ght 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