During the time of Sir Philip Sidney (the year 1550), there was a war between the Swedes and the Danes. One day a great battle was fought, and the Swedes were beaten and driven from the field. A soldier of the Danes who had been slightly wounded while sitting on the ground was about to take a drink from a flask, all at once. He heard someone say, Oh, sir, give me a drink, for I am dying. It was a wounded Swede who spoke. He was lying on the ground, only a little way off. The Dane went to him at once. He knelt by the side of his fallen foe and pressed the flask to his lips. Drink said he, for the need, is greater than mine.
Hardly had he spoken these words. When the Swede raised himself on his elbow, he pulled the pistol from his pocket and shot the man who would have been branded him. The bullet grazed in the shoulder but did not do him much harm. Are you a rascal? He cried. I was going to befriend you. And you repay me by trying to kill me. Now I will punish you. I would have given you all the water, but now you shall have only half. And with that, he drank half of it and then gave the rest of the swede. When the King of the Danes heard about this, he sent for the soldier and had him tell the story just as it was. Why did you spare the life of the Swede after he had tried to kill you as the King? Because, sir, said the soldier, I could never kill a wounded enemy. Then you deserve to be a nobleman, said the king. And rewarded him by making him a knight and giving him a noble title.
Stories Retold:- Original Source:- Unknown
