“The True Hero.” A number of boys were playing after school one day. The playground was on the bank of a river. One of the biggest boys was named Tom Price. He was the strongest boy in the school. He loved to get up quarrels among the boys to show how easily he could whip any of them. But there was one boy in the school who never would fight. His name was Joe Wilson. He was not so big or so strong as Tom Price. But it was not this which made him unwilling to fight. He was trying to be a Christian. He knew it was wrong to fight, and so he always refused to do it. One day Tom Price agreed with some of the other boys to try and force a fight on Joe Wilson. So while they were playing after school, Tom knocked Joe’s cap off his head, and it fell into the river. “Tom threw your cap over on purpose, Joe,” said one of the boys; “fight him for it.” “Yes, give it to him, Wilson,” said the other boys, “we’ll see that you have fair play.” Price squared off and stood in a fighting position. “I won’t fight,” said Wilson. “I’m sorry you threw the cap over, Price; for it was all but new, and I don’t see any fun in such mischief. But, I’m not going to fight about it.” “Come on, if you dare,” said Price, shaking his fist at him. All the boys gathered round and urged Wilson to “go on, and give it to him.” “No, I don’t think it right to fight,” said Wilson, “and I won’t do it.” “Coward! coward! he’s afraid,” cried the boys. “I am not a coward,” said Wilson; “I dare do anything that’s right. But this is not right, and I won’t do it.” “Go home, coward! go home, coward!” shouted the boys after him, as he turned to go home. He had not gone far before there was a sound of a heavy splash. “He’s in! He’ll drown!—he can’t swim! Price is drowning,” cried the boys as they stood on the edge of the bank. Joe Wilson heard these shouts and ran to the bank of the river. He saw Price struggling in the stream. The other boys were running about and shouting, but they were afraid to go in. In a moment Joe Wilson threw off his jacket, stepped back a few paces—ran—and jumped into the river. He swam out to Price—caught him by the hair of his head, and managed, though with great difficulty and at the risk of his own life, to bring him safely to the shore. Wilson walked quietly home, not only to change his wet clothes, but also to avoid the praise of those who but a moment ago were calling him a coward. An old gentleman was standing there who had witnessed this whole scene. As soon as Wilson was gone, he called the boys to him and said: “Boys! learn a lesson from what has just taken place. Don’t mistake a hero for a coward next time. The boy who is afraid to do what he knows to be wrong in God’s sight, is the true hero. He is not afraid of anything else; not afraid of man—of danger—or of death.”