True Stories of Wonderful Deeds | Page 8

good country, and they hoped to take it for
themselves. Some of them came to Boadicea's land, and took a part of
it and of her riches. And when she tried to stop them from doing this,
they seized her and the two princesses and beat them cruelly.
This wicked act made the Iceni very angry. From all parts of the land,
fierce fighting-men came marching in haste to avenge themselves on
their enemies, bringing with them their spears and their war-chariots.
When all were gathered together, they fell upon the Romans.
There were so many of them, and they were so fierce, that the Romans
could not stand against them. Thousands were killed, and the rest ran
away to their ships.
But there were many more Romans in other parts of Britain, and when
these heard how their friends had been beaten, they came marching in
haste to punish the Iceni.
The Iceni did their best to get ready to defend themselves, but many of
their brave men had been slain and others were wounded and weary, so
they could not hope again to win a victory over their strong foes.
Before the battle, Queen Boadicea, with her fair hair waving in the
wind, stood before her soldiers and spoke to them. She told them of the
wrong which the Romans had done, and begged them to fight bravely
for their country. Then she got into her chariot, and with her daughters
lying at her feet, drove to and fro, so that all might see them.
And the soldiers shouted, and promised to fight to the end for their

brave queen.
They did fight long and bravely, until most of them were killed, but
their foes were too strong for them. When Queen Boadicea saw that her
brave soldiers were beaten, she drank some poison which killed her.
She thought it better to die than to be again taken prisoner by the cruel
Romans.
[Illustration: QUEEN BOADICEA AND HER SOLDIERS]

=King Alfred and the Cakes=
Once, when good King Alfred of England was forced to flee from his
strong foes the Danes, he hid himself in a wood. In this wood, there
was a small cottage, and Alfred asked the woman who lived there if he
might go in and rest.
Now the woman did not know the king, but she saw that he was an
English soldier, and that he was very tired, so she let him come in and
sit in her kitchen.
Upon the hearth before the fire, some cakes were baking, and the
woman told the stranger that if he watched them, and took care that
they did not burn, she would give him some supper. Then she went
away to do her work.
At first, King Alfred watched the cakes carefully; when they were well
cooked on one side he turned the other to the fire. But, after a time, he
began to think of his country, and of his poor people, and then he forgot
his task.
When the woman came back, the cakes were black and burnt. "You are
an idle fellow," cried she angrily. "You would be quite ready to eat the
cakes, but you will not take the trouble to watch them."
While she was loudly scolding, her husband came home. He knew
King Alfred. "Hush, wife!" cried he. "It is our noble lord the king!"

When the woman heard this, she was much afraid, and she begged
Alfred to forgive her.
The king smiled, and said: "I will gladly forgive you for your scolding,
good wife, if you will forgive me for spoiling your supper."
[Illustration: KING ALFRED FORGETS THE CAKES]

=Not Angles, but Angels=
In old days the people of England were not all free, as they are now.
Sometimes young men, and women, and little children were sold as
slaves, and had to work hard for their masters.
Many of these slaves were sent to Rome, for the Romans thought the
tall, fair Angles very beautiful, and liked to have them as their servants.
Once, a wise and good preacher, named Gregory, was walking through
the market-place in Rome, when he saw a group of slaves standing
there, waiting to be bought. Among these slaves were some pretty boys
with long yellow hair, and blue eyes, and white skin. This was a strange
sight to Gregory, for most of the people in his land had dark hair, and
brown skin.
"Who are these boys?" asked he of a man who was standing by.
"They are Angles from over the sea," replied the man.
"Surely not Angles, but Angels," said the preacher, looking kindly into
the boys' faces. "Do they come from England?"
"From heathen England, where men do not know the true God," said
the man.
"Some