once upon a time there was a king who was the wisest in all of the world . so wise was he that no one had ever befooled him , which is a rare thing , i can tell you . now , this king had a daughter who was as pretty as a ripe apple , so that there was no end to the number of the lads who came asking to marry her . every day there were two or three of them dawdling around the house , so that at last the old king grew tired of having them always about . so he sent word far and near that whoever should befool him might have the princess and half of the kingdom to boot , for he thought that it would be a wise man indeed who could trick him . but the king also said , that whoever should try to befool him and should fail , should have a good whipping . this was to keep all foolish fellows away . the princess was so pretty that there was no lack of lads who came to have a try for her and half of the kingdom , but every one of these went away with a sore back and no luck .
the king 's daughter .
who was as pretty as a ripe apple ?
who was as pretty as a ripe apple ?