Clarence Tathum, Mandeville.
A little boy once heard of a king’s daughter who would answer any
riddle, and so he told his mother that he was going to ask the king’s
daughter a riddle. Whatever riddle the king’s daughter asks him, if he
can’t answer, the king’s daughter will kill him; or else, he will get
the king’s daughter. And the mother made some dumpling and gave to him,
made six, poisoned one. And he eat four and gave two to the donkey he
was riding, and one of those two was the one that was poisoned. So
“Poor Lo” died. So seven John-crow came to eat Poor Lo; so while the
seven John-crow were eating Poor Lo, they were dying one after another
by the poison of Poor Lo. And he saw an orange-tree with one ripe
orange on it, and he went and picked it and eat it, and he picked up
one under the tree and eat it. And Jack went to the king’s daughter,
and she asked him the riddle; and after he answered it, he asked her
this one:
“Two kill one and one kill seven; the top of the tree was sweet, but
the bottom was sweeter yet.”