The billy goat and the king
by Andrew Lang
The King's Secret
Once, a king could know all beasts. He could talk to birds and bugs. But he had a big secret. If he told, he'd turn to stone.
The king was eating his food. He dropped some rice. An ant took a rice grain. A new ant said, "My boots are dirty!" The first ant said, "Get your own rice!" The king laughed at the ants.
The queen saw him laugh. "Why are you laughing?" she asked. "I am not laughing," said the king. "You did laugh!" said the queen. "Tell me why!"
The king said, "I cannot tell you." The queen asked again and again. "Tell me! Tell me!" she said. The king felt very sad. He did not want to turn to stone.
The king had an idea. "I'll tell you by the river," he said. They went for a walk. They stopped at a well to rest.
A nanny goat saw green leaves. They were inside the well. "Oh, get them for me!" she said. The billy goat looked. "No," he said. "It is too risky." "I could fall in and get hurt." "But I want them!" cried the nanny goat. "We must be safe," said the billy goat. He walked away. The nanny goat followed him.
The king heard the goats. He laughed again. The billy goat said no to be safe. The king learned a thing.
The queen looked at him. "Still want to know?" asked the king. "Yes!" said the queen. "I will not tell you," said the king. "We must not talk about it." "We can be happy without the secret." "Some secrets are not for sharing."
The queen was quiet. She knew. They went home as one. They were happier friends.
Don't ask too many secrets. Sometimes, we must be firm to keep peace. The king and queen lived happily, secrets kept safe.
Original Story
_THE BILLY GOAT AND THE KING_ Once there lived a certain king who understood the language of all birds and beasts and insects. This knowledge had of course been given him by a fairy godmother; but it was rather a troublesome present, for he knew that if he were ever to reveal anything he had thus learned he would turn into a stone. How he managed to avoid doing so long before this story opens I cannot say, but he had safely grown up to manhood, and married a wife, and was as happy as monarchs generally are. This king, I must tell you, was a Hindu; and when a Hindu eats his food he has a nice little place on the ground freshly plastered with mud, and he sits in the middle of it with very few clothes on--which is quite a different way from ours. Well, one day the king was eating his dinner in just such a nice, clean, mud-plastered spot, and his wife was sitting opposite to wait upon him and keep him company. As he ate he dropped some grains of rice upon the ground, and a little ant, who was running about seeking a living, seized upon one of the grains and bore it off towards his hole. Just outside the king's circle this ant met another ant, and the king heard the second one say: 'Oh, dear friend, do give me that grain of rice, and get another one for yourself. You see my boots are so dirty that, if I were to go upon the king's eating place, I should defile it, and I can't do that, it would be so very rude.' But the owner of the grain of rice only replied: 'If you want rice go and get it. No one will notice your dirty boots; and you don't suppose that I am going to carry rice for all our kindred?' Then the king laughed. The queen looked at herself up and down, but she could not see or feel anything in her appearance to make the king laugh, so she said: 'What are you laughing at?' 'Did I laugh?' replied the king. 'Of course you did,' retorted the queen; 'and if you think that I am ridiculous I wish you would say so, instead of behaving in that stupid way! What are you laughing at?' 'I'm not laughing at anything,' answered the king. 'Very well, but you _did_ laugh, and I want to know why.' 'Well, I'm afraid I can't tell you,' said the king. 'You _must_ tell me,' replied the queen impatiently. 'If you laugh when there's nothing to laugh at you must be ill or mad. What is the matter?' Still the king refused to say, and still the queen declared that she must and would know. For days the quarrel went on, and the queen gave her husband no rest, until at last the poor man was almost out of his wits, and thought that, as life had become for him hardly worth living while this went on, he might as well tell her the secret and take the consequences. 'But,' thought he, 'if I am to become a stone, I am not going to lie, if I can help it, on some dusty highway, to be kicked here and there by man and beast, flung at dogs, be used as the plaything of naughty children, and become generally restless and miserable. I will be a stone at the bottom of the cool river, and roll gently about there until I find some secure resting-place where I can stay for ever.' So he told his wife that if she would ride with him to the middle of the river he would tell her what he had laughed at. She thought he was joking, and laughingly agreed; their horses were ordered and they set out. [Illustration: THE KING LAUGHS AT THE BILLYGOAT] On the way they came to a fine well beneath the shade of some lofty, wide-spreading trees, and the king proposed that they should get off and rest a little, drink some of the cool water, and then pass on. To this the queen consented; so they dismounted and sat down in the shade by the well-side to rest. It happened that an old goat and his wife were browsing in the neighbourhood, and, as the king and queen sat there, the nanny goat came to the well's brink and peering over saw some lovely green leaves that sprang in tender shoots out of the side of the well. 'Oh!' cried she to her husband, 'come quickly and look. Here are some leaves which make my mouth water; come and get them for me!' Then the billy goat sauntered up and looked over, and after that he eyed his wife a little crossly. 