General. He asked the potter's wife where her husband was. 'My husband is tired, Your Majesty. The servants have put him to bed,' answered the wife respectfully.

'Let him rest today. Tell him to come tomorrow to receive his reward,' the king said

. Next morning the potter went to the king's palace. He left the brown horse in the stable and walked to the palace with his wife. The streets were filled with cheering crowds. They had all heard about his brave action.

'Look how humble he is,' they said to each other.

'Any other man would ride to the palace on a horse but he is walking like an ordinary man. He's truly a humble and brave man.'

The king rewarded the potter so well that he did not need to work again. The country was peaceful for the rest of his life and the potter never rode a horse again.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Marguerite Siek was a great story teller. He was very much interested in telling folk and mythological stories of Asia. He travelled across many Asian countries and collected interesting short stories from various countries and published them in English. He translated many famous Indian folk stories into English. The present short story 'The Brave Potter' is a very popular Telugu one collected by him from India. by him from India

Glossary
blinding(adj) : very bright

thatched (adj) : covered with dried straw

nod off (phr.v) : fall asleep

palm-wine (n) : toddy / fermented palm juice drunk by village folk (kallu in Telugu)

muttered (v) : spoke something that can not be heard

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