The Iron Duke and the Farm Boy

The Iron Duke and the Boy
By Butrus Pio
I remember the following true story from the reading text book at school.

In 19th Century England the nobles were used to go out hunting on horseback and trample on farmers’ fields in chasing their game and destroying the crops in the process.

One of the farmers spied a group of horsemen coming towards his farm and ordered his fourteen year old help to close the farm gate and prevent the horsemen from entering the farm, which the boy promptly did, standing pat at the front of the gate.

When the horsemen arrived at the gate they asked the boy to open the gate for them. The boy refused. One of the men offered the boy a gold coin and when the boy was adamant, he tried to push the boy aside and force the gate open. An elderly horseman who looked to be the leader of the group intervened and approached the boy and said,” My boy I am the Duke of Wellington and I order you to open the gate”. The boy’s retort was, “Surely the Duke of Wellington would not order me to disobey my master’s orders”

The Duke ordered his men to turn back. As the horsemen were leaving the farm the Duke heard the boy shouting,”Master, master, I turned back the man whom Napoleon couldn’t turn back”. The Duke Said to his men “If I had a hundred men with the courage and determination which that boy has I could conquer the world”.

Rate the article
Bad	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Very good
Result : 100%							Participated in the vote : 1