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" Didn't you ever see your father behave so ? " asked the king . " No , never , " said Cyrus . " He does not drink merely to be drinking . He drinks to quench his thirst , and that is all . " When Cyrus became a man , he succeeded his father as king of Persia ; he also succeeded his grandfather Astyages as king of Media . He was a very wise and powerful ruler , and he made his country the greatest of any that was then known . In history he is commonly called Cyrus the Great . THE SONS OF THE CALIPH There was a caliph of Persia whose name was Al Mamoun . [ Footnote : Al Mam'oun ] He had two sons whom he wished to become honest and noble men . So he employed a wise man whose name was Al Farra to be their teacher . One day , after lesson hours , Al Farra rose to go out of the house . The two boys saw him and ran to fetch his shoes . For in that country , people never wear shoes in the house , but take them off at the door . The two boys ran for the teacher's shoes , and each claimed the honor of carrying them to him . But they dared not quarrel and at last agreed that each should carry one shoe . Thus the honor would be divided . When the caliph heard of this he sent for Al Farra and asked him , " Who is the most honored of men ? " The teacher answered , " I know of no man who is more honored than yourself . " " No , no , " said the caliph . " It is the man who rose to go out , and two young princes contended for the honor of giving him his shoes but at last agreed that each should offer him one . " Al Farra answered , " Sir , I should have forbidden them to do this , but I feared to discourage them . I hope that I shall never do anything to make them careless of their duties . " " Well , " said the caliph , " if you had forbidden them thus to honor you , I should have declared you in the wrong . They did nothing that was beneath the dignity of princes . Indeed , they honored themselves by honoring you . " Al Farra bowed low , but said nothing ; and the caliph went on . " No young man nor boy , " said he , " can be so high in rank as to neglect three great duties : he must respect his ruler , he must love and obey his father , and he must honor his teacher . " Then he called the two young princes to him , and as a reward for their noble conduct , filled their pockets with gold .
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