“Yes, Sire,” the school master said. He stuck


his thumbs under his lapels and rocked back and forth on his heels. When he received the gold, horses and carts he was going to give up teaching reading, writing and arithmetic and take up riding, archery and ballroom dancing. In a booming voice that could be heard in every corner of the room, causing former students’ knees to knock, he told the King, “There can only be one solution and that is … knowledge.”


He simply couldn’t believe it when the King told him his answer was incorrect. With a few parting remarks about some long-ago afternoons a certain King had spent in detention, he turned on his heel and stomped from the room. Seth walked forward and stood before the


King’s throne. There were titters from the onlookers as they regarded the boy covered in leaves and twigs. His cone hat kept slipping down to his nose and he was having difficulty carrying the enormous book under his arm. The King smiled at Seth and repeated the


riddle. “The rich want me


The wise are sure of me Fools know me Heroes fear me What am I?”


Seth let his book slide to the floor. He knew it was no help. Even though he thought he’d found a couple of possible answers, a librarian would have examined the book much more carefully than he had, not to mention the fact that the librarian’s up- to-date book was almost twice as thick and would have twice as many riddles in it. Seth took off the wizard’s hat. If a witch


couldn’t use her magic powers to summon up the answer to the riddle, what hope was there for a mere peasant boy? He took off the cloak. He had tried to seek


inspiration from the leaves and branches of the Tree of Knowledge. But if a school teacher did not know the answer to the riddle, Seth thought that it was pretty unlikely he would be able to guess it. “Do you have an answer for me, boy?” the King


asked. Seth hung his head dejectedly. He had walked


such a long way all for nothing. “I come before Your Majesty with … nothing,” he said. “Sire, my answer is … nothing.” Everyone waited for King Riddles to scold the


boy for wasting his time. But the King’s lips stretched into a big wide grin and his moustache wriggled like a furry caterpillar. “Congratulations!” he said. Seth looked up in great surprise as King Riddles


ordered his servants to bring the gold, horses and carts. As Seth set off for home, he figured that by the


time he got there he might have worked out which part of his answer was right. He had never been good at riddles.


The End


15


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