Many years ago there was a king of Prussia, whose name was Frederick;
and because he was very wise and very brave, people called him
Frederick the Great. Like other kings, he lived in a beautiful palace
and had many officers and servants to wait upon him.
Among the servants there was a little page whose name was Carl. It was
Carl's duty to sit outside of the king's bedroom and be ready to serve
him at any time.
One night the king sat up very late, writing letters and sending
messages; and the little page was kept busy running on errands until
past midnight.
The next morning the king wished to send him on another errand. He
rang the little bell which was used to call the page, but no page
answered.
"I wonder what can have happened to the boy," he said; and he opened
the door and looked out. There, sitting in his chair, was Carl, fast
asleep. The poor child was so tired after his night's work that he
could not keep awake.
The king was about to waken him roughly, when he saw a piece of paper
on the floor beside him. He picked it up and read it.