The Prisoner

One of your most ancient writers, a historian named Herodotus, tells of a thief who was to be executed.

As he was taken away he made a bargain with the king: in one year he would teach the king's favorite horse to sing hymns. The other prisoners watched the thief singing to the horse and laughed.

``You will not succeed,'' they told him.

``No one can.'' To which the thief replied, '`I have a year, and who knows what might happen in that time. The king might die. The horse might die. I might die. And perhaps the horse will learn to sing.''

Vocabulary Help

• tell (tell, told, told): contar
• thief: ladrão
• take away: levado
• make (make, made, made): fazer
• bargain: barganha, acordo
• teach (teach, taught, taught): ensinar
• sing (sing, sang, sung): cantar
• laugh: rir
• die: morrer
• horse: cavalo

Mais histórias como esta podem ser encontradas no livro Read in English: Uma Maneira Divertida de Aprender Inglês, publicado pela Editora Novatec,

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