TWILIGHT LAND

was not the man that his father was, as this story will
show you.

One day, as he sat with his chief councillor, his eyes
fell upon the words written in letters of gold upon the
wall—the words that his father had written there in time
gone by:

All Things are as Fate wills ;

and the young king did not like the taste of them, for he
was very proud of his own greatness. ‘That is not so,”.
said he, pointing to the words on the wall. “Let them
be painted out, and these words written in their place :

All Things are as Man does.”

Now, the chief councillor was a grave old man, and had
been councillor to the young king’s father. ‘ Do not be
too hasty, my lord king,” said he. “Try first the truth
of your own words before you wipe out those that your
father has written.”

“Very well,”.said the young ine, “so be it. I will
approve the truth of my words. Bring me hither some
beggar from the town whom Fate has made poor, and I
will make him rich. So I will show you that his life shall
be as I will, and not as Fate wills.”

Now, in that town there was a poor beggar-man who
used to sit every day beside the town-gate, begging for
something for charity’s sake. Sometimes people gave
him a penny or two, but it was little or nothing that he
got, for Fate was against him.

The same day that the king and the chief councillor
had had their talk together, as the beggar sat holding up

his wooden bowl and asking charity of those who passed
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