[ WP ] Under the guise of a common beggar , a king seeks a worthy heir to the throne among his people .

`` Spare a bit of bread, sir?'' 
 
 The man kicked out with one boot, nearly catching Reginald in the face. He turned his horse aside without looking to see if he'd injured the older man, and rode off down the trail. 
 
 From beside Reginald came a low growl. `` I'll have him hanged.'' The voice seemed to come from the shrubbery. 
 
 `` No,'' Reginald said. `` He did n't know what he was doing.'' 
 
 Another man came, a while later. Behind him were a weeping woman and three malnourished children. 
 
 `` Spare a bit of bread, sir?'' Reginald asked again. 
 
 The man hesitated, and glanced back at his family. Then he slipped a bag off his shoulder and opened it. Inside were a single apple and a small chunk of bread. 
 
 `` Tomas, no,'' the woman said, touching her husband's shoulder. 
 
 Tomas shook her off, broke the bread in half, and handed a piece to Reginald. 
 
 Reginald thanked him, and waved. Tomas stood for a moment, as if waiting for a boon. Then, with a dejected look, he turned to walk away. 
 
 When his back was turned, Reginald handed the bread to the smallest child. 
 
 `` Why did you do that Tomas?'' he heard the woman hissing. `` We have n't enough for ourselves!'' 
 
 `` What if he'd been a wizard or something?'' Tomas' voice carried back. 
 
 Then they were gone. 
 
 `` Why not him?'' asked the bush. 
 
 Reginald shook his head. `` He's kind enough, but his head is in the clouds. He chose to let his entire family go hungry on the off chance that a beggar was more than he seemed.'' 
 
 `` You are more than you seem.'' 
 
 `` Yes, but it's not a very logical assumption, is it?'' 
 
 The bush said nothing. For two weeks they sat there, begging for bread. Reginald and his bush watched man after man and woman after woman walk past. Some were kind, some cruel, and many were simply trying to survive. 
 
 Most walked past, heads down, as if they had n't heard him. 
 
 `` Spare a bit of bread, miss?'' 
 
 The latest passerby was a girl of about 14 years, dressed in old, but well patched and serviceable clothes. 
 
 `` What's that?'' she said. 
 
 `` Spare a bit of bread, miss?'' Reginald asked again. 
 
 The girl looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. `` You do n't look hungry,'' she said. `` You do n't look much like a beggar at all.'' 
 
 `` I've recently fallen from my station,'' Reginald said. 
 
 `` And you take right away to begging on the trail?'' she asked. `` I'm sorry, but I do n't believe you.'' 
 
 Reginald smiled. He gave her the story he'd concocted, just in case. She looked at him doubtfully. Finally, she spoke again. 
 
 `` If you're really hungry, follow me,'' she said. 
 
 She lead him, first, to the fields. `` See here?'' she said. `` This grain that falls in the grass?'' 
 
 Reginald nodded. 
 
 `` The farmers leave this grain - they think it tainted. Sometimes they will pay you to take it away, so that it does n't draw pests to the fields.'' 
 
 She showed Reginald how to gather the grain in his cloak, then went up to the farmhouse and spoke to the farmer for a moment. He handed her a copper coin. Reginald looked on in admiration. 
 
 Then she led him to a stream. She peeled bark from a nearby branch and handed him a knife. She showed him how to fashion a spear, then taught him to stand patiently in the stream, and eventually he caught a fish. 
 
 Back on shore, they collected berries for a while. Then she ground the grain between two stones, mixed it with fresh water from the stream, and stirred in the berries to make a sort of porridge. 
 
 Finally, she showed him how to gut and clean the fish, and to build a fire on which to cook it. 
 
 `` Now you can feed yourself,'' she said. `` Without the need to beg.'' 
 
 Reginald grinned, and opened his mouth to speak. She interrupted him. `` You should have enough for your friend, as well.'' 
 
 Sheepishly, Reginald's guard stepped from behind a tree. `` I am a mite hungry,'' he said. 
 
 `` You're amazing,'' Reginald said. `` Thank you.'' 
 
 She nodded curtly. `` No more begging, now,'' she admonished. Then she left them. 
 
 `` She was perfect,'' Reginald said. 
 
 His guard eyed the fish hungrily. `` Are we done then, sire?'' he asked. `` Have you found your heir?'' 
 
 `` Do n't be ridiculous,'' Reginald said, taking a bite of porridge. `` As if the people would ever accept a woman as king.''
