Fifty Famous Stories Retold | Page 2

lead his army into battle so
well as he. And so, between ruling and fighting, he had a busy time of
it indeed.
A fierce, rude people, called the Danes, had come from over the sea,
and were fighting the Eng-lish. There were so many of them, and they
were so bold and strong, that for a long time they gained every battle. If
they kept on, they would soon be the masters of the whole country.
At last, after a great battle, the English army was broken up and
scat-tered. Every man had to save himself in the best way he could.
King Alfred fled alone, in great haste, through the woods and swamps.
Late in the day the king came to the hut of a wood-cut-ter. He was very
tired and hungry, and he begged the wood-cut-ter's wife to give him
something to eat and a place to sleep in her hut.
The wom-an was baking some cakes upon the hearth, and she looked
with pity upon the poor, ragged fellow who seemed so hungry. She had
no thought that he was the king.
"Yes," she said, "I will give you some supper if you will watch these
cakes. I want to go out and milk the cow; and you must see that they do
not burn while I am gone."
King Alfred was very willing to watch the cakes, but he had far greater

things to think about. How was he going to get his army to-geth-er
again? And how was he going to drive the fierce Danes out of the land?
He forgot his hunger; he forgot the cakes; he forgot that he was in the
woodcutter's hut. His mind was busy making plans for to-mor-row.
In a little while the wom-an came back. The cakes were smoking on the
hearth. They were burned to a crisp. Ah, how angry she was!
"You lazy fellow!" she cried. "See what you have done! You want
some-thing to eat, but you do not want to work!"
I have been told that she even struck the king with a stick; but I can
hardly be-lieve that she was so ill-na-tured.
The king must have laughed to himself at the thought of being scolded
in this way; and he was so hungry that he did not mind the woman's
angry words half so much as the loss of the cakes.
I do not know whether he had any-thing to eat that night, or whether he
had to go to bed without his supper. But it was not many days until he
had gath-ered his men to-geth-er again, and had beaten the Danes in a
great battle.

KING ALFRED AND THE BEGGAR.
At one time the Danes drove King Alfred from his kingdom, and he
had to lie hidden for a long time on a little is-land in a river.
One day, all who were on the is-land, except the king and queen and
one servant, went out to fish. It was a very lonely place, and no one
could get to it except by a boat. About noon a ragged beggar came to
the king's door, and asked for food.
The king called the servant, and asked, "How much food have we in the
house?"
"My lord," said the servant, "we have only one loaf and a little wine."

Then the king gave thanks to God, and said, "Give half of the loaf and
half of the wine to this poor man."
The servant did as he was bidden. The beggar thanked the king for his
kindness, and went on his way.
In the after-noon the men who had gone out to fish came back. They
had three boats full of fish, and they said, "We have caught more fish
to-day than in all the other days that we have been on this island."
The king was glad, and he and his people were more hopeful than they
had ever been before.
When night came, the king lay awake for a long time, and thought
about the things that had happened that day. At last he fancied that he
saw a great light like the sun; and in the midst of the light there stood
an old man with black hair, holding an open book in his hand.
It may all have been a dream, and yet to the king it seemed very real
indeed. He looked and wondered, but was not afraid.
"Who are you?" he asked of the old man.
"Alfred, my son, be brave," said the man; "for I am the one to whom
you gave this day the half of all the food that you had. Be strong and
joyful of heart, and listen to what I say. Rise up early in the morning
and blow your