Fifty Famous Stories Retold | Page 6

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.
Sec-ond-ly, 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 u-ni-ver´si-ty, and he wanted to see if
any of the wise pro-fess-ors 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 Cam-bridge, where there was another
u-ni-ver-si-ty. But not one of the teachers in that great school could
help him.
At last, sad and sor-row-ful, 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 shep-herd 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 some-times been mis-tak-en 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
bor-rowed 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,