'You expect me to get you those leaves, do you? I suppose you don't consider how in the world I am to reach them? You don't seem to think at all; if you did you would know that if I tried to reach those leaves I should fall into the well and be drowned!' 'Oh,' cried the nanny goat, 'why should you fall in? Do try and get them!' 'I am not going to be so silly,' replied the billy goat. But the nanny goat still wept and entreated. 'Look here,' said her husband, 'there are plenty of fools in the world, but I am not one of them. This silly king here, because he can't cure his wife of asking questions, is going to throw his life away. But I know how to cure you of your follies, and I'm going to.' And with that he butted the nanny goat so severely that in two minutes she was submissively feeding somewhere else, and had made up her mind that the leaves in the well were not worth having. Then the king, who had understood every word, laughed once more. The queen looked at him suspiciously, but the king got up and walked across to where she sat. 'Are you still determined to find out what I was laughing at the other day?' he asked. 'Quite,' answered the queen angrily. 'Because,' said the king, tapping his leg with his riding whip, 'I've made up my mind not to tell you, and moreover, I have made up my mind to stop you mentioning the subject any more.' 'What _do_ you mean?' asked the queen nervously. 'Well,' replied the king, 'I notice that if that goat is displeased with his wife, he just butts her, and that seems to settle the question----' 'Do you mean to say you would _beat_ me?' cried the queen. 'I should be extremely sorry to have to do so,' replied the king; 'but I have got to persuade you to go home quietly, and to ask no more silly questions when I say I cannot answer them. Of course, if you _will_ persist, why----' And the queen went home, and so did the king; and it is said that they are both happier and wiser than ever before. (Punjâbi Story, Major Campbell, Feroshepore)
Moral of the Story
Unchecked curiosity and insistence on knowing secrets can lead to strife, and sometimes a firm hand is needed to restore peace.
Characters
The King ★ protagonist
Hindu, eats food in a freshly plastered mud circle with few clothes on
Attire: Very few clothes while eating, likely royal attire otherwise
Kind, patient, but ultimately assertive and clever
The Queen ⚔ antagonist
No specific details given
Attire: Royal attire appropriate for a Hindu queen
Inquisitive, persistent, demanding
The Billy Goat ◆ supporting
Old, strong enough to butt his wife severely
Practical, assertive, not easily manipulated
The Nanny Goat ◆ supporting
Desires green leaves in the well
Demanding, persistent, easily subdued
First Ant ○ minor
Carrying a grain of rice
Selfish, unwilling to share
Second Ant ○ minor
Has dirty boots
Attire: Dirty boots
Polite, considerate
Locations
King's eating place
A nice little place on the ground freshly plastered with mud
Mood: Clean, ritualistic
The king overhears the ants talking and laughs, sparking the conflict with the queen.
Well beneath trees
A fine well beneath the shade of some lofty, wide-spreading trees
Mood: Peaceful, shady
The king and queen stop to rest, and the king overhears the goats, giving him an idea how to handle the queen.
Bottom of the cool river
Cool riverbed
Mood: Cool, secure, permanent
The king imagines his fate if he reveals the secret.
Story DNA
Moral
Unchecked curiosity and insistence on knowing secrets can lead to strife, and sometimes a firm hand is needed to restore peace.
Plot Summary
A king with the magical ability to understand animals is cursed to turn to stone if he reveals his secret. When he laughs at an ant conversation, his queen relentlessly demands to know why, pushing him to the brink of revealing his secret and accepting his fate. On their way to the river where he plans to transform, they witness a billy goat firmly putting his demanding wife in her place. Inspired, the king confronts his queen, refusing to tell her his secret and asserting his authority, leading to a more peaceful and wise marital relationship.
Themes
Emotional Arc
peace to conflict to resolution
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
The story is attributed to Major Campbell from Feroshepore, suggesting a British colonial-era collection of local folklore. The specific eating customs described are indicative of traditional Hindu practices.
Plot Beats (13)
- A king has the magical ability to understand animals but is cursed to turn to stone if he reveals it.
- While eating, the king overhears a conversation between two ants about dirty boots and rice, and he laughs.
- The queen, seeing no reason for his laughter, demands to know what he found amusing.
- The king refuses to tell her, leading to a prolonged quarrel and the queen's relentless insistence.
- Driven to despair, the king decides to reveal his secret and accept his fate, planning to do so in the middle of a river.
- On their way to the river, they stop at a well to rest.
- They overhear a nanny goat demanding her husband, a billy goat, retrieve leaves from inside the well.
- The billy goat refuses, explaining the danger, and then butts his wife into submission for her foolishness.
- The king, understanding the goat's actions, laughs again.
- The king confronts the queen, asking if she is still determined to know his secret.
- The king, inspired by the billy goat, tells the queen he will not tell her and will not tolerate further questioning on the matter.
- The king implies he might use physical force, like the goat, if she persists.
- The queen, intimidated, goes home quietly, and they both become happier and wiser.
