there was once a great king of england who was calledwilliam the conqueror，and he had three sons.
one day king william seemed to be thinking of somethingthat made him very sad；and the wise men who were about himasked him what was the matter.
“i am thinking，”he said，“of what my sons may do after iam dead.i am at a loss to know which one of the three ought tobe the king when i am gone.”
“o king！”said the wise men，“if we only knew what thingsyour sons admire the most，we might then be able to tell what kindof men they will be.perhaps，by asking them a few questions，wecan find out which one of them will be best fitted to rule in yourplace.”
“the plan is well worth trying at least.”said the king.
the wise men decided that the young princes should bebrought in，one at a time，and that the same questions should beput to each.
“fair sir，”asked one of the wise men，“answer me thisquestion：if，instead of being a boy，it would please god that youshould be a bird，what kind of bird would you rather be？”
“a hawk ，”answered robert.“i would rather be a hawk，for no other bird reminds one so much of a bold and gallant knight.”
“an eagle，”answered william.“i would rather be an ea－gle，because it is strong and brave.it，is feared by all other birds，and therefore the king of them all.”
“a starling”answered henry，the youngest brother.“iwould rather be a starling，because it is good－mannered and kindand a joy to every one who sees it，and it never tries to rob orabuse its neighbour.”
从前，英格兰有一位伟大的国王，名叫征服者威廉。他有三个儿子。
有一天，威廉国王忧心忡忡，好象在思索什么。他周围的贤士们问他是怎么回事。
“我在想，”他说，“我死了以后，我的儿子们能干些什么。我没有办法断定，我死了以后，他们三个人中哪一个应该继承王位。”
“噢，国王！”贤士们说，“只要我们事先知道您的儿子们最喜欢什么，我们就能够说出他们将来会是一个什么样的人。或许向他们每个人提几个问题，我们就能够看出他们中哪一个最适合接替你统治国家。”
“这个计策至少很值得一试，”国王说。
贤士们决定把年轻的王子们叫出来，一次叫一个，问他们同样的问题。
“殿下，”一个贤士问，“回答我这个问题：假如上帝不让你做男孩子，却要你做一只鸟，那么，你愿意做哪种鸟呢？”
“一只隼，”罗伯特回答。“我愿做一只隼，因为其他任何鸟都不能像它那样使人想起一个勇猛而英俊的骑士。”
“一只鹰，”威廉回答。“我愿做一只鹰，因为它强健而勇敢，其他的鸟都怕它，因此它是鸟中之王。”
“一只欧椋鸟，”最小的兄弟亨利回答。“我愿做一只欧椋鸟，因为它彬彬有礼，和蔼可亲，谁看见它谁就高兴。而且它从来不想掠夺和辱骂它的邻居。”