and knew well how to use it.

Now, Old King Cole was a merry old soul, so he soon set all the ladies
and gentlemen of the court to dancing, and he himself took off his
crown and his ermine robe and laid them upon the throne, while he
danced with the prettiest lady present till he was all out of breath.

Then he dismissed them, and they were all very well pleased with the
new King, for they saw that, in spite of his odd ways, he had a kind
heart, and would try to make everyone about him as merry as he was
himself.

The next morning the King was informed that several of his subjects
craved audience with him, as there were matters of dispute between
them that must be settled. King Cole at first refused to see them,
declaring he knew nothing of the quarrels of his subjects and they
must manage their own affairs; but when the prime minister told him it
was one of his duties as king, and the law required it, he could not
do otherwise than submit. So he put on his crown and his ermine robe
and sat upon the throne, although he grumbled a good deal at the
necessity; for never having had any business of his own to attend to
he thought it doubly hard that in his old age he must attend to the
business of others.

The first case of dispute was between two men who each claimed to own
a fine cow, and after hearing the evidence, the King ordered the cow
to be killed and roasted and given to the poor, since that was the
easiest way to decide the matter. Then followed a quarrel between two
subjects over ten pieces of gold, one claiming the other owed him that
sum. The King, thinking them both rascals, ordered the gold to be