This is the story of young Lieutenant Wildberg and the heavy price he paid for succumbing to the subtle temptation of worldly logic. Though at first his “indiscretion” seemed to accomplish a great and noble good, it eventually brought grief and harm to those he loved. He learned that “even the most trivial lie is an evil seed.” (The second story in this volume is as powerful as The Lost Ruby.)

About the Author:Christoph von Schmid (1768-1854) was the pioneer writer of books for children, and his stories have been translated into twenty-four languages. He is regarded as the greatest educator Bavaria (Germany) produced in the eighteenth century.

When he began writing stories for the children in his own life in the late 1700s, he did not consider making them available to the general public. In 1841, he published his writings in twenty-four volumes. In his ntroduction of this set, he explained that he most often read these stories to children after school as a reward, on the condition that they would write the story down at home. In this way, he became familiar with the patterns of thought and speech of children, and learned what impressed their minds and hearts.