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14 The Wise Men of Gotham

Gotham is a village near Nottingham in England. Long long ago, the people

of Gotham were known for their foolishness. Everything they tried to do,
they would do it in the most stupid manner. All the world laughed at their

mistakes. In fun, they called them the ‘wise men of Gotham.’

Here is one story about them.

John, a man of Gotham, was going to

Nottingham Market to buy sheep. On
Nottingham Bridge he met Toby, another

man of Gotham, his neighbour, coming
from the market.

They greeted each other.

‘Where are you going, neighbour?’ asked
Toby.

‘To Nottingham Market, to buy sheep,’
replied John.

‘To buy sheep!’ exclaimed Toby. ‘Tell me,

which way will you bring them home?’

‘Well! Across this bridge!’ answered John.

Now Toby loved to find fault with everything. He was not pleased to hear
that. ‘Oh, no!’ he cried. ‘You shall not bring your sheep back by this bridge!’

‘Oh, yes!’ shouted John. ‘I shall bring them back this way if I want to!’

‘You shall not!’ cried Toby.

‘But I shall!’ declared John.

Then the two men of Gotham began to get angry, hitting the ground with
their sticks, as if the sheep were already there.

‘Hold back your sheep there!’ cried the one.
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