The Sunbonnet Babies in Italy
Page 11
THE STORY OF THE TWINS
"Shall we visit the very oldest part of the city to-day?" asked theSunbonnet Babies' father one morning.
"Oh, dear! I am tired of old things," said May. "I should much ratherride in the park and hear the band play, as we did yesterday."
"Don't you like to hear old stories?" asked her father.
"Why, yes! I always like stories, you know."
"Well, wouldn't you like to hear an old story about some twin boys?And while I tell the story, wouldn't you like to sit near the placewhere the boys were supposed to have grown up?"
"Yes, of course we should!" exclaimed Molly. "I like old things,father. You tell such interesting stories about them."
Half an hour later they were walking slowly about the old Roman Forumlooking at ruins of beautiful buildings and temples which had oncebeen the center of the busy city. In one of the narrow streets theysaw some large squares and circles made in the pavement, on which themen and boys used to play their games.
They saw, too, the great open-air theater, or Colosseum, in which theold Romans held their famous sports. Sometimes the sports were verywicked and cruel. The Colosseum was built in the shape of a hugecircle without a roof. It once seated eighty-seven thousand peoplearound its high sides, leaving a large open space in the center forthe games.
Then they saw beautiful great arches, built in honor of old emperors,and tall marble columns which were once a part of lovely temples. Butthese things were all so broken and ruined the Sunbonnet Babies soongrew tired of looking at them.
_They saw beautiful arches and tall marble columns_]
"When are you going to tell us the story, father?" asked May at last.
"Well, let us have it now," answered her father. "Let us sit down onthis old stone block right where we can look at the hill over yonder.The present city of Rome is built on seven hills. Our story tells howthe city was first started on that hill and how the first wall wasbuilt around it."
"Is the story really true, father?" asked May.
"People used to think it was true, but it happened such a long timeago we cannot be sure about it. Even if it is not true, it is a goodstory about twin brothers who were said to have lived nearly threethousand years ago. The father of the boys was supposed to have beenthe young god Mars, and their mother was a beautiful maiden calledSylvia.
"It was Sylvia's work to care for the sacred fire in the temple of thegoddess Vesta. Such maidens were treated with great honor, but theywere not allowed to marry. So the people were very angry when Sylviasaid the great god Mars was her husband and the two baby boys were herown little children. As a punishment the young mother was buriedalive, and her helpless babies were put into a wooden trough, whichwas set afloat on the river Tiber.
"Now it happened just at that time that the river overflowed itsbanks. But very soon the water went down, and the little trough inwhich the twin babies lay was left safely on high ground. Of coursethe babies became very hungry and probably cried loudly for theirmother to come and feed them. But the poor mother could not come,though another mother did. She was a mother wolf, and she carried thehungry babies away to her lair, where she tenderly nursed and caredfor them.
_The little trough in which the babies lay was leftsafely on high ground_]
"Some time later a shepherd found the baby boys living in the woodswith their wolf mother. He was a kind man, and he took the childrenhome to his wife. She named the boys Romulus and Remus, and broughtthem up to be shepherds like her husband.
"When the twin brothers grew to be young men, trouble arose betweenthe shepherds belonging to their mother's father, who should have beenking of the country, and the shepherds of the wrongful ruler. Romulusand Remus did many brave things of which their grandfather heard, andone day he asked to have them brought before him. He then discoveredthat they were the twin sons of his beautiful daughter Sylvia.
"The proud young men gathered an army together at once and seized thecountry in the name of their grandfather, the rightful king. They thendecided to build a city, but they could not agree upon a place for it.Romulus wished to build it on one of the seven low hills in thatregion, while Remus wished to build it on another. Finally they wentto their grandfather for advice, and he told them to watch for a signfrom the gods. So Romulus stood on the hill which he had chosen andRemus stood on his hill, both watching for some sign to show them theright spot on which to build their city.
_Remus saw six vultures flying over his head_]
"At last Remus saw six vultures flying over his head, but shortlyafterward Romulus saw twelve vultures. The people took this to be asign that the gods preferred the choice of Romulus, so they made himtheir king.
"Romulus began at once to build the walls of his new capital. Heharnessed a heifer and a bull to a plow, and between the rising andgoing down of the sun he plowed a furrow in the shape of a squarearound the top of his hill. On this furrow he built the wall of hiscity.
"Remus had seen the birds first and he felt that he should be thefounder of the city. One day, as he stood watching the building of thenew wall, he laughed at it scornfully and leaped over it. Romulus wasdeeply hurt, and he killed his brother on the spot, crying, 'So mayall perish who cross this wall!'
"Romulus named his city _Rome_, and he and his shepherds lived inthatch-roofed mud houses within the protection of its walls.
"The story says this was the real beginning of the wonderful city ofRome. The hill which Romulus chose was the one right over there. It iscalled the Palatine Hill. The old Roman emperors lived on it for manycenturies. The ruins of their walls and great palaces can still beseen," said the Sunbonnet Babies' father, as he finished his story.
"I wonder if it was there that the mother wolf took care of Romulusand Remus," said Molly. "If so, I think Romulus was right in wantingto build his city on the same spot."
"Rome is now so large it covers all of the seven hills, as well as theland between them," said her father. "Our hotel is on one of thehills, and the park where we drove yesterday is on another. Who wantsto drive in the park again to-day?"
"I do!" and "I do!" and "I do!" cried Molly and May and their mother.
"Please may we drive first through the Spanish Piazza and buy somemore flowers?" begged May. "Perhaps we may find Maria on the bigsteps. If she is there, father, may we ask her to drive in the parkwith us?"
"Yes, indeed!" answered her father. "We may meet the king and queen inthe park. They drive there nearly every day."
"Oh! oh!" exclaimed May. "Let's buy the loveliest roses we can findand toss them into the king's carriage."
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