Therefore will I make the best of my
misfortune, and propose we have a dance, and forget our cares. Send at
once for some fiddlers, and clear the room for our merrymaking, and
for once in our lives we shall have a jolly good time!"
So one of the officers of the court went out and soon returned with
three fiddlers, and when at the King's command they struck up a tune,
the monarch was delighted, for every fiddler had a very fine fiddle
and knew well how to use it.
Now, Old King Cole was a merry old soul, so he soon set all the ladies
and gentlemen of the court to dancing, and he himself took off his
crown and his ermine robe and laid them upon the throne, while he
danced with the prettiest lady present till he was all out of breath.
Then he dismissed them, and they were all very well pleased with the
new King, for they saw that, in spite of his odd ways, he had a kind
heart, and would try to make everyone about him as merry as he was
himself.
The next morning the King was informed that several of his subjects
craved audience with him, as there were matters of dispute between
them that must be settled. King Cole at first refused to see them,
declaring he knew nothing of the quarrels of his subjects and they
must manage their own affairs; but when the prime minister told him it
was one of his duties as king, and the law required it, he could not
do otherwise than submit.
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