old, and, to his horror, a great rent appeared in it.

He turned quite white with terror, for the master was a harsh man, and Nicholas knew that he would be punished severely if he were found out. The rest of the boys crowded round him, trying to hide the damage that had been done. At last they arranged the folds of the curtain, so that the rent [1] was hidden, and then they crept back in silence to their seats.

Perhaps the stillness made the master think that something had happened, for as soon as he came back, he looked around him, and his eye fell on the ruffled curtain. He went up to it and shook it, and in a moment he saw the great tear.

In a stern voice he asked the boy who had done the mischief to stand up. But no one moved. Every boy sat still in his place; no one spoke. Then he began to ask each boy in turn if he had been the culprit.

When it came to Nicholas's turn to be asked, his tongue seemed to cleave [2] to the roof of his mouth. He would fain [3] have told the truth, but his courage failed him.

I did not do it, he muttered. The master passed on, and he was left sitting, trembling and miserable, knowing that all his school-fellows knew that he had told an untruth.

Wake was sitting not far off. Nicholas was his friend, and he determined to shield him. For he knew that if the master found out that Nicholas had both told a lie and torn the curtain, he would not only be flogged, but he would be turned out of the school as well. And that might ruin his chance in life, for his father was a stern man.

So, when Wake was asked, he remained silent, and the master thought that he was guilty. He ordered him to come into the middle of the hall, and gave him a good flogging in the sight of all his school-fellows.

When it was over, Wake went back to his seat. His face was flushed, and his hands clenched, but he felt very happy. He had by his generous action saved his friend from the evil result of his wrong-doing. As for the flogging—well, a flogging did not so much matter.

But, as you may fancy, Nicholas felt very wretched. He knew that he was a coward, and he knew that all the other boys knew it too. After lessons were over, and they were all in the playground, he noticed how they shunned him, and whispered to one another as he passed; while they carried Wake round the school on their shoulders, to show him what they thought of him.

Nicholas crept away to his room, and there Wake found him, crying bitterly. "Oh, Wake!" he sobbed, "I will never, never forget what you have done. You have saved me, for my father would have driven me from home if I had been turned out of the school. I will try to grow more like you, and one day, if I live, I will repay you."

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[1] rent: Tear, hole.

[2] cleave: Stick, become fastened.

[3] fain: Gladly.