King Alfred story.

An English legend.  I like it very much.

Many years ago, in Old Britain, there was a king called Alfred. He was defending his country against barbarian invaders. He had lost a battle, and he ran away, crossing planes, mountains, rivers and valleys. Finally, he found a hut, and he went inside it.

An old woman lived on there. She didn’t know that Alfred was the king; but se gave him food, a seat next to the fireplace and a corner to sleep that night. Alfred was grateful, and he thought: “I will give this woman a prize if I return to my castle safe and sound".

The day after, Alfred was sitting next to the fire. The woman was in the forest collecting wood. She had said to Alfred: “Please, look after some cakes I have let in the oven” Alfred told her: “Don’t worry, woman. I’ll take care of them!” But he was a bit scatterbrained, so he forgot the cakes. When the old woman came back to her hut, she discovered that the cakes were burnt. She pursued him, screaming and striking the royal head with a cane!