Judge — May 1938 — page 22: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

NCE upon a time a King was in the backyard of his palace hanging out the wash. While he was busily engaged in his task, along the road came an elf, an oaf, and a duck, on their way to Copenhagen. Seeing the strange sight of a King hanging out wash, the three companions stopped and leaned on the fence to watch him. Finally the elf spoke up. “Are you the King of this great coun. try,” he said, “and do you rule the people for miles around, as far as the eye can see?” “Tam,” said the King, drawing him. self up proudly, and stroking his beard, “and I do.” “And,” queried the oaf, “do you sit on a golden throne in this huge palace, and hold court with all the grand lords and ladies of the land?” “Every day,” replied the King, nodding his head eagerly. “Well, then,” said the duck, “what the hell are you doing hanging out wash?” And the three friends linked arms, feathers, or whatever they had, and sauntered off down the road once more. MORAL: It is better to be a duck, or even an oaf, or an elf, than a King in name only. Il When the King heard, through one of his courtiers, of the moral that had been drawn from this happening, he became very sad, and didn’t want to be King any more. After brood. ing for a long time, he decided to leave his throne, and go 18 THE KING AND THE DUCK By Thomas B. Logue and look for the oaf, the elf, and the duck. Perhaps they would allow him to join them in their travels, And so he started out, asking different people along the road, such as cows, peasants, and roosters, if they had seen the three wayfarers. They all said yes, they had seen them on the way to Copenhagen. So the King pushed wearily on, and finally reached the gates of that great city. Once inside the city, the King sought his quarry for three days, sleeping in cold courtyards and eating only crusts of bread. But on the third day he found the very ones he was looking for, sitting in an inn drink. ing ale. “Iam the King in Name Only,” he said, “and I have come to join you.” “You are welcome,” said the elf. “We have been expecting you,” said the oaf. “Will you have a mug of ale?” The King accepted gratefully, for he was quite thirsty. “Four ales,” said the duck to the innkeeper. At this the King was much surprised. “Hold a minute,” he said. “Ducks don’t drink ale.” “This one does,” said the duck, and he held up four fin. gets stubbornly. “And neither do ducks have fingers,” cried the King, who was getting very angry. “You're not a real duck at all. You're nothing but a duck in name only.” And with these words the King drank his ale and went back to his palace, where he lived and reigned happily ever after. MORAL: If you're going to be something in name only, it might as well be a King as a duck. bvee The Judge comicbooks.com