The Knight and the squire...

[nuthut]

There were three medieval kingdoms on the shores of a lake. There was an island in the middle of the lake, which the kingdoms had been fighting over for years. Finally, the three kings decided that they would send their knights out to do battle, and the winner would take the island.

The night before the battle, the knights and their squires from the first kingdom showed up. There were 10 knights and each had 10 squires. The knights practiced fighting, and then rested for the next day. The squires pitched camp, cooked the food, polished the armor, and took care of the horses.

Then the knights and squires from the second kingdom showed up. There were five knights and each had five squires. The knights practiced fighting, and then rested for the next day. The squires pitched camp, cooked the food, polished the armor, and took care of the horses.

Finally, the knight and his one squire from the third kingdom showed up. The squire dug an eight foot hole and sunk a 40-foot pole in it, climbed up and hung a cauldron from the top, then came down and put a rope in a nearby tree with a hangman’s knot in it. The knight pitched camp, cooked the food, polished the armor, and took care of the horse.

When the hour of the battle came, the three kings sent their squires out to fight (this was too trivial a matter for the knights to join in). The battle raged, and when the dust cleared, the only person left was the lone squire from the third kingdom. I guess this just goes to show that the squire of the high pot and noose is equal to the sum of the squires of the other two sides.