One day, an old priest stopped at a wayside inn to rest, spread out his mat, and sat down with his bag. Soon afterwards, a young fellow of the neighbour- hood also arrived at the inn ; he was a farm-labourer and wore short clothes, not a long robe like the priest and men who read books. He took a seat near to the priest and the two were soon laughing and talking together. By and by, the young man cast a glance at his own rough dress and said with a sigh, " See, what a miserable wretch I am." " You seem to me well fed and healthy enough," replied the priest ; " why in the middle of our pleasant chat do you suddenly complain of being a miserable wretch ? " " What pleasure can I find," retorted the young man, " in this life of mine, working every day as I do from early morn to late at night ? I should like to be a great general and win battles, or to be a rich man and have fine food and wine, and listen to good music, or to be a great man at ...
Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Fables, Myths, Legends, and Historical Stories