English for Students

The Golden Chance

The Golden Chance :


Once the people said to the king, "Your Majesty, nowadays a cheat has been cheating and stealing from us. Please protect us from him."


The king asked his spies to look for the cheat. He was soon caught and brought to the court. But the clever cheat pleaded with tears that he would never cheat again and he would become an honest man now. The king trusted the cheat and forgave him.


The cheat went away but he did not change his habit of cheating. Just outside the city, he met a rich merchant. He made him unconscious and threw him in a well. He took his money but while running, the cheat slipped and fell. His head struck a stone and he became unconscious.


Some spies saw him. They rescued the merchant and then took the cheat back to the king. The cheat asked for forgiveness again. But king said, "I forgave you once to help you change. It was a golden chance. But now you will be sentenced to death."

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