But though he now had little more to learn in his craft, the Lad,
when the shoe was made, picked it up in his pincers and flung it to
the other end of the forge; yet the King now knew enough to know
that few smiths could have made its equal. So he looked surprised;
at which the Lad, controlling himself, said:

"When I pass your fourth shoe you will need no more masters--I
forged a shoe like that one yonder when I was fifteen, and my father
said of it, You will make a smith one day.'"

And on neither Tuesday nor Wednesday nor Thursday nor Friday could
the King succeed in pleasing the Lad; the better his shoes the
angrier grew his young master that they were not good enough. Yet
between these gusts of temper he was gentle and remorseful, and once
the King saw tears in his eyes, and another time the Lad came humbly
to ask for pardon. Then William laughed and put out his hand, but,
as once before, the Lad slipped his behind his back and said:

"It is so dirty, friend."

And this time he would not let William take it. So the King was
forced instead to lay his arm about the Lad's shoulder, and press it
tenderly; but the Lad made no response, and only stood hanging his
head until the King removed his arm. All the same, when next the
King made a shoe he was full of rage, and stamped on it, and ran out
of the forge. Which surprised the King all the more because it was
so excellent a shoe. Yet he was secretly glad of its rejection, for
he felt it would break his heart to go away from that place; and he
could think of no good cause for remaining, once Pepper was shod. So