A great king of a land far away in the East had a daughter who wasvery beautiful, but so proud, and haughty, and conceited, that noneof the princes who came to ask her in marriage was good enough forher, and she only made sport of them.
Once upon a time the king held a great feast, and asked thither allher suitors; and they all sat in a row, ranged according to theirrank—kings, and princes, and dukes, and earls, and counts, and barons,and knights. Then the princess came in, and as she passed by themshe had something spiteful to say to every one. The first was too fat:«He’s as round as a tub,» said she. The next was too tall: «What amaypole!» said she. The next was too short: «What a dumpling!» saidshe. The fourth was too pale, and she called him «Wallface.» The fifthwas too red, so she called him «Coxcomb.» The sixth was not straightenough; so she said he was like a green stick, that had been laid todry over a baker’s oven. And thus she had some joke to crack upon everyone: but she laughed more than all at a good king who was there. «Lookat him,» said she; «his beard is like an old mop; he shall be calledGrisly-beard.» So the king got the nickname of Grisly-beard.
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