The Story of Ivan
New Crown English Series 2 pg. 80-86
| The Story of Ivan | |
|---|---|
| ? | |
| Details | |
| Word count | 415 |
| Book | New Crown |
| Grade | 2 |
| Year | ? |
Once there was a strange country in old Russia. It was a land of fools. Even the king, Ivan, was a big fool.
This country was so peaceful that an old devil who lived nearby was not happy. He wanted to disturb the peace. He changed himself into a gentleman and went into the land of fools.
"Your Majesty," said the gentleman to Ivan. "I should like to live in your country and serve you. I want your people to be happy. Your Majesty, you need knowledge for a happy life. Knowledge is the most important thing in life."
"Good. Good," said Ivan. "Come and live here."
The next day the gentleman went to the palace for lunch.
"People in this country," Ivan began at the table, "must work with their hands and backs. It is our law."
"It is a stupid law," said the gentleman. "You have made such a stupid law because you are all fools. Pardon me, sir, but do you know how clever people work?"
"How can we stupid people understand that?" said Ivan. "We do almost everything with our hands and backs."
The gentleman said to the king, "I will explain how clever people work with their heads."
Ivan was surprised and said to himself, "No wonder they call us fools."
"You don't know that using your head is one hundred times harder than using your hands. Sometimes my head nearly splits with pain."
"Tell me. How can your head can take the place of your hands?"
"Well, ... I'll show you and your people."
Next day the gentleman went up to the top of a tower. He took no food or water. He began to speak to the crowd.
When King Ivan saw this, he said, "Has the gentleman begun to work with his head?"
"No, not yet. He's just talking," answered the people.
Ivan left. So did the other people. They said to themselves, "Just talking won't produce food. But the gentleman kept on talking. He talked all day."
When Ivan came back to the tower, the gentleman was so hungry that he could no longer keep standing. He tottered and hit his head against the rail at the top of the tower a number of times.
"Now I understand," said Ivan, "why he said his head sometimes splits with pain."
The gentleman fell off the tower headfirst to the ground. His head made a hole in the ground. Then he was gone. There was only a hole left.
