ENGLISH STORY (KING JOHN AND THE ABBOT)

KING JOHN AND THE ABBOT
I. THE THREE QUESTIONS
THERE was once a king of England whose name was John. He was a bad
king; for he was harsh and cruel to his people, and so long as he could
have his own way, he did not care what became of other folks. He was the
worst king that England ever had.
Now, there was in the town of Canterbury a rich old abbot who lived in
grand style in a great house called the Abbey. Every day a hundred noble
men sat down with him to dine; and fifty brave knights, in fine velvet
coats and gold chains, waited upon him at his table.
When King John heard of the way in which the abbot lived, he made up
his mind to put a stop to it. So he sent for the old man to come and see
him.
"How now, my good abbot?" he said. "I hear that you keep a far better
house than I. How dare you do such a thing? Don't you know that no
man in the land ought to live better than the king? And I tell you that no
man shall."
"O king!" said the abbot, "I beg to say that I am spending nothing but
what is my own. I hope that you will not think ill of me for making
things pleasant for my friends and the brave knights who are with me."
"Think ill of you?" said the king. "How can I help but think ill of you? All
that there is in this broad land is mine by right; and how do you dare to
put me to shame by living in grander style than I? One would think that
you were trying to be king in my place."
"Oh, do not say so!" said the abbot. "For I"—
"Not another word!" cried the king. "Your fault is plain, and unless you
can answer me three questions, your head shall be cut off, and all your
riches shall be mine."
"I will try to answer them, O king!" said the abbot.
"Well, then," said King John, "as I sit here with my crown of gold on my
head, you must tell me to within a day just how long I shall live.
Secondly, you must tell me how soon I shall ride round the whole world;
and lastly, you shall tell me what I think."
"O king!" said the abbot, "these are deep, hard questions, and I cannot
answer them just now. But if you will give me two weeks to think about
them, I will do the best that I can."
"Two weeks you shall have," said the king; "but if then you fail to answer
me, you shall lose your head, and all your lands shall be mine."
The abbot went away very sad and in great fear. He first rode to Oxford.
Here was a great school, called a university, and he wanted to see if any
of the wise professors could help him. But they shook their heads, and
said that there was nothing about King John in any of their books.
Then the abbot rode down to Cambridge, where there was another
university. But not one of the teachers in that great school could help
him.
At last, sad and sorrowful, he rode toward home to bid his friends and his
brave knights good-by. For now he had not a week to live.
II. THE THREE ANSWERS
As the abbot was riding up the lane which led to his grand house, he met
his shepherd going to the fields.
"Welcome home, good master!" cried the shepherd. "What news do you
bring us from great King John?"
"Sad news, sad news," said the abbot; and then he told him all that had
happened.
"Cheer up, cheer up, good master," said the shepherd. "Have you never
yet heard that a fool may teach a wise man wit? I think I can help you
out of your trouble."
"You help me!" cried the abbot. "How? how?"
"Well," answered the shepherd, "you know that everybody says that I look
just like you, and that I have sometimes been mistaken for you. So, lend
me your servants and your horse and your gown, and I will go up to
London and see the king. If nothing else can be done, I can at least die in
your place."
"My good shepherd," said the abbot, "you are very, very kind; and I have a
mind to let you try your plan. But if the worst comes to the worst, you
shall not die for me. I will die for myself."
So the shepherd got ready to go at once. He dressed himself with great
care. Over his shepherd's coat he threw the abbot's long gown, and he
borrowed the abbot's cap and golden staff. When all was ready, no one in
the world would have thought that he was not the great man himself.
Then he mounted his horse, and with a great train of servants set out for
London.
Of course the king did not know him.
"Welcome, Sir Abbot!" he said. "It is a good thing that you have come
back. But, prompt as you are, if you fail to answer my three questions,
you shall lose your head."
"I am ready to answer them, O king!" said the shepherd.
"Indeed, indeed!" said the king, and he laughed to himself. "Well, then,
answer my first question: How long shall I live? Come, you must tell me
to the very day."
"You shall live," said the shepherd, "until the day that you die, and not
one day longer. And you shall die when you take your last breath, and
not one moment before."
The king laughed.
"You are witty, I see," he said. "But we will let that pass, and say that
your answer is right. And now tell me how soon I may ride round the
world."
"You shall live until the day that you die."
"You must rise with the sun," said the shepherd, "and you must ride with
the sun until it rises again the next morning. As soon as you do that, you
will find that you have ridden round the world in twenty-four hours."
The king laughed again. "Indeed," he said, "I did not think that it could
be done so soon. You are not only witty, but you are wise, and we will let
this answer pass. And now comes my third and last question: What do I
think?"
"That is an easy question," said the shepherd. "You think that I am the
Abbot of Canterbury. But, to tell you the truth, I am only his poor
shepherd, and I have come to beg your pardon for him and for me." And
with that, he threw off his long gown.
The king laughed loud and long.
"A merry fellow you are," said he, "and you shall be the Abbot of
Canterbury in your master's place."
"O king! that cannot be," said the shepherd; "for I can neither read nor
write."
"Very well, then," said the king, "I will give you something else to pay you
for this merry joke. I will give you four pieces of silver every week as long
as you live. And when you get home, you may tell the old abbot that you
have brought him a free pardon from King John."