"Lord,"says the carle,grinning a little despite himself,"be not wroth with my word.In the first half-hour ye did five-and-forty minutes'work of ours,and in the next half-hour scant a thirty minutes'work,and the third half-hour a fifteen minutes'work,and in the fourth half-hour two minutes'work."The grin now had faded from his face,but a gleam came into his eyes as he said:"And now,as I suppose,your day's work is done,and ye will go to your dinner,and eat the sweet and drink the strong;and we shall eat a little rye-bread,and then be working here till after the sun has set and the moon has begun to cast shadows.Now for you,I wot not how ye shall sleep nor where,nor what white body ye shall hold in your arms while the night flits and the stars shine;but for us,while the stars yet shine,shall we be at it again,and bethink ye for what!I know not what game and play ye shall be devising for to-morrow as ye ride back home;but for us when we come back here to-morrow,it shall be as if there had been no yesterday and nothing done therein,and that work of that to-day shall be nought to us also,for we shall win no respite from our toil thereby,and the morrow of to-morrow will all be to begin again once more,and so on and on till no to-morrow abideth us.Therefore,if ye are thinking to lay some new tax or tale upon us,think twice of it,for we may not bear it.And all this I say with the less fear,because I perceive this man here beside me,in the black velvet jerkin and the gold chain on his neck,is the King;nor do I think he will slay me for my word since he hath so many a Turk before him and his mighty sword!"Then said the captain:"Shall I smite the man,O King?or hath he preached thy sermon for thee?""Smite not,for he hath preached it,"said the King."Hearken to the carle's sermon,lords and councillors of mine!Yet when another hath spoken our thought,other thoughts are born therefrom,and now have I another sermon to preach;but I will refrain me as now.Let us down and to our dinner."So they went,the King and his gentles,and sat down by the river under the rustle of the poplars,and they ate and drank and were merry.And the King bade bear up the broken meats to the vine-dressers,and a good draught of the archer's wine,and to the headman he gave a broad gold piece,and to each man three silver pennies.But when the poor folk had all that under their hands,it was to them as though the kingdom of heaven had come down to earth.
In the cool of the evening home rode the King and his lords.The King was distraught and silent;but at last the captain,who rode beside him,said to him:"Preach me now thine after-sermon,O King!""I think thou knowest it already,"said the King,"else hadst thou not spoken in such wise to the carle;but tell me what is thy craft and the craft of all these,whereby ye live,as the potter by making pots,and so forth?"Said the captain:"As the potter lives by making pots,so we live by robbing the poor."Again said the King:"And my trade?"
Said he,"Thy trade is to be a king of such thieves,yet no worser than the rest."The King laughed.
"Bear that in mind,"said he,"and then shall I tell thee my thought while yonder carle spake.`Carle,'I thought,`were Ithou or such as thou,then would I take in my hand a sword or a spear,or were it only a hedge-stake,and bid others do the like,and forth would we go;and since we would be so many,and with nought to lose save a miserable life,we would do battle and prevail,and make an end of the craft of kings and of lords and of usurers,and there should be but one craft in the world,to wit,to work merrily for ourselves and to live merrily thereby.'"Said the captain:"This then is thy sermon.Who will heed it if thou preach it?"Said the King:"They who will take the mad king and put him in a king's madhouse,therefore do I forbear to preach it.Yet it SHALL be preached.""And not heeded,"said the captain,"save by those who head and hang the setters forth of new things that are good for the world.
Our trade is safe for many an many a generation."And therewith they came to the King's palace,and they ate and drank and slept and the world went on its ways.
End