Many anecdotes are told of this kind, in which it was his
delight to reward merit and relieve distress. Some of these may be read
with interest.
On one occasion he met a boy who was gathering sticks in a field for fuel,
and asked him why he did not go into the neighboring forest, where he
would find plenty of them.
"I dare not do that," said the boy. "It's the king's wood, and he would
punish me with death if I took sticks from there."
"What kind of man is your king?"
"He is a very hard man," answered the boy, "for he takes from his people
what God has given them."
The boy was right; the forest laws in Tezcuco were as severe as those of
Norman England. The king advised the boy not to heed such cruel laws but
to help himself in the forest, for there was no one who would betray him.
But the lad sturdily refused, and told his tempter that he was a traitor
who wished to bring him into trouble.
The next day the boy and his parents were sent for to come to the palace.
They obeyed with wonder and dread, and the boy was filled with terror on
seeing the king and recognizing him as the man with whom he had talked so
freely.
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