One day King Henry the Fourth of France was hunting in a large forest. Towards evening he told his men to ride home by the main road while he went by another way that was somewhat longer. As he came out of the forest he saw a little boy by the roadside, who seemed to be watching for some one. "Well, my boy," said the king, "are you looking for your father?" "No, sir," answered the boy. "I am looking for the king. They say he is hunting in the woods, and perhaps will ride out this way. So I'm waiting to see him." "Oh, if that is what you wish," said King Henry, "get up behind me on the horse and I'll take you to the place where you will see him." The boy got up at once, and sat behind the king. The horse cantered briskly along, and king and boy were soon quite well acquainted. "They say that King Henry always has a number of men with him," said the boy; "how shall I know which is he?" "Oh, that will be easy enough," was the answer. "All the other men will take off their hats, but the king will keep his on." "Do you mean that the one with his hat on will be the king?" "Certainly." Soon they came into the main road where a number of the king's men were waiting. All the men seemed amused when they saw the boy, and as they rode up, they greeted the king by taking off their hats. "Well, my boy," said King Henry, "which do you think is the king?" "I don't know," answered the boy; "but it must be either you or I, for we both have our hats on." THE GOLDEN TRIPOD I One morning, long ago, a merchant of Miletus [Footnote: Mile'tus.] was walking along the seashore. Some fishermen were pulling in a large net, and he stopped to watch them. "My good men," he said, "how many fish do you expect to draw in this time?" "We cannot tell," they answered. "We never count our fish before they are caught." The net seemed heavy. There was certainly something in it. The merchant felt sure that the fishermen were having a good haul. "How much will you take for the fish that you are drawing in?" he asked. "How much will you give?" said the fishermen. "Well, I will give three pieces of silver for all that are in the net," answered the merchant. [Illustration] The fishermen talked in low tones with one another for a little while, and then one said, "It's a bargain. Be they many or few, you may have all for three pieces of silver." In a few minutes the big net was pulled up out of the water. There was not a fish in it. But it held a beautiful golden tripod that was worth more than a thousand fishes. The merchant was delighted. "Here is your money," he said. "Give me the tripod." "No, indeed," said the fishermen. "You were to have all the fish that happened to be in the net and nothing else. We didn't sell you the tripod." They began to quarrel. They talked and wrangled a long time and could not agree. Then one of the fishermen said, "Let us ask the governor about it and do as he shall bid us."