Level 5.
How Boots Befooled the King
by Howard Pyle
ONCE upon a time there was a king who was the wisest in all of the world. So wise was he that no one had ever befooled him, which is a rare thing, I can tell you. Now, this king had a daughter who was as pretty as a ripe apple, so that there was no end to the number of the lads who came asking to marry her. Every day there were two or three of them dawdling around the house, so that at last the old king grew tired of having them always about.
So he sent word far and near that whoever should befool him might have the princess and half of the kingdom to boot, for he thought that it would be a wise man indeed who could trick him. But the king also said, that whoever should try to befool him and should fail, should have a good whipping. This was to keep all foolish fellows away.
The princess was so pretty that there was no lack of lads who came to have a try for her and half of the kingdom, but every one of these went away with a sore back and no luck.
Now, there was a man who was well off in the world, and who had three sons; the first was named Peter, and the second was named Paul. Peter and Paul thought themselves as wise as anybody in all of the world, and their father thought as they did.
As for the youngest son, he was named Boots. Nobody thought anything of him except that he was silly, for he did nothing but sit poking in the warm ashes all of the day.
One morning Peter spoke up and said that he was going to the town to have a try at befooling the king, for it would be a fine thing to have a princess in the family. His father did not say no, for if anybody was wise enough to befool the king, Peter was the lad.
So, after Peter had eaten a good breakfast, off he set for the town, right foot foremost. After a while he came to the king’s house and-rap! tap! tap!—he knocked at the door.
Well; what did he want?
Oh! he would only like to have a try at befooling the king.
Very good; he should have his try. He was not the first one who had been there that morning, early as it was.
So Peter was shown in to the king.
“Oh, look!” said he, “yonder are three black geese out in the court-yard!” But no, the king was not to be fooled so easily as all that. “One goose is enough to look at at a time,” said he; “take him away and give him a whipping!”
And so they did, and Peter went home bleating like a sheep.
One day Paul spoke up. “I should like to go and have a try for the princess, too,” said he.
Well, his father did not say no, for, after all, Paul was the more clever of the two.
So off Paul went as merrily as a duck in the rain. By and by he came to the castle, and then he too was brought before the king just as Peter had been. “Oh, look!” said he, “yonder is a crow sitting in the tree with three white stripes on his back!”
But the king was not so silly as to be fooled in that way. “Here is a Jack,” said he, “who will soon have more stripes on his back than he will like. Take him away and give him his whipping!”
Then it was done as the king had said, and Paul went away home bawling like a calf.
One day up spoke Boots. “I should like to go and have a try for the pretty princess, too,” said he.
At this they all stared and sniggered. What! he go where his clever brothers had failed, and had nothing to show for the trying but a good beating? What had come over the lout! Here was a pretty business, to be sure! That was what they all said.
But all of this rolled away from Boots like water from a duck’s back. No matter, he would like to go and have a try like the others. So he begged and begged until his father was glad to let him go to be rid of his teasing, if nothing else.
Then Boots asked if he might have the old tattered hat that hung back of the chimney.
Oh, yes, he might have that if he wanted it, for nobody with good wits was likely to wear such a thing.
So Boots took the hat, and after he had brushed the ashes from his shoes set off for the town, whistling as he went.
The first body whom he met was an old woman with a great load of earthenware pots and crocks on her shoulders.
“Good-day, mother,” said Boots.
“Good-day, son,” said she.
“What will you take for all of your pots and crocks?” said Boots. “Three shillings,” said she.
“I will give you five shillings if you will come and stand in front of the king’s house, and do thus and so when I say this and that,” said Boots.
Oh, yes! she would do that willingly enough.
So Boots and the old woman went on together, and presently came to the king’s house. When they had come there, Boots sat down in front of the door and began bawling as loud as he could— “No, I will not! I will not do it, I say! No, I will not do it!”
So he kept on, bawling louder and louder until he made such a noise that, at last, the king himself came out to see what all of the hubbub was about. But when Boots saw him he only bawled out louder than ever. “No, I will not! I will not do it, I say!”
“Stop! stop!” cried the king, “what is all this about?”
“Why,” said Boots, “everybody wants to buy my cap, but I will not sell it! I will not do it, I say!”
“But, why should anybody want to buy such a cap as that?” said the king. “Because,” said Boots, “it is a fooling cap and the only one in all of the world.”
“A fooling cap!” said the king. For he did not like to hear of such a cap as that coming into the town. “Hum-m-m-m! I should like to see you fool somebody with it. Could you fool that old body yonder with the pots and the crocks?”
“Oh, yes! That is easily enough done,” said Boots, and without more ado he took off his tattered cap and blew into it. Then he put it on his head again and bawled out, “Break pots! break pots!“