NCE on a time there was a king, and that king had heard talk of a ship that went as fast by land as it did by water; so he set his heart on having such a ship, and he gave his word that the man who could build it should have the princess and half the kingdom. And this promise he had given out in every parish church in the realm, and at every parish meeting. There were many that tried their hands, you may fancy; for it was a nice thing to have half the kingdom, and it was brave to get the princess into the bargain; but it went ill with most of them.

So there were three brothers away in the wood; the eldest was called Peter, the second Paul, and the