“Well,” said the king, “rise up and be not afraid! Look well about you. Perhaps you may find the fellow in this company.”
The cobbler arose and looked wistfully upon the king and his nobles, but to no purpose; for, although he thought he saw something in the king’s face which he had seen before, yet, he could not imagine him to be Harry Tudor, the heel of whose shoe he had mended, and who had been so merry with him, both at the inn and in his own cellar.
He therefore told the king he did not expect to find Harry Tudor among such fine folks as he saw there, but the person that he looked for was a plain, honest, true-hearted fellow, adding withal, that he was sure if Harry Tudor did but know that he had come to court he would make him welcome.
At this speech of the cobbler, the king had much to do to forbear laughing; but keeping his countenance as well as he could, he said to the yeoman of the guard, “Here, take this honest cobbler down into the cellar and I will give orders that Harry Tudor shall come to him presently.”
So away went the cobbler ready to leap out of his skin for joy, not only that he had gotten off so well in his meeting with the king, but also that he should soon see his friend, Harry Tudor, again.
The cobbler had not been long in the cellar before the king came into him, in the same clothes he had on when the cobbler mended his shoe. The cobbler knew him immediately and ran to him and kissed him, saying, “Honest Harry, I have made a holiday on purpose to come and see you, but I had much to do to get leave of my wife, Joan, who was loathe I should lose so much time from my work, but I was resolved to see you. So I made myself as fine as I could. But I’ll tell you, Harry, when I came to court, I was in a pack of trouble how to find you out. At last I met a man who told me he knew you very well, and that he would bring me to you. But instead of doing so he brought me before the king, who has almost frightened me to death. But in good faith,” continued the cobbler, “I am resolved to be merry with you, since I have the good fortune to find you at last.”
“Ay, so you shall,” replied the king, “we will be as merry as princes.”
With that they drank together the king’s health.
“Honest Harry, I will pledge thee with all my heart.”
Now after the cobbler had made merry, he began to sing some of his old songs and catches. This pleased the king very much and made him laugh most heartily. All of a sudden a group of nobles came into the cellar richly dressed. They stood with heads uncovered bowing before Harry Tudor. This amazed the cobbler very much but recovering himself he looked more closely upon Harry Tudor and presently he knew him to be the king whom he had seen in the Presence Chamber.