"'My good people,' he said, 'this bell belongs to you. No one must ever
pull the rope unless he is in trouble. But if any one of you--man, woman,
or child--is ever treated unjustly, you may come to the marketplace and
ring the bell. The judges will come together and listen to your story;
and the one who has done wrong will be punished, whoever he may be. That
is why this is called the bell of justice.'
"Year after year passed by, and the great bell still hung in the tower.
Many people who were in trouble had rung the bell; and in every case,
the judges had been perfectly fair, and had punished the one who had
done wrong.
"The rope had hung there so long in the sun and rain, and had been pulled
by so many hands, that it was almost worn out. Some of the strands were
untwisted; and it had grown shorter and shorter, until only the tallest
man or woman could reach it.
"'We must have a new rope,' said the judges at last. 'If a little child
should be wronged, he could not reach high enough to ring the bell. That
would never do.'
"At once the people of Atri set about to look for a new rope; but there
was none to be found in all the town of Atri.
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