The kplayer4/24/2023 The piglet gave yet another scritching scream, which pleased the crowd even more. Then the other pretend woman cried, “Not true, beloved King. That sent the crowd into loud laughter, in which I joined. No sooner did “she” say this than the piglet let out an unruly squeal. “Oh, great King Solomon,” one of them cried in a loud, high-pitched voice. Two other players, dressed as women, knelt before the king and held up their hands, as if begging. In the king’s other hand was a large sword made of wood. In one hand, this player king dangled a live piglet-a blue ribbon tied round its head-which squealed and twisted about in great distress. One man had a black beard tied to his chin, and a crumped crown-something colored gold-on his head. They wore motley costumes, multi-patched and many colored. Three players-all men-strode out from behind the painted cloth. It mattered nothing to me that I could not read: Street interludes were usually full of jolly sport and I loved them. A woman held up a banner with words, which no doubt explained what story was to be mimed. Musicians stood on either side of the platform, one playing a recorder, the other thumping a tabor. The cloth, hanging from a rope, bore a painting of a castle. To my great delight, what I saw was a band of players about to perform an interlude on a rickety platform before a frayed cloth. I was always wishing to enjoy a free pastime, so I wiggled to the front. Observing that a crowd had gathered, I was curious to learn the reason why. It was as I passed before All Saints Church that I heard the swirl of pipe and beating drum. Alas, I possessed not so much as a farthing, the smallest coin in the kingdom-one fourth of a penny. Keepers of stalls were crying, “New onions!” “Spices!” “Meat pies!”īeing always hungry, I would have much loved to have devoured a round dozen pies. Painted and carved signs proclaimed what was being sold in shops. The street was lined by three-story timbered houses that leaned over my head while all kinds of pretty flags fluttered. As for the dog and pigs, they, like me, were mostly skin and bones, all slubberly with soot. A goodly number of people were even clean. The clothing most wore was far better than my own tattered brown tunic, and their feet were wrapped in leather, not mud as were mine. There were scholars, beggars, clerics, soldiers, and merchants, including wealthy folk in their finery. The High Street was crowded with children, women, and men, plus dogs and pigs. It had rained the night before, so the city stench was but slight. When I went walking out that morning, a rare, bright sun was over loft. Only then did I gain a bit of daylight liberty. The tavern was a deep, cellar place, darkful, foul, and loud-tongued so that of all the never-ending chores I was required to do, the one task I truly liked was going out to fetch the bread. At the time, I was living, sleeping, and forever working in a place known as Tackley’s Tavern on the High Street. MY TALE BEGINS in Oxford, England, in the Year of our Lord 1486. Yet in this dangerous battle for the throne, Lambert is not prepared for what’s to come-or for what it really means to play at being a king. Lambert has everything to gain and nothing to lose, or so he thinks. With the aid of the deceitful Earl of Lincoln, Brother Simonds sets out to teach the boy how to become the rightful English king. But this is nothing compared to the secret that the friar reveals: You, Lambert, are actually Prince Edward, the true King of England! Meanwhile, a penniless kitchen boy named Lambert Simnel is slaving away at a tavern in Oxford-until a mysterious friar, Brother Simonds, buys Lambert from the tavern keeper and whisks him away in the dead of night. King Henry VII has recently snatched the English Crown and now sits on the throne, while young Prince Edward, who has a truer claim, has apparently disappeared. “Swiftly moving and utterly engrossing.” - Shelf Awarenessįrom Newbery Award–winning author Avi comes the gripping and amazingly true tale of a boy plucked from the gutter to become the King of England.Įngland, 1486.
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