The sun., 1901-03-18
WISE MAN AND FOOL.

Z
fool and wise man, travelling together,
arrived one day in pleasant land that was
ruled over by king who had two daugh-
ters. In this land there were no princes
or dukes that the king could receive as
sons-in-law, all the raw material having
been cornered by girls from Cincinnati,
New York, California and Bay City, Mich,
snd SO the kings daughters pined for love.
One OF the maidens was tall and state
ly. Her voice was as the tinkle of The
shears-grinder's little bell, and she was
passing fair to look upon. The other was
plump and pretty, but distinctly not Glib
sons kind
And it befell that while the wise man
and the fool tarried in the kings realm a
war was declared against him by the duke
who had castle in an adjoining town
ship and wanted strip OF territory whose
inhabitants were able to pay their taxes
to the king semiannually in real money.
Then the wise man laid plans for the
undoing of the duke, and the fool led the
kings army in the field, and what with the
wise mans strategy and the FOOLS daring, the
duke was soon compelled to yield a coaling
station to the king and agree to an open
door policy. So the king spoke unto the
wise man and the fool saying:
"Forasmuch as We have enabled me to
pump the tobasco sauce into the duke, / will
give ye my daughters to be your wives. Go
now and win their hearts, and may we all be
happy ever afterward."
Now, it fortuned that the fool was a
handsome man. His hair would stay part
ed all day; he was big and well proportioned,
and having been captain of the kings mill.
tia, he was entitled to wear uniform. He
was the cynosure of all the goo-goo eyes in
the kingdom.
The wise man, on the other hand, was
not an Adonis; the lines of thought made
his face look like railroad map of Illinois,
and every little while his necktie would
work itself over the top Of his collar behind.
Being wise, he knew that the fool had but
to choose which of the kings daughters he
wanted, and moreover, he had no doubt that
the stately, beautiful princess-the one he
desired for his own wife-would be the
FOOLS first choice.
Therefore the wise man laid subtle
plan whereby the superb maiden would be
left for himself. Taking the fool aside, he
said:
1--WE are invited to become members of
the kings household. His daughters wait
for us to woo and win them, hence it re-
mains only for us to agree between our
selves which of them each desires for his
wife. Now, you are tall man and | am
not. One of the maidens is tall and beau
tiful. The other is pretty, and-we might
say roly-poly You can see for yourself
that the pretty, little princess is naturally
the one for me, while the stately, beautiful
one should be your choice. You and she
would be a handsome couple. Think how
you would loom up in grand march! What
do you say? Shall | try to win the pretty
little one while you WOO her queenly sister?
Come, is it agreed?"
The fool, as the wise man had foreseen,
became possessed of a strong preference for
the pretty little princess the moment he
began to suspect that another preferred her
above her sister, and instead of entering
into an agreement he hurried away, found
the yiyacious maiden trying to hole down
at the seventh green, and began making love
Ia her with all his might.
The wise man followed discreetly, saw
what was going on, and rubbed his hands
with satisfaction, From the first he had
loved the>stately princess, and with the
fool and her sister safely married happi-
ness would be within his grasp.
But he did not sit down, content to let
the scheme work itself out alone. Day after
day he sought the little princess and fiat.
tered her and made loye 10 her, and whetted
the jealousy of the fool, Meanwhile her
beautiful sister was left to mediate alone,
and the king and all his household marveled
that neither of the travellers seemed to an.
precate her loveliness,
The rivalry Of the wise man and the fool
wss Of short duration. In few daysitwas