noble men sat down with him to dine; and fifty brave knights, in fine
velvet coats and gold chains, waited upon him at his table.

When King John heard of the way in which the abbot lived, he made up
his mind to put a stop to it. So he sent for the old man to come and
see him.

"How now, my good abbot?" he said. "I hear that you keep a far better
house than I. How dare you do such a thing? Don't you know that no man
in the land ought to live better than the king? And I tell you that no
man shall."

"O king!" said the abbot, "I beg to say that I am spending nothing but
what is my own. I hope that you will not think ill of me for making
things pleasant for my friends and the brave knights who are with me."

"Think ill of you?" said the king. "How can I help but think ill of
you? All that there is in this broad land is mine by right; and how do
you dare to put me to shame by living in grander style than I? One
would think that you were trying to be king in my place."

"Oh, do not say so!" said the abbot "For I"--

"Not another word!" cried the king. "Your fault is plain, and unless
you can answer me three questions, your head shall be cut off, and all
your riches shall be mine."

"I will try to answer them, O king!" said the abbot.

"Well, then," said King John, "as I sit here with my crown of gold on