99 Fables

9. The Stableboy

9 thestableboy A STABLEBOY IN THE provinces had one ambition, and that was to go to court and learn to he a gentleman: for this reason he saved his wages, hoping .his ambition would be realized in time. One of the grooms had been in the capital when he was younger, and had stories to tell of the fine gentlemen he had seen there, describing their dress, their refinements, and their delicate manners. And so things went, while the stableboy's savings grew with the passing months, and then he got a letter from his brother who lived nearby. The brother explained [ 16 ] that he'd been sick, and since he had not been able to work, his family was in want. He begged the stableboy to send them money to help them along. "Tell him no," said the old groom. "Explain that you need the money for yourself." "That would be selfish, and it would hurt his feelings, too. I wouldn't want to do anything that mean." "Then say you haven't got any money. He won't know the difference." "That would be a lie," said the stableboy after a pause. "I couldn't do a thing like that." That day he sent his brother all the money he had saved and began all over again; but hardly a month had passed before news came of the brother's death. He had left a widow and five small children, and nothing else; and his widow implored her brother-in-law to come take over the farm and work it, for without a man on the place to look out for them, she feared they'd starve before the winter ·was over. This was the last thing the stableboy had counted on, and he went to the bam to think matters out. The old groom came up, and being told of the situation , he said, "If you do it, you'll have a lifetime job on your hands raising those children. You'll never get to court." "I know that," said the stableboy sadly, "but what else can I possibly do? I'll just have to resign myself to the fact that I'll never be a gentleman." . [ 17 1 ...