ThePrinceandthePauper王子与贫儿
The words struck a chill to Edward’s heart. Then another cry shook the night: “Long live King Edward the Sixth!”
Yet Edward could convince no one that he was king. Although the crowd jeered3 and taunted him, he stood his ground. “I will not say that I am not king.”
“Whether you are or not, you are a gallant4  lad, and not without a friend. I, Miles Hendon, will prove it.” With that, the tall, strong man caught up the prince in his arms and wanted to carry him away from the mob. But Edward got lost with him.
The mob already had a plan to trick the boy into joining a gang of beggars and thieves. Hearing the boy declare that he was King of England, a tinker5 shrieked6, “The first!”
Almost before Edward could draw a breath, he was crowned with a tin basin7, robed in a tattered8 blanket, throned on a barrel, and sceptered9 with the tinker’s soldering10  iron. All fell themselves on their knees and wiped their eyes with their sleeves. “O king!”
The little king’s eyes filled with tears. “They are so cruel to me, yet I have done nothing to them.”
By dawn, gaiety11 was gone from the mob. They set forward on a long march, but came to a halt on the outskirts of a village and scattered to ply12 their trades.
Edward did not slow his pace, but kept going until he was out of harm’s reach. On he traveled, wounded and indignant13, obliged to keep moving until nightfall. How glad he was to see a glimmer of light coming from a hut! He grew close to look inside. Before a shrine14, lighted by a single candle, kneeled an aged man, and on an old wooden box at his side  an open book and a human skull. The man was large and bony; his hair and whiskers were long and snowy white, and he was clothed in a sheepskin robe.
“A holy hermit15!” Edward exclaimed. He nearly leaped for joy as he knocked on the door.
A voice responded: “Enter! But leave sin behind, for the ground you will stand on is holy!”
The boy entered and said， “I am the king.”
“Will, I am an angel! I might have been pope!” said the hermit.“You are king of what?”
“Of England.”
“Henry is gone?”
hermit
“I am his son.”
A frown settled on the hermit’s face. “Do you know that your father turned us out homeless into the world?”
There was no response. The old man scanned the boy’s face and listened to his soft breathing. “He’s asleep,” he whispered, and went to sharpen an old butcher16 knife.“It is best that he not cry out,” the hermit muttered.
He took a rag and a thong17 and gently tied the king’s ankles and wrists. An evil smile crept over the old man’s face. “Son of Henry the Eighth, have you prayed?”
The boy’s eyes opened, staring up in horror at the knife.
Suddenly, knocking thundered on the cabin door. The knife dropped from the hermit’s hand. He threw a sheepskin over the boy and closed the door behind him.
A voice—that of Miles Hendon—asked, “Where is the boy?”
“If you mean the ragged babe, I sent him on an errand18,” the hermit replied.
Footsteps died away quickly, and a dull despair pressed the king’s heart. “My only friend is deceived. The hermit will ”
Again the door opened. The king pinched19  his eyes shut, then opened them to see John Canty and a youth standing before him. A moment later, his limbs were set free and his captors were hurrying him through the forest.
Now did King Tom Canty ever think about the rightful prince who treated him so kindly? At first, yes, but after a while Tom’s mind became busy with his kingdom.
On Coronation20 Day, the people gave a glad shout to welcome him. They received him
with21 prayers and tender words, urging the great pageant22 forward from one triumphal arch23 to another.
“And all of this is for me!”murmured Tom Canty.
A triumphant24 anthem25 swept through Westminster Abbey26 as Tom, robed in gold, stepped onto the platform, and the Archbishop27 of Canterbury held the crown of England over Tom’s trembling head. In the same instant, another boy, bareheaded and dressed in rags, walked up the central aisle. “I forbid you to set the crown of England on that head. I am the king!” he warned.
Several hands were laid on the boy at once. Tome Canty shouted, “Let go of him! He is the king!”
Of course, no one believed it. However, the Lord Protector did observe the pair’s resemblance. “I desire to ask certain ”
“I will answer them, my lord,” Edward said.
“Where is the Great Seal？”
Edward hesitated. “I know where it is, but I did not put it there first,” Tom interrupted. “Before you ran from the palace, you snatched up28 a large gold disk and looked about as if for a hiding place.”

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