The Listening Grove · Fifty Famous Stories Retold
Chapter 14: The Ungrateful Soldier
A Charlotte Mason read-aloud lesson. Press play, with the lesson.
What is Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 14, The Ungrateful Soldier, about?Parent review
Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 14, The Ungrateful Soldier, is a story about showing kindness even to an enemy. In a war between the Swedes and the Danes, a battle had been fought and won by the Danes. A Danish soldier, hearing a wounded enemy cry for water, knelt down and offered him his own flask. But the ungrateful man lifted a pistol and fired, wounding the very soldier who had come to help. Rather than take revenge, the Dane drank only half the water and handed the rest to his fallen foe. When the king heard of it, he was so moved that he made the merciful soldier a knight.
Say what you remember!
Tell what you remember from the last chapter.
What happened in Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 13, Sir Philip Sidney?Have a look
In the last chapter, Sir Philip Sidney, a beloved English gentleman was gravely wounded in battle and lay upon the field, faint with thirst. Water was brought to him, but just as he raised it to his lips he saw a dying soldier looking longingly at the cup. Sidney passed the water across, saying the poor man’s need was greater than his own. He died soon after of his wound. The whole land, rich and poor together, mourned the good man who had thought of another before himself.
Read the previous lesson: Sir Philip Sidney →Show what you know!
Use your printable Lesson Guide. Fill in the vocabulary you know, then click to check your work and learn some new words today.
What are the difficult or advanced vocabulary words in Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 14, The Ungrateful Soldier?flask, grazed, befriend, spareHave a look
- flask: a small bottle for carrying a drink
- grazed: touched or scraped lightly in passing
- befriend: to act as a friend to someone
- spare: to choose not to harm or kill
Locate it on the map!
Use your printable Lesson Guide. Use an atlas and fill in the blank map if you can find the geographic location, then click to check your work.
What important geographic location connects with Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 14, The Ungrateful Soldier?
- Find Denmark.
See it on the mapHave a look
This matches the map in your Lesson Guide.
The Books come Alive!
Read or listen to Chapter 14 of Fifty Famous Stories Retold, the Kindred Thicket Enhanced Edition, read by Laura Caldwell.
Read by Laura Caldwell for LibriVox (public domain), professionally adjusted and trimmed by Kindred Thicket.
What do the Teacher’s Notes tell us about Chapter 14 of Fifty Famous Stories Retold?Parent review
This is a Kindred Thicket Enhanced Edition. Baldwin’s 1896 words are read exactly as he wrote them, and we add Teacher’s Notes with historical and literary context.
- About the whole bookFifty Famous Stories Retold gathers real history together with well-loved legends and traditions. These notes tell you, story by story, which is which.
- This chapterThis story names no particular war, king, or soldier, and the event cannot be traced to a reliable historical source. It is best enjoyed as a moral tale about gratitude rather than as history.
Memory becomes Action!
Use the Response Resource* to remember and spell tricky names. Choose one way to narrate.
*Materials in the Lesson Guide.
What is the list of names, people, characters, and places that are important in Chapter 14 of Fifty Famous Stories Retold?The Danish soldier, The wounded Swede, The King of the Danes, The Danes, The SwedesHave a look
- The Danish soldier: A merciful soldier of Denmark in the war with Sweden.
- The wounded Swede: A defeated Swedish soldier who repays kindness with treachery.
- The King of the Danes: The Danish king who rewards the soldier’s mercy.
- The Danes: One of two Scandinavian peoples at war in the tale.
- The Swedes: The neighboring Scandinavian people, defeated in the battle.
Chapter 14 Q & A
This is a Kindred Thicket Enhanced Edition. Baldwin’s stories mingle real history with beloved legend, and here is what to know about this one.
Is the story of The Ungrateful Soldier true?
The Ungrateful Soldier names no particular war, king, or soldier, and the event cannot be traced to a reliable historical source. It is best enjoyed as a moral tale about gratitude and mercy rather than as history. The Swedes and Danes were real neighbors who often went to war, but this exact scene belongs to the story.
Why did the soldier still help the man who shot him?
The Danish soldier still helped the man who shot him because his kindness was greater than his anger. Even after the wounded enemy fired at him, he chose to share the rest of his water rather than take revenge. His mercy showed a strength far beyond the strength of arms.
Where does the story of The Ungrateful Soldier take place?
The story of The Ungrateful Soldier takes place on a battlefield during a war between the Swedes and the Danes, two neighboring lands in northern Europe. No exact place or date is given in the tale. We simply picture the Danish soldier on the field after the fighting is done.
What is the lesson of The Ungrateful Soldier?
The lesson of The Ungrateful Soldier is that mercy can be shown even to those who do not deserve it. The soldier gave water to a wounded enemy, and when that enemy repaid him with a pistol shot, he answered still with kindness. The story asks children to choose gentleness over revenge.