THE TRIAL
this matter; and thus they went on, until at length he was dressed to his satisfaction.
He now told his son to saddle his horse and bring it forward. The young man willingly complied, ordering the Royal groom to make his father's horse ready for a ride. "Which one of them?" inquired the groom, and the prince was again obliged to seek information from the king. Thus it went on, until at length the horse was standing in front of the door ready for the king to mount. Now the king declared that he could not go, and asked the prince to do so, and to notice carefully all that he saw on his way, in order that he might be prepared on his return to relate all that was important and noteworthy.
So the prince mounted, and rode, accompanied by all the knights and noblemen, through the city. They formed a stately parade, which was headed by a choice corps of kettle-drummers, trumpeters, and flautists. When they returned to the palace, the king asked his son what he had seen and how he had liked it. "Well enough," replied the young man, "but the kettle-drummers made too much noise!"
At the end of another week the king called his second-oldest son, and repeated to him the same instructions as were given in the case of his brother. This young man acted exactly like the other prince.
A few days later the king bid his youngest son appear before him the following morning by daybreak. He came in due time, and finding his father
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