t you.'

'My trade, O king!' said the first Simon, 'is not an easy one. If you
will give me some workmen and materials I will build you a great white
pillar that shall reach far above the clouds.'

'Very good,' replied the king. 'And you, Simon the second, what is your
trade?'

'Mine, your Majesty, needs no great cleverness. When my brother has
built the pillar I can mount it, and from the top, far above the clouds,
I can see what is happening: in every country under the sun.'

'Good,' said the king; 'and Simon the third?'

'My work is very simple, sire. You have many ships built by learned men,
with all sorts of new and clever improvements. If you wish it I will
build you quite a simple boat--one, two, three, and it's done! But my
plain little home-made ship is not grand enough for a king. Where other
ships take a year, mine makes the voyage in a day, and where they would
require ten years mine will do the distance in a week.'

'Good,' said the king again; 'and what has Simon the fourth learnt?'

'My trade, O king, is really of no importance. Should my brother build
you a ship, then let me embark in it. If we should be pursued by an
enemy I can seize our boat by the prow and sink it to the bottom of the
sea. When the enemy has sailed off, I can draw it up to the top again.'

'That is very clever of you,' answered the king; 'and what does Simon
the fifth do?'

'My work, your Majesty, is mere smith's work. Order me to build a smithy
and I will make you a cross-bow, but from which neither the eagle in the
sky nor the wild beast in the forest is safe. The bolt hits whatever the
eye sees.'

'That sounds very useful,' said the king. 'And now, Simon the sixth,
tell me your trade.'

'Sire, it is so simple I am almost ashamed to mention it. If my brother
hits any creature I catch it quicker than any dog can. If it falls into
the water I pick it up out of the greatest depths, and if it is in a
dark forest I can find it even at midnight.'

The king was much pleased with the trades and talk of the six brothers,
and said: 'Thank you, good people; your father did well to teach you all
these things. Now follow me to the town, as I want to see what you can
do. I need such people as you about me; but when harvest time comes I
will send you home with royal presents.'

The brothers bowed and said: 'As the king wills.' Suddenly the king
remembered that he had not questioned the seventh Simon, so he turned to
him and said: