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Läsebok N:o 13 — 15.
19
29. Frederick the Great and tlie French Guardsman.
Frederick the Great used to put three questions to every
soldier that appeared in his guards; first, »How old are you?»
Then, »How long have you been in my service?» And
lastly, »Arc you satisfied with your pay and treatment?»
Once a young Frenchman who did not know a word of
German, was enlisted, and his captain advised him to learn
by heart the answers that he was to give to the king.
The soldier did so by the next day, and as soon as he
appeared in the ranks, the king came up to him to ask him
the usual questions. He happened, however, to begin with
the second question, asking him, »How long have you been
in my service?»
»Twenty-one years», answered the soldier.
The king, greatly amazed, said,
»How old are you?»
»One year, your Majesty».
Frederick, still more astonished, cried, »Either you or I
must be out of our senses!»
The soldier, who took this for the third question, replied,
»Both, your Majesty».
»This is the first time I ever was treated as a madman!»
exclaimed the king.
He addressed him once more in order to find out the
mystery, but received no answer. At last he tried French,
and the soldier now told him that he did not understand a
word of German. The king laughed heartily, told him to do
his duty, and left him.
30. The Postscript.
The wife of a Scotch Laird being suddenly taken ill, the
husband ordered the servant to get a horse ready to go to
the towm to the physician. By the time, however, the horse
was ready and his letter to the physician written, the lady
recovered. My lord added the following postscript and sent
off the messenger: »My wife being recovered you need not
come».
31. The Wolf and the Crane.
A bone once stuck in the throat of a wolf. He therefore
hired a crane to extract it. This the crane easily did with
the aid of her long neck. But when she asked for her wages,
the wolf, smiling and gnashing his teeth, said, »Surely you
are not ill paid in being allowed to draw your head
uninjured out of the jaws of a wolf».
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