Here the children were again cornered for a solution.
"What! don't you know," said the minister, "that the bishop with the largest hat is the bishop with the largest head? But seeing I have been giving you some puzzling questions, I will now allow you to have your turn and put some questions to me, to see if I can answer them."
Silence fell upon the whole school. No one was apparently bold enough to tackle the minister. At length, from the far corner of the room, a little chap of about seven years got to his feet, and with an audacity that actually appalled the master, cried out in a loud, shrill, piping voice, with the utmost sang froid:
"Can you tell me why millers wear white caps?"
The minister was perfectly astounded, and for the life of him could find no solution of the problem.
He began to feel somewhat uncomfortable, while the master frowned with awful threatening in his glance at the undaunted young culprit, who stood calmly waiting a reply to his poser.
"No, my boy," said the minister at length; "I cannot tell why millers wear white caps. What is the reason?"
"Weel, sir," replied the young shaver, "millers wear white caps just to cover their heads."
It is needless to remark that the roar which followed rather disconcerted the minister, and he had some difficulty afterwards in proceeding with his official examination.
Keeping His Threat—at His Own Expense