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He sent out among the poor people of the city and found two little babies who had never heard a word spoken . He gave these to a shepherd and ordered him to bring them up among his sheep , far from the homes of men . " You must never speak a word to them , " said the king ; " and you must not permit any person to speak in their hearing . " The shepherd did as he was bidden . He took the children far away to a green valley where his flocks were feeding . There he cared for them with love and kindness ; but no word did he speak in their hearing . They grew up healthy and strong . They played with the lambs in the field and saw no human being but the shepherd . Thus two or three years went by . Then , one evening when the shepherd came home from a visit to the city , he was delighted to see the children running out to meet him . They held up their hands , as though asking for something , and cried out , " Becos ! becos ! becos ! " The shepherd led them gently back to the hut and gave them their usual supper of bread and milk . He said nothing to them , but wondered where they had heard the strange word " becos , " and what was its meaning . After that , whenever the children were hungry , they cried out , " Becos ! becos ! becos ! " till the shepherd gave them something to eat . Some time later , the shepherd went to the city and told the king that the children had learned to speak one word , but how or from whom , he did not know . " What is that word ? " asked the king . " Becos . " Then the king called one of the wisest scholars in Egypt and asked him what the word meant . " Becos , " said the wise man , " is a Phrygian [ Footnote : Phrygian ( pro . frij'i an ) . ] word , and it means bread . " " Then what shall we understand by these children being able to speak a Phrygian word which they have never heard from other lips ? " asked the king . " We are to understand that the Phrygian language was the first of all languages , " was the answer . " These children are learning it just as the first people who lived on the earth learned it in the beginning . " " Therefore , " said the king , " must we conclude that the Phrygians were the first and oldest of all the nations ? " " Certainly , " answered the wise man . And from that time the Egyptians always spoke of the Phrygians as being of an older race than themselves . This was an odd way of proving something , for , as every one can readily see , it proved nothing . A LESSON IN HUMILITY One day the caliph , Haroun - al - Raschid , [ Footnote : Haroun - al - Raschid ( pro . ha roon ' al rash'id ) . ] made a great feast . The feast was held in the grandest room of the palace . The walls and ceiling glittered with gold and precious gems . The table was decorated with rare and beautiful plants and flowers . All the noblest men of Persia [ Footnote : Per'sia . ] and Arabia [ Footnote : A ra'bi a . ] were there . Many wise men and poets and musicians had also been invited .
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