74 THE LITTLE TAILOR

ACT I

Time—one AFter noon,lonG,lonG AGo

Place—A room in the tAilor'S ShoP

[Little Tailor sits on a table, sewing. Beside him are his great scissors and his thread. The door opens, and Master Tailor comes in.]

LITTLE TAILOR. Welcome to you, Master! Have you been to the King's palace? Did the King's coat fit him?

[Master Tailor shakes his head sadly and throws the king's coat upon the table.]

MASTER TAILOR. The King would not even see me! He would see no one.

LITTLE TAILOR. Is the poor King sick?

MASTER TAILOR. No, he is not sick, but he is very sad. He wishes to marry the beautiful princess. But her father says that the king shall not marry her until he answers three questions.

LITTLE TAILOR. Three questions! Upon my scissors and thread! If I were King, I would answer a hundred questions, to marry so beautiful a Princess.

MASTER TAILOR. But he cannot answer them! No one can answer them! So he sits all day with his head in his hands, thinking of the three questions. He would not even look at this fine new coat.

LITTLE TAILOR. But what are these three questions? Maybe I can answer them.

MASTER TAILOR. You are a good little tailor, but you had better stick to your scissors and thread. You cannot answer them.

LITTLE TAILOR. But please tell me what these questions are, Master Tailor.

MASTER TAILOR. Well, the three questions are:

How many stars are in the sky?

How many hairs on your head lie?

And last of all, how old am I?

[Little Tailor stops sewing. He puts his head in his hands, and thinks for a moment. Then he gets off the table quickly.]

LITTLE TAILOR. I must hurry so that I can get to the King's palace tonight.

[He puts on his long cloak and pointed hat. Then he picks up the king's coat and hurries toward the door.]

MASTER TAILOR. [Dropping his work in surprise.]

Where are you going? Why are you taking the King's coat?

LITTLE TAILOR. Oh, I am off to the Palace to tell the King how to answer the three questions.[He hurries out.]

ACT II

Time—the eveninG oF the SAme DAy

Place—the kinG'S PAlAce

[The King sits on his throne with his head in his hands. His courtiers stand about the room looking sad. A servant comes in.]

SERVANT. Dinner is ready in the Great Hall!

KING. Go away! Go away! I cannot eat.

[Someone knocks at the door crying, “Open! Open! ”]

What is that noise?

DOOR-KEEPER. A foolish tailor boy is outside.

KING. Why does he come to the Palace?

DOOR-KEEPER. He says he can tell you how to answer the three questions.

KING. Bring the tailor boy in at once.

[The great door is opened, and Little Tailor comes in with the King's coat on his arm.]

You say you can answer the three questions? How do you even know what these questions are?

LITTLE TAILOR. My Master was here today with this coat. He told me what the questions are. I can answer them.

KING. If you can answer them you shall have anything you wish! First, tell me how many stars are in the sky.

LITTLE TAILOR. Give me a pen, some ink, a big sheet of white paper, and a table.

[A Courtier brings them in. Little Tailor puts the paper upon the table and makes a great many black dots upon it. Then he holds it up.]

There, O King! Count the dots!

KING. [Shaking his head.]I cannot count them!There are so many dots that no one could count them.

LITTLE TAILOR. Very well! So it is with the stars in the sky!

KING. [In great joy.] Very good! Very good! Just so I will answer the father of the Princess. That is the only true answer! But now tell me how many hairs there are on my head.

LITTLE TAILOR. Take off your crown, O King.

[The King takes off his crown. Little Tailor goes up to him and pulls out one of his hairs.]

There! You have one hair less than you had when I came here.

KING. [Clapping his hands.]Good again!There could not be a better answer! The father of the Princess will not have a word to say. But now, tell me how to answer the last question. What shall I say when the father of the Princess asks me how old he is?

LITTLE TAILOR. Oh, that is the very easiest question of all! He is as old as his tongue, and a little older than his teeth.

KING. [He shakes Little Tailor by the hand.]You are indeed a wise little tailor! I shall marry the Princess tomorrow. Tell me what you wish to have, and I will give it to you.

LITTLE TAILOR. I have only one thing to ask of you. Try on this coat, to see if it fits.

KING. I do not need to try on the coat. So wise a tailor is sure to make a coat that fits. You shall make all my coats as long as I live.

ALL THE COURTIERS. [Shouting together.]Long live the king! Long live Little Tailor!

(Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm)

Word list

tailor: a person whose job is making or fixing clothes

act: the chapters of a play are called “acts”

courtier: a person who works in a castle for a king and queen

You Practice

A) Answer the following questions.

1) Why is Master Tailor so sad?

2) Why does the king have to answer three questions?

3) Who asked the king the three questions?

4) Why did the father of the beautiful princess ask the king these questions?

5) Why was Master Tailor surprised to see Little Tailor leave for the palace?

6) How can you tell the king was excited about Little Tailor's answers?

B) Thank you letter—Little Tailor helped the king answer three important questions and the king marries the beautiful princess. Help the king write a letter of thanks to Little Tailor.

________________

(date)

Dear _________________:

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.

Sincerely,

______________________

C) True or false? Read these sentences carefully. Write true or false for each one.

1) _____ Little Tailor made the coat for the king.

2) _____ Master Tailor helped the king answer the three questions.

3) _____ Master Tailor and Little Tailor went to the palace together.

4) _____ The king was very angry at Little Tailor.

5) _____ The king told Little Tailor he could have anything he wanted.