Tom Deceives the Prince
Continuation to "The Great Escape"
Edward Tudor and Tom Canty became friends. Wherever Tom went, the prince did not bother to disagree but just followed him They exchanged stories about their lives, while Tom, who was so much jealous upon the elegance of royal life, kept on asking how to communicate in a princely manner. The prince, who liked Tom's curiosity, blew his trumpet by telling the answers to the best of his ability. However, he did not notice that after he spoke each line, Tom murmured as though repeating and memorizing them. Actually, he did and he even studied the applications of each line because he still held on to his dream of becoming a prince.
Tom did not have anything as an exchange so he just brought him to his friends to experience the everyday life of paupers. His friends cordially accepted Edward when they saw him dressed differently from them. They egg on him to play with them in a small pond; he did not hesitate; he took off his clothes, and dived hastily into the water. While he enjoyed his playing with Tom's friends, Tom jumped at the opportunity to try the prince's clothes on him, covering his own.
His friends immediately saw him and asked, "who are you?"
"Can't you recognize this pauper?"
"Wow, awesome! You look exactly the same as he when wearing that"; they said pointing to Edward. But this praise just brought a selfish motif to Tom's mind.
"Thank you your majesty, for by this clothes I can live my dreams." Tom said to Edward, ran and got lost into the village near the palace. The prince, however, did not worry because he was confident that Tom will not succeed with his plans, which he already sensed when Tom said the word "dreams." He still continued to play without a worry that he did not have clothes anymore.
Meanwhile, when Tom reached the village almost all gathered to meet him because they thought of it as a grandiose visit, that it was the prince. So Tom used what he learned from the prince to converse with his people and surprisingly he did it fluently. A few moments later, he bid adieu, walked straight to the palace and ordered the guards who were still fresh in his memory to open the gates. When the king was informed of his arrival, he descended to meet his son with joviality and embraced him as if he was his real father. The king, happy of his son's return, ordered the servants to prepare a celebration because his son was lost but has now returned. Tom never had any reaction to his father's approach, except an apology for his naughty pranks. The king never minded it.
Meanwhile, Edward was now satisfied with his swimming. Only when he got out of the water did he realize what a big problem it was that he had no clothes to wear. Fortunately his new friends sympathized by donating their cloths which they used to cover on their heads, and they used it to cover Edward's private parts. They decided to guide him back to the palace; when they walked towards it, they found Tom's clothes on the street. So Edward used it for a while, expecting that the palace will recognize him despite of the way he looked.
They reached the front gate. With a loud voice, he commanded to open it, and so it had been opened. Edward then said to his friends, "you see, Tom can never replace a real prince." But when he said goodbye and was on the verge of entering, the guards whom he fooled seized him.
"You were here not so long ago. Aren't you satisfied with what you got from us?"
"And aren't you afraid of being hanged at the tower for throwing those words to me?" replied he. They just chuckled then said, "well, speaking about the prince, he has just arrived; and never ever use your childish trickeries, for tricks won't work on us." Edward half-smiled at those words when he remembered what he did with the two. But the two guards seemed insulted to see his face; they then closed the gate while pushing him outwards.
This he temporarily accept that he was replaced. He struggled of the shitty world outside while his friends helped him adjust.