[Shard] - Sosaria
[Type] - Fiction
[Book] - Purple

[Title] - Katrina and the Noble
[Author] - McCubbin the Wise

[Page 1]
Katrina was a
shepherdess, and as far
as she was concerned,
that word provided a
complete description with
no further need of
qualification. She was
beautiful, to be sure, and

[Page 2]
wise as well, and held the
respect of both her
peers and those above
her station. All this,
however, had no bearing
on the fact which defined
Katrina to Katrina
herself (and what other

[Page3]
opinion mattered?). She
was a shephardess: she
tended her sheep.
As it happened, the
sheep she tended were
not her own property,
but belonged to a rich
noble of the city of

[Page 4]
Magincia. In return for
her service she was
provided with a sturdy
hut (kept scupulously
clean), and a regular
allotment of both mutton
and wool, which she could
either reserve for her

[Page 5]
own use or sell in the
marketplace.
I am sure you've heard
of the old Magincian
nobility, storied as they
were for their opulence
and splendor. You may be
sure no citizen of

[Page6]
Magincia would ever
condescend to lay a hand
on an actual breathing
sheep, though they would
willingly enough sit down
to a hot mutton chop
while wearing a fine wool
tunic. So Katrina was

[Page7]
engaged to see to the
unpleasant necessities of
the flock's management,
and faithfully delivered up
to her master the
profits of his investment,
but her labor.
Alas, the most refined

[Page8]
sense of style is no
shield against misfortune,
as, as many a great lord has
found out. Another noble,
an acquaintance of
Katrina's patron, had
fallen upon hard times,
and saw his family

[Page9]
fortune wiped out,
through a combination of
unwise investment and
simple ill luck. So this
poor fellow resolved to
go to his friend, and
trade his last and
greatest family heirloom -

[Page10]
a magnificent emerald, of
unmatched size and luster
- for half of Katrina's
master's flock. Such a
purchase should be
sufficient to provide both
a present income, and the
promise of future

[Page11]
increase.
So he brought the
emerald to Katrina's
master, who proved eager
to make the trade, for
owning such a precious
object would bring great
honor to his house. And

[Page12]
the two nobles went out
together to divide the
flock. Together, they
ascended a platform built
for that purpose (for no
right-minded noble would
ever risk treading in
sheep's soil), and began to

[Page13]
separate the flock, with
Katrina dividing the sheep
below at their direction.
At a certain point the
bargaining grew heated,
and the purchasing noble
drew his emerald out of
his pouch, and began to

[Page14]
discourse on its
flawlessness and purity, in
an attempt to cajole the
other to accede to his
wishes. But the fellow's
unfortunate luck held
true, and while he
gestured about, the jewel

[Page15]
flew from his hands and
down to the floor of the
sheepfold, where a
half-grown lamb promptly
devoured the shiny thing.
Katrina apologized
profusely for this
indignity (though it was

[Page16]
none of her fault). But
she assured the men that
there would be no cause
to suspend their dealings.
"I shall watch this imp
most carefully," she
assured her master, "and
when the stone reappears

[Page17]
- as it must in a day or
two - I shall clean it
scrupulously and deliver it
up to you myself."
The nobles, however,
were both horrified at
the thought of their
treasure undergoing such

[Page18]
an indignity, and said that
the plan would never do
at all.
"So be it," said Katrina.
"If that's your preference
I will slaughter the beast
today - this very hour -
and we'll have the jewel

[Page19]
back in your hands
presently, though it seems
a shame, for I had
wanted this lamb as a
ram, rather than for
mutton."
But the nobles both
agreed that this too was

[Page20]
an unacceptable pollution,
and after some discussion
both men agreed that
there was nothing for it
but to regard the
disgraced gem as forever
lost to Magincian society.
So the poor noble

[Page21]
returned home, ruined and
sad, but secure in the
knowledge that his dignity
remained intact.
Katrina, who had long
since learned the folly of
trying to ascribe sense
to the requirements of a

[Page22]
Magincian's lordly Pride,
bedded her sheep for the
night, except for the
impertinent young ram
which she brought to a
special stall, and there
she watched him most
carefully. In due time the

[Page23]
course of nature was
accomplished, and the gem
reappeared into the
daylight. Whereupon
Katrina took it up with a
spade, and washed it
vigorously with lye and
good clean water. Then

[Page24]
she took it to the port,
where she found an
honest merchant who
cared nothing for the
gem's recent history, but
only for its weight and
luster, and he paid her a
most goodly price for it.

[Page25]
Some of the money
Katrina spent on her own
practical comforts, and
some she gave freely to
those whose need was
real, but the most part
she put away against
mischance or infirmity.

[Page26]
And so it came to pass
that in her Humility, she
became the most honored
and prosperous shepherd
in the whole city.
The lamb grew up to be
a fine ram indeed, and
for many years reigned

[Page27]
over the flock. He
thought himself a very
lordly figure, I'll wager,
for all that he never
knew that he had been,
for a time, the richest
sheep in all Magincia.

[Page28]
As for the ruined noble,
he was soon forced to
sell his mansion to pay
his debts, and seek the
charity of kinfolk, where
he received all the
affection that is rightly
due to a poor relation

[Page29]
steeped in self pity.
Today his honored name,
which he would not
besmirch with an honestly
soiled fortune, is not
remembered by anyone.

Wow that must take a LOT of time to do. Looks cool though

A little time, yes. But now anyone on any shard can have it, which is the point

Shoot, a person could just make a book on a shard from here, and copy it as many times as wanted in game and set up a little bookstore, or expand their library!

This story is taken from the old Ultima 9 website BTW, as a tale of Humility. I thought it was an appropriate start.

cool cool

*copy pastes story to notepad*.... who me? put it into a book on LS? Would I do that?

you know you can paste them directly into books in game, right?

alt-V I believe is the default paste macro.

I guess I might as well see about putting up the other virtue stories, huh?

Nope.. I had tried copy paste in books.. I may not have had it properly targeted.. I will try again. I've been doing it the hard way the first copy. Thanks!! I am in your debt!

You cant copy a book but you can paste in it. Ioen the book, target inside the book to where the little cursor lets you type and after you copy the stuff from notepad type Ctrl-V in the book and itll lagg you for 2 secs and itll be pasted.

Thanks guys!!