off wrangling until one of them has proven his right
to be king. But if one of the twelve can make good
his claim to sovereignty, the rest are ready to crown
him and will become his loyal subjects—so they say.
Boy. Well, Father Time, why don’t you decide
which is your best child, and appoint him king, and
so settle the whole matter?
Father Time. Oh, a father cannot select his best
child. All the children in a family must be equal in
their parents’ eyes, you understand. But [tapping