So once upon a time there was a prince
who travelled through his kingdom in disguise.
The idea was, of course, to get a sense
of whether all his subjects thought him wise.
He went to village squares and public inns
and listened to the peasants and their speech,
hoping to learn how many were his friends
and what lessons his enemies might teach.
But folks talked only of their family woes,
the theatre, the weather, next week's joust,
of children's grades and teenage daughters' beaus,
and not what policies the king espoused.
The prince, dejected, slunk back to the castle;
it hadn't really been worth all the hassle.
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