Sir Humphrey and His Trusty Steed

Long ago, the people who lived in the Czech lands largely made their living by farming. They grew grain so that they could bake bread and cook porridge and they tended to their fruit trees. They kept chickens and rabbits and, day in, day out, they drove their geese, goats, cattle and sheep out to pasture. No one was idle, everyone did their bit, and because the land was fertile no one went hungry.

At that time, Prince Kengrave ruled over the land. He lived in Prague in a castle that loomed high above the Vltava River. Everyone called it “High Castle”. Up there, Kengrave’s guards had an excellent view far and wide over the surrounding countryside, so they were always quick to spot any danger approaching.

Kengrave was not a virtuous lord. He wanted to exploit his subjects as much as possible and he did not care about their welfare. One day, he was informed that some silver had been found underground, not far from Prague. Greedy Kengrave’s eyes sparkled as he immediately imagined a chest full of silver coins and jewellery. He quickly called together his most expert miners and told them:

“Dear subjects, our country’s prosperity is in your hands. Waste no time, set to work immediately.”

So the miners went there straight away and began to dig a silver mine. In next to no time, the first of them had gone down into the mine and returned with silver. The vein of silver in that place was large and Kengrave wanted more and more, so he kept on sending more and more miners.

But the more time his men spent in the mine, the less time they had for other work. Weeds began to grow in the fields and it…