WONDERING TOM

Lona, long ago, in a great city whose name is forgotten,
situated on a river that ran dry in the days of Cinderella,
there lived a certain boy, the only son of a poor widow.
He had such a fine form and pleasant face that one day, as
he loitered on his mother’s door-step, the King stopped on
the street to look at him.

“Who is that boy?” asked his Majesty of his Prime
Minister.

This question brought the entire royal procession to a
standstill.

The Prime Minister did not know, so he asked the Lord
of the Exchequer. The Lord of the Exchequer asked the
High Chamberlain; the High Chamberlain asked the
Master of the Horse; the Master of the Horse asked the
Court Physician; the Court Physician asked the Royal
Rat-Catcher ; the Royal Rat-Catcher asked the Chief-
Cook-and-Bottle-Washer ; and the Chief-Cook-and-Bottle-
Washer asked a little girl named Wisk.

Little Wisk, with a pretty courtesy, informed him that
the boy’s name was Wondering Tom.

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