THERE was once a king of England whose name was John. He was a trifling, worthless fellow, and as mean a man as ever wore a crown.
He was not the rightful king of England; for by the English law the crown ought to have gone to his nephew, Prince Arthur. But the prince was only a child, and in those rude, rough times the young and the weak had but little chance against the wicked and the strong. It was an easy matter for John to push the lad aside, take possession of his castles and tre