"Friends, what large residence is that which I see yonder, girt by a fosse?"
"It is the burg of our master, Count Neroweg."
"Is he at the burg to-day?"
"He is in royal company."
"In royal company?"
"Chram, the son of the King of the Franks, arrived there this morning with his bodyguard; we come from the pond where we caught this mess of fish for to-night's supper."
"As true as my beard is grey that is a good windfall for a poor man like me. I shall be able to amuse the noble seigneurs exhibiting my bear and monkey to them. Do you believe, my children, that I shall be allowed admission to the burg?"
"Oh, we do not know. Strangers are not usually allowed to cross the fosse of the burg, without special permission from the seigneur count. The draw-bridge is guarded by day, and raised at night.
"Nevertheless, last winter, I know, another exhibitor of trained animals visited the burg, and the seigneur count was greatly entertained with their performances. He may not refuse to tender a similar entertainment to his royal guest."
"Perhaps not. If he does, then the evening's entertainment will help to while away the time of the seigneurs until to-morrow morning's spectacle."