Chapter 24

AN EXECUTION

When the king awoke in the morning, the women were not there. " They are saved, " he said joyfully. " Soon I shall find you, my dear good friends, and take care of you. " Just then some officers came and ordered the prisoners to go to the prison-court. In the court the prisoners were standing with their backs against the wall and they were guarded by officers. Two women were standing in the centre of the court. The king saw that they were his good friends. " So they were not freed, " said the king to himself. " And how strange it is that I, the King of England, cannot defend them against these cruel people. "

Then the king saw a terrible thing: faggots were put around the two women and a man lighted these faggots. The women bowed their heads and covered their faces with their hands; the fire began to climb up their clothes; just then two young girls cried out and ran forward. They threw themselves upon the women but the officers tore them away. They cried that they wanted to die with their mothers. One of them ran up to her mother again and threw herself on her mother's neck. She was torn away once more. Two or three men held her. She struggled to free herself and cried: " I shall be quite alone in the world now. " The two girls cried all the time and struggled to get free. Suddenly other more terrible cries were heard — these were the cries of the dying mothers. The king looked from the girls to the women, then turned away and did not look any more. He was very pale. He said: " I shall never forget what I have seen in this one little moment. I shall see it all the days of my life, and dream of it every night till I die. "

That same day several new prisoners were brought in. The king spoke to them. One of the prisoners was a poor woman who had stolen a small piece of cloth. She was sentenced to be hung for it. Another was a man who had killed a deer in the king's park, and he, too, was sentenced to be hung. A youth said he had found a bird one evening, that had flown away from its owner; he took it home with him and the court sentenced him to death for stealing. There was also an old man who had written a pamphlet against the Lord Chancellor and had been cruelly punished for it: his ears were cut off and he was sentenced to stay in prison all his life. The king's eyes burned with anger. He said: " Nobody believes in me. But it does not matter. In a month you will be free — all of you; and more, I shall change the laws that bring shame on England. The world is made wrong; kings must see what their own laws do, and thus learn to be kind. "

Answer the questions.

1) Did the king see the women the next morning?

2) What did the officers order the prisoners in the morning?

3) What did the king see in the centre of the prison-court?

4) What did Edward say after everything he had seen?

5) Was the king going to change the laws? Was it useful for him to see such cruel things?

6) Call all the crimes the people had committed.

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