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KING CANUTE ON THE SEASHORE . A hundred years or more after the time of Alfred the Great there was a king of England named Ca - nuté . King Canute was a Dane ; but the Danes were not so fierce and cruel then as they had been when they were at war with King Alfred . The great men and officers who were around King Canute were always praising him . " You are the greatest man that ever lived , " one would say . Then another would say , " O king ! there can never be another man so mighty as you . " And another would say , " Great Canute , there is nothing in the world that dares to disobey you . " The king was a man of sense , and he grew very tired of hearing such foolish speeches . One day he was by the seashore , and his officers were with him . They were praising him , as they were in the habit of doing . He thought that now he would teach them a lesson , and so he bade them set his chair on the beach close by the edge of the water . " Am I the greatest man in the world ? " he asked . " O king ! " they cried , " there is no one so mighty as you . " " Do all things obey me ? " he asked . " There is nothing that dares to disobey you , O king ! " they said . " The world bows before you , and gives you honor . " " Will the sea obey me ? " he asked ; and he looked down at the little waves which were lapping the sand at his feet . The foolish officers were puzzled , but they did not dare to say " No . " " Command it , O king ! and it will obey , " said one . " Sea , " cried Canute , " I command you to come no farther ! Waves , stop your rolling , and do not dare to touch my feet ! " But the tide came in , just as it always did . The water rose higher and higher . It came up around the king's chair , and wet not only his feet , but also his robe . His officers stood about him , alarmed , and wondering whether he was not mad . Then Canute took off his crown , and threw it down upon the sand . " I shall never wear it again , " he said . " And do you , my men , learn a lesson from what you have seen . There is only one King who is all - powerful ; and it is he who rules the sea , and holds the ocean in the hollow of his hand . It is he whom you ought to praise and serve above all others . "
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