Old King Cole was a merry old soul,
And a merry old soul was he;
He called for his pipe and he called for his bowl
And he called for his fiddlers three.
OLD KING COLE was not always a king, nor was he born a member of any
royal family. It was only chance--"hard luck" he used to call it--that
made him a king at all.
He had always been a poor man, being the son of an apple peddler, who
died and left him nothing but a donkey and a fiddle. But that was
enough for Cole, who never bothered his head about the world's goods,
but took things as they came and refused to worry about anything.
So, when the house he lived in, and the furniture, and even the
apple-cart were sold to pay his father's debts, and he found himself
left with the old fiddle that nobody wanted and the old donkey that no
one would have--it being both vicious and unruly--he uttered no word of
complaint. He simply straddled the donkey and took the fiddle under his
arm and rode out into the world to seek his fortune.
When he came to a village he played a merry tune upon the fiddle and
sang a merry song with it, and the people gave him food most willingly.
There was no trouble about a place to sleep, for if he was denied a bed
he lay down with the donkey in a barn, or even on the village green,
and making a pillow of the donkey's neck he slept as soundly as anyone
could in a bed of down.
And so he continued riding along and playing upon his fiddle for many
years, until his head grew bald and his face was wrinkled and his bushy
eyebrows became as white as snow. But his eyes never lost their merry
twinkle, and he was just as fat and hearty as in his younger days,
while, if you heard him singing his songs and scraping upon the old
fiddle, you would know at once his heart was as young as ever.
He never guided the donkey, but let the beast go where it would, and so
it happened that at last they came to Whatland, and entered one day the
city where resided the King of that great country.
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. So he began to laugh, and the minister, who had by this time
grown tired of the game, heard the laugh and came toward the stranger
and touched him, and immediately all the wise men and the councilors
fell down before him and hailed him as King of Whatland!
Thus did the wandering fiddler become King Cole, and you may be sure
he laughed more merrily than ever when they explained to him his good
fortune.
[Illustration: Old King Cole]
They carried him within the palace and dressed him in purple and fine
linen, and placed a crown of gold upon his bald head and a jeweled
scepter in his wrinkled hand, and all this amused old King Cole very
much. When he had been led to the great throne-room and placed upon the
throne of gold (where the silken cushions felt very soft and pleasant
after his long ride upon the donkey's sharp back) the courtiers all
knelt before him and asked what commands he wished to give, since
everyone in the kingdom must now obey his slightest word.
"Oh well," said the new King, "I think the first thing I would like is
my old pipe. You'll find it in the pocket of the ragged coat I took
off."
One of the officers of the court at once ran for the pipe, and when it
was brought King Cole filled it with tobacco from his greasy pouch and
lighted it, and you can imagine what a queer sight it was to see the
fat King sitting upon the rich throne, dressed in silks and satins and
a golden crown, and smoking at the same time an old black pipe!
The councilors looked at each other in dismay, and the ladies of the
court sneezed and coughed and seemed greatly shocked, and all this
pleased old King Cole so much that he lay back in his throne and roared
with laughter.
Then the prime minister came forward very gravely, and bowing low he
said,
"May it please your Majesty, it is not the custom of Kings to smoke
a pipe while seated upon the throne."
"But it is my custom," answered Cole.
"It is impolite, and--unkingly!" ventured the minister.
"Now, see here, old fellow," replied his Majesty, "I didn't ask to
be King of this country; it's all your own doing. All my life I have
smoked whenever I wished, and if I can't do as I please here, why, I
won't be king--so there!"
"But you must be the King, your Majesty, whether you want to or not.
The law says so."
"If that's the case," returned the King, "I can do as I please in other
things. So you just run and get me a bowl of punch, there's a good
fellow."
The aged minister did not like to be addressed thus, but the King's
commands must be obeyed; so, although the court was greatly horrified,
he brought the bowl of punch, and the King pushed his crown onto the
back of his head and drank heartily, and smacked his lips afterwards.
"That's fine!" he said; "but say--what do you people do to amuse
yourselves?"
"Whatever your Majesty commands," answered one of the councilors.
"What! must I amuse you as well as myself? Methinks it is no easy
task to be a King if so many things are required of me. But I suppose
it is useless to fret, since the law obliges me to reign in this
great country against my will. 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 merry-making, 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 every one 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. So he put on his crown and his ermine robe and
sat upon the throne, although he grumbled a good deal at the necessity;
for never having had any business of his own to attend to he thought
it doubly hard that in his old age he must attend to the business of
others.
The first case of dispute was between two men who each claimed to own a
fine cow, and after hearing the evidence, the King ordered the cow to
be killed and roasted and given to the poor, since that was the easiest
way to decide the matter. Then followed a quarrel between two subjects
over ten pieces of gold, one claiming the other owed him that sum. The
King, thinking them both rascals, ordered the gold to be paid, and then
he took it and scattered it amongst the beggars outside the palace.
By this time King Cole decided he had transacted enough business for
one day, so he sent word to those outside that if anyone had a quarrel
that was not just he should be severely punished; and, indeed, when the
subjects learned the manner in which the King settled disputes, they
were afraid to come to him, as both sides were sure to be losers by the
decision. And that saved King Cole a lot of trouble thereafter, for the
people thought best to settle their own differences.
The King, now seeing he was free to do as he pleased, retired to his
private chamber, where he called for the three fiddlers and made them
play for him while he smoked his pipe and drank a bowl of punch.
Every evening he had a dance in the palace, and every day there were
picnics and merry-makings of all kinds, and before long King Cole had
the reputation of having the merriest court in all the world.
He loved to feast and to smoke and to drink his punch, and he was never
so merry as when others were merry with him, so that the three fiddlers
were almost always by his side, and at any hour of the day you could
hear sweet strains of music echoing through the palace.
Old King Cole did not forget the donkey that had been his constant
companion for so long. He had a golden saddle made for him, with a
saddle-cloth broidered in gold and silver, and the bridle was studded
with diamonds and precious stones, all taken from the King's treasury.
And when he rode out, the old fat King always bestrode the donkey,
while his courtiers rode on either side of him upon their prancing
chargers.
Old King Cole reigned for many years, and was generally beloved by his
subjects; for he always gave liberally to all who asked, and was always
as merry and happy as the day was long.
When he died the new King was found to be of a very different temper,
and ruled the country with great severity; but this only served to make
the memory of Old King Cole more tenderly cherished by his people, and
they often sighed when they recalled his merry pranks, and the good
times they enjoyed under his rule.
[Illustration: Mistress Mary]