Kari Woodengown, part 3 · page 21 2101He could not get over it.102Nevertheless, he remembered shortly what he had come for to the palace, and improving the occasion, he set to work to hunt for his dear money.103But in vain he rummaged in all the drawers; he found nothing; all had been spent.104And ferreting thus from room to room he came at last to the one with the throne in it, and feeling fatigued, he sat himself down on it to think over his adventure.105In the meanwhile the people had found their King and his ministers with their feet in the air on the pavement, and they had gone into the palace to know how it had occurred.106On entering the throne-room, when the crowd saw that there was already someone on the royal seat, they broke out in cries of surprise and joy:107‘The King is dead, long live the King!108Heaven has sent us down this thing.’109Drakestail, who was no longer surprised at anything, received the acclamations of the people as if he had never done anything else all his life.110A few of them certainly murmured that a Drakestail would make a fine King; those who knew him replied that a knowing Drakestail was a more worthy King than a spendthrift like him who was lying on the pavement.111In short, they ran and took the crown off the head of the deceased, and placed it on that of Drakestail, whom it fitted like wax.112Thus he became King.113‘And now,’ said he after the ceremony, ‘ladies and gentlemen, let’s go to supper.114I am so hungry!’115[15]116[15] _Contes_ of Ch.117Marelles.1 2← previousKari Woodengown, part 2next →The Ratcatcher↑ back to The Red Fairy BookThis page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg540/31/page/2/