"
"God bless you on your heart," said all the company; "you have found our
neighbour."
Princess of Canterbury
There lived formerly in the County of Cumberland a nobleman who had
three sons, two of whom were comely and clever youths, but the other a
natural fool, named Jack, who was generally engaged with the sheep: he
was dressed in a parti-coloured coat, and a steeple-crowned hat with a
tassel, as became his condition. Now the King of Canterbury had a
beautiful daughter, who was distinguished by her great ingenuity and
wit, and he issued a decree that whoever should answer three questions
put to him by the princess should have her in marriage, and be heir to
the crown at his decease. Shortly after this decree was published, news
of it reached the ears of the nobleman's sons, and the two clever ones
determined to have a trial, but they were sadly at a loss to prevent
their idiot brother from going with them. They could not, by any means,
get rid of him, and were compelled at length to let Jack accompany them.
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