i.
charles was fastening the lid on a box of christmas presents which his little brothers were going to send to their cousins.
“if i were you, i’d put another nail on each side,” said grandfather.
“oh, i think these will hold,” charles replied, giving the box a little shake. “there are three, on each side.”
“four would be better,” grandfather said.
“oh, grandpa, don’t you think three will do?” asked the boy. “i—i haven’t any more.”
[18]
“so that is the trouble,” said the old gentleman, laughing. “very well, here is some money. when you get back from the store i will tell you how the history of a whole great nation was changed for want of a few horseshoe nails!”
“a few horseshoe nails!” exclaimed charles. “is it true, grandpa?”
“it is true,” answered grandfather. “now hurry up if you want to hear how it came about.”
“oh, thank you!” charles cried, as he started out of the door.
he was so delighted with the promise of one of grandfather’s stories that he was back in less time than if he had gone for candy!
“well done!” grandfather greeted him. “now sit down, and while you get your breath, i will tell you the story.
ii.
“many, many years ago, when king richard was ruler of england, he owned a beautiful horse which he rode whenever he went into battle.
“one day word came that henry, the earl of richmond, was on his way to attack the king’s men.
“king richard ordered his favorite horse[19] brought to him, and turned to talk to the officers of his army.
“now the groom who had charge of the king’s horses suddenly noticed that this horse needed shoeing.
“so he hurried to the nearest smithy.
“‘shoe this horse quickly,’ he said to the blacksmith. ‘his majesty has called for him. the enemy is near!’
“the blacksmith worked with all his might, and soon had four horseshoes ready.
“when he had nailed on two shoes, he found he had not nails enough for the other two. suddenly the bugles sounded.
“‘hurry!’ cried the groom. ‘the soldiers are gathering!’
“‘shall i make more nails?’ asked the blacksmith.
“‘how many have you?’ asked the groom.
“‘i have only eight,’ replied the smith. ‘it would not take very long to hammer out eight more.’
“‘you will have to make eight do,’ said the groom.
“‘if you could only wait a little while,’ urged the smith, working away.
“‘i suppose i might,—but it would be a[20] risk! won’t four nails hold a horseshoe?’
“‘well, that depends on how hard the horse is ridden,’ answered the blacksmith, driving the last of the eight nails in place.
“the horse reached the king in good time, for it took quite a long while for the officers to make their plans.
iii.
“soon king richard was riding among his men, cheering them on in the battle.
“‘no other horse could carry a man as surely and swiftly,’ whispered the king, patting the horse’s neck.
“he had not noticed that the horse had lost one shoe. onward he urged him over a rocky hill. another shoe flew off.
“suddenly the horse stumbled and fell, and the king was thrown to the ground.
“before he could rise, the horse, although lamed, had struggled to his feet and galloped away, dreadfully frightened.
“then the king shouted, ‘a horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!’
“but there was no horse for him. when his men had seen him thrown, they had all turned and fled.
[21]
“and so the battle was lost, and king richard was killed, and the history of the great nation of england was changed, for henry, earl of richmond, became king.”
“and all for the want of a few horseshoe nails!”, finished charles, as grandfather stopped speaking. “i will put two more nails into each side of the box lid, grandpa!”
“while you are doing that, i will teach you a few lines that i learned when i was a boy,” said grandfather. “try to remember them.”
“for want of a nail the shoe was lost;
for want of a shoe the horse was lost;
for want of a horse the rider was lost;
for want of a rider the battle was lost;
for loss of a battle a kingdom was lost;—
and all for the want of a horseshoe nail.”
nail, shield, gauntlet
[22]
questions
how might the battle have ended if the groom had waited until the blacksmith had put the right number of nails in the horse’s shoes?
which do you think king richard would rather have lost—a little time or his kingdom?
how do you suppose the groom and the blacksmith felt when they learned the result of the battle?
do you know any careless people?
what do you think of them?
can you remember ever doing something carelessly in order to finish more quickly?
tell about it.
if you’re told to do a thing,
and mean to do it really;
never let it be by halves;
do it fully, freely!
—ph?be cary.
he liveth long who liveth well;
all else in life is thrown away;
he liveth longest who can tell
of true things truly done each day.
what is worth doing at all is worth doing well.
go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.
