“‘Oh, it is not that,’ cried the beautiful girl. ‘The shoe will do very well, but the moment I put it on, your troubles will begin.’
“‘Well,’ replied Smat, ‘we must have troubles of some sort anyhow, and the sooner they begin, the sooner they’ll be ended. So put on your shoe.’
“Now, it happened that just as the girl put on the shoe, which fitted her foot exactly, King Stuff and his councilors came driving up to the door. King Stuff was not a large man, but he was very fierce-looking. He called out from his carriage of state and asked what sort of a person lived in that house that he couldn’t come out and salute when the king and his councilors went riding by. Smat went to the door and bowed as politely as he could, and said that he would have been glad to bow and salute, if he had known his royal highness and their excellent excellencies intended to honor his poor house even so much as to pass by it. The king and his councilors looked at one another and shook their heads.
“‘This man is none of us,’ said the oldest and wisest of the councilors. ‘We must be careful.’
“‘How long have you lived here?’ asked the king.
“‘Longer than I wanted to,’ replied Smat. ‘My house is so far from the palace that I have not been able to call and pay my respects to your majesty.’
“‘I see you are a maker of shoes,’ remarked the king, seeing the awl in Smat’s hand.
“‘No, your majesty, not a maker of shoes, but simply a shoemaker. Thus far I have succeeded in making only one shoe.’
“At this the king and his councilors began to shake and tremble. ‘What was the prophecy?’ cried the king to the oldest and wisest. ‘Repeat it!’
“The oldest and the wisest closed his eyes, allowed his head to drop to one side, and said in solemn tones:—