Page 33 - Demo

33Once upon a time, in a far-off country, there lived a merchant who had been so fortunate in all his undertakings that he was enormously rich. As he had six sons and six daughters, however, who were accustomed to having everything they fancied, he did not find he had a penny too much. But misfortunes befell them.One day their house caught fire and speedily burned to the ground, with all the splendid furniture, books, pictures, gold, silver, and precious goods it contained. The father suddenly lost every ship he had upon the sea, either to pirates, shipwreck, or fire. Then he heard that his shipping clerks i n d i s t a n t countries, whom he h a d t r u s t e d e n t i r e l y , h a d proved unfaithful. And at last he fell from great wealth i n t o e x t r e m e poverty.All that he had left was a little house in a desolate place at least a hundred leagues from the town, and to this he was forced to retreat. His children were in despair at the idea of leading such a different life. The daughters at first hoped their friends, who had been so numerous while they were rich, would insist on their staying in their houses, but they soon found they were left alone. Their former friends even attributed their misfortunes to their own extravagance and showed no intention of offering them any help.So nothing was left for them but to take their departure to the The house burns down.