` Yes , the prince and Kostieï 's daughter have just gone by . They have entered the church , and told me to give you their greetings if I met you . ' Then Kostieï knew that he had been hopelessly beaten , and the prince and princess continued their journey without any more adventures . -LSB- Contes Populaires Slaves . Traduits par Louis Léger . Paris : Leroux , éditeur . -RSB- THE SIMPLETON There lived , once upon a time , a man who was as rich as he could be ; but as no happiness in this world is ever quite complete , he had an only son who was such a simpleton that he could barely add two and two together . At last his father determined to put up with his stupidity no longer , and giving him a purse full of gold , he sent him off to seek his fortune in foreign lands , mindful of the adage : How much a fool that 's sent to roam Excels a fool that stays at home . Moscione , for this was the youth 's name , mounted a horse , and set out for Venice , hoping to find a ship there that would take him to Cairo . After he had ridden for some time he saw a man standing at the foot of a poplar tree , and said to him : ` What 's your name , my friend ; where do you come from , and what can you do ? ' The man replied , ` My name is Quick-as-Thought , I come from Fleet-town , and I can run like lightning . ' ' I should like to see you , ' returned Moscione . ` Just wait a minute , then , ' said Quick-as-Thought , ` and I will soon show you that I am speaking the truth . ' The words were hardly out of his mouth when a young doe ran right across the field they were standing in . Quick-as-Thought let her run on a short distance , in order to give her a start , and then pursued her so quickly and so lightly that you could not have tracked his footsteps if the field had been strewn with flour . In a very few springs he had overtaken the doe , and had so impressed Moscione with his fleetness of foot that he begged Quick-as-Thought to go with him , promising at the same time to reward him handsomely . Quick-as-Thought agreed to his proposal , and they continued on their journey together . They had hardly gone a mile when they met a young man , and Moscione stopped and asked him : ` What 's your name , my friend ; where do you come from , and what can you do ? ' The man thus addressed answered promptly , ' I am called Hare 's - ear , I come from Curiosity Valley , and if I lay my ear on the ground , without moving from the spot , I can hear everything that goes on in the world , the plots and intrigues of court and cottage , and all the plans of mice and men . ' ` If that 's the case , ' replied Moscione , ` Just tell me what 's going on in my own home at present . '
The youth laid his ear to the ground and XXXXX once reported : ` An old man is saying to his wife , `` Heaven be praised that we have got rid of Moscione , for perhaps , when he has been out in the world a little , he may gain some common sense , and return home less of a fool than when he set out . '' '
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