once upon a time...
far, far away, beyond all sorts of countries, seas and rivers, there stood a splendid city where lived king archidej, who was as good as he was rich and handsome. his great army was made up of men ready to obey his slightest wish; he owned forty times forty cities, and in each city he had ten palaces with silver doors, golden roofs, and crystal windows. his council consisted of the twelve wisest men in the country, whose long beards flowed down over their breasts, each of whom was as learned as a whole college. this council always told the king the exact truth.
now the king had *rything to make him happy, but he did not enjoy anything because he could not find a bride to his mind.
one day, as he sat in his palace looking out to sea, a great ship sailed into the harbour and s*ral merchants came on shore. said the king to himself: 'these people have travelled far and beheld1 many lands. i will ask them if they have seen any princess who is as cl*r and as handsome as i am.'
so he ordered the merchants to be brought before him, and when they came he said: 'you have travelled much and visited many wonders. i wish to ask you a question, and i beg you to answer truthfully.
'have you anywhere seen or heard of the daughter of an emperor, king, or a prince, who is as cl*r and as handsome as i am, and who would be worthy2 to be my wife and the queen of my country?'
the merchants considered for some time. at last the eldest3 of them said: 'i have heard that across many seas, in the island of busan, there is a mighty4 king, whose daughter, the princess helena, is so lovely that she can certainly not be plainer than your majesty5, and so cl*r that the wisest greybeard cannot guess her riddles6.'
'is the island far off, and which is the way to it?'
'it is not near,' was the answer. 'the journey would take ten years, and we do not know the way. and *n if we did, what use would that be? the princess is no bride for you.'
'how dare you say so?' cried the king angrily.
'your majesty must pardon us; but just think for a moment. should you send an envoy7 to the island he will take ten years to get there and ten * to return twenty years in all. will not the princess have grown old in that time and have lost all her beauty?'
the king reflected gravely. then he thanked the merchants, gave them leave to trade in his country without paying any duties, and dismissed them.
after they were gone the king remained deep in thought. he felt puzzled and anxious; so he decided8 to ride into the country to distract his mind, and sent for his huntsmen and falconers. the huntsmen blew their horns, the falconers took their hawks10 on their wrists, and off they all set out across country till they came to a green hedge. on the other side of the hedge stretched a great field of maize11 as far as the eye could reach, and the yellow ears swayed to and fro in the gentle breeze like a rippling12 sea of gold.
the king drew rein13 and ad*ed the field. 'upon my word,' said he, 'who*r dug and planted it must be good workmen. if all the fields in my kingdom were as well cared for as this, there would be * bread than my people could eat.' and he wished to know to whom the field belonged.
off rushed all his followers14 at once to do his *dding, and found a nice, tidy farmhouse15, in front of which sat s*n peasants, lunching on rye bread and drinking water. they wore red shirts bound with gold braid, and were so much alike that one could hardly tell one from another.
the messengers asked: 'who owns this field of golden maize?' and the s*n brothers answered: 'the field is ours.'
'and who are you?'
'we are king archidej's labourers.'
these answers were repeated to the king, who ordered the brothers to be brought before him at once. on being asked who they were, the eldest said, bowing low:
'we, king archidej, are your labourers, children of one father and mother, and we all have the same name, for each of us is called simon. our father taught us to be true to our king, and to till the ground, and to be kind to our neighbours. he also taught each of us a different trade which he thought might be useful to us, and he bade us not neglect our mother earth, which would be sure amply to repay our labour.'
the king was pleased with the honest peasant, and said: 'you have done well, good people, in planting your field, and now you have a golden harvest. but i should like each of you to tell me what special trades your father taught 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 cl*rness. 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 *ry country under the sun.'
'good,' said the king; 'and simon the third?'
'my work is very *, sire. you have many ships built by learned men, with all sorts of new and cl*r improvements. if you wish it i will build you quite a * 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?'
