home with his treasure.

When the hunter returned to his country, the wonderful treasures which
he had taken from the castle in the wood made him a very rich man, and
in a short time the news of his prosperity came to the ears of the King.
This King was the wickedest of rogues, and his two best friends, the
Chamberlain and the Chancellor, were every bit as unscrupulous as he.
They oppressed the people with taxes, they stole from the poor, they
robbed the churches; indeed there was no injustice which they were not
ready to commit. So, when the Chamberlain heard of the hunter's wealth,
he--being a direct, straightforward rascal--declared that the simplest
thing to do would be to kill the hunter and take his money.

The Chancellor, who was somewhat more cunning and worldly, declared that
it would be better to throw the hunter into a foul, dark dungeon till he
was ready to buy his freedom with all his wealth.

The King, who was the wickedest and wisest of the precious three,
declared that the best thing to do was to find out whence the hunter had
got his treasure, so that, if there happened to be any left, they could
go and get it. Then of course, they could kill the hunter and take his
treasure too.

Thus it came to pass that by a royal order the hunter was thrown into a
horrible prison, and told that his only hope of release lay in revealing
the origin of his riches. So, after he had been slowly starved and
cruelly beaten, he told of the treasure castle in the wood.

On the following morning, the King, the Chamberlain, and the Chancellor,
taking with them some strong linen bags and some pack mules, rode forth
in quest of the treasure. Great was their joy when they found the
treasure castle and the treasure room just as the hunter had described.
The Chancellor poured the shining gems through his claw-like fingers,
and the King and the Chamberlain threw their arms around each others'
shoulders and danced a jig as well as their age and dignity would
permit. The first fine careless rapture over, they began pouring the
treasure into the linen sacks they had brought with them, and these,
filled to the brim, they carried to the castle door.

Soon not the tiniest gem was left on the table. Suddenly the Chamberlain
happened to catch sight of the gems strewn along the floor.

"See, see!" he cried, his voice shrill and greedy. "There is yet more to
be had!"

So the three rogues got down on their hands and knees and began st