Now, even as Cole rode in upon his donkey the King of Whatland lay
dying in his palace, surrounded by all the luxury of the court. And as
he left no heir, and was the last of the royal line, the councilors
and wise men of Whatland were in a great quandary as to who should
succeed him. But finally they bethought themselves of the laws of the
land, and upon looking up the records they found in an old book a law
that provided for just such a case as this.
"If the King dies," so read the law, "and there be no one to succeed
to the throne, the prime minister shall be blinded and led from the
palace into the main street of the city. And he shall stretch out his
arms and walk about, and the first person he touches shall be crowned
as King of the land."
The councilors were greatly pleased when they found this law, for it
enabled them to solve the problem that confronted them. So when the
King had breathed his last they blindfolded the prime minister and led
him forth from the palace, and he began walking about with
outstretched arms seeking someone to touch.
Of course the people knew nothing of this law, nor even that the old
King was dead, and seeing the prime minister groping about blindfolded
they kept out of his way, fearing they might be punished if he
stumbled against them. But Cole was then riding along on the donkey,
and did not even know it was the prime minister who was feeling about
in such a funny way.
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