-LRB- Volksmarchen der Serben . -RRB- JESPER WHO HERDED THE HARES There was once a king who ruled over a kingdom somewhere between sunrise and sunset . It was as small as kingdoms usually were in old times , and when the king went up to the roof of his palace and took a look round he could see to the ends of it in every direction . But as it was all his own , he was very proud of it , and often wondered how it would get along without him . He had only one child , and that was a daughter , so he foresaw that she must be provided with a husband who would be fit to be king after him . Where to find one rich enough and clever enough to be a suitable match for the princess was what troubled him , and often kept him awake at night . At last he devised a plan . He made a proclamation over all his kingdom -LRB- and asked his nearest neighbours to publish it in theirs as well -RRB- that whoever could bring him a dozen of the finest pearls the king had ever seen , and could perform certain tasks that would be set him , should have his daughter in marriage and in due time succeed to the throne . The pearls , he thought , could only be brought by a very wealthy man , and the tasks would require unusual talents to accomplish them . There were plenty who tried to fulfil the terms which the king proposed . Rich merchants and foreign princes presented themselves one after the other , so that some days the number of them was quite annoying ; but , though they could all produce magnificent pearls , not one of them could perform even the simplest of the tasks set them . Some turned up , too , who were mere adventurers , and tried to deceive the old king with imitation pearls ; but he was not to be taken in so easily , and they were soon sent about their business . At the end of several weeks the stream of suitors began to fall off , and still there was no prospect of a suitable son-in-law . Now it so happened that in a little corner of the king 's dominions , beside the sea , there lived a poor fisher , who had three sons , and their names were Peter , Paul , and Jesper . Peter and Paul were grown men , while Jesper was just coming to manhood . The two elder brothers were much bigger and stronger than the youngest , but Jesper was far the cleverest of the three , though neither Peter nor Paul would admit this . It was a fact , however , as we shall see in the course of our story . One day the fisherman went out fishing , and among his catch for the day he brought home three dozen oysters . When these were opened , every shell was found to contain a large and beautiful pearl . Hereupon the three brothers , at one and the same moment , fell upon the idea of offering themselves as suitors for the princess .
After some discussion , it was agreed that the pearls should be divided XXXXX lot , and that each should have his chance in the order of his age : of course , if the oldest was successful the other two would be saved the trouble of trying .
At about after among by in of over upon without