Biographical fiction; Cyrus, King of Persia, -529 B.C. -- Fiction; Education of princes -- Fiction
[33] Then followed chariot-races, tribe by tribe as before: and to all
the winners Cyrus gave goblets of price, and oxen, that they might have
the wherewithal for sacrifice and feasting. He himself took an ox for
his own meed, but he gave all the goblets to Pheraulas to show his
approval of the arrangements for the march. [34] And the manner of that
procession, then first established by Cyrus, continues to this day, the
same in all things, save that the victims are absent when there is no
sacrifice. And when it was over, the soldiers went back to the city, and
took up their quarters for the night, some in houses and some with their
regiments.
[35] Now Pheraulas had invited the Sakian who had given him the horse,
and he entertained him with the best he had, and set before him a full
board, and after they had dined he filled the goblets Cyrus had given
him, and drank to his guest, and offered them all to him. [36] And
the Sakian looked round on the rich and costly rugs, and the beautiful
furniture, and the train of servants, and cried:
"Tell me, Pheraulas, do you belong to wealthy folk at home?"
[37] "Wealthy folk indeed!" cried Pheraulas, "men who live by their
hands, you mean. My father, I can tell you, had work enough to rear me
and get me a boy's schooling; he had to toil hard and live sparely, and
when I grew to be a lad he could not afford to keep me idle, he took me
to a farm in the country and set me there to work it. [38] Then it was
my turn, and I supported him while he lived, digging with my own hands
and sowing the seed in a ridiculous little plot of ground, and yet it
was not a bad bit of soil either, but as good and as honest earth as
ever you saw: whatever seed it got from me, it paid me back again, and
so prettily and carefully and duly, principal and interest both; not
that the interest was very much, I won't say it was, though once or
twice, out of pure generosity, that land gave me twice was much as I put
into it. That's how I used to live at home, in the old days: to-day it's
different, and all that you see here I owe to Cyrus."
[39] Then the Sakian cried:
"O lucky fellow! Lucky in everything, and most of all in coming to
wealth from beggary! I know your riches must taste the sweeter, because
you hungered for them first and now are full."
[40] But Pheraulas answered:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account