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How Folklore Works

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Author's Note: How Folklore Works

I'm part-Bohemian. One of our enduring family stories is about an ancestor who was secret royalty. The baby boy, an illegitimate love child, was supposedly dropped off in the middle of the night to my Bohemian peasant ancestors, who raised him. Every year until the boy turned 18, a coach came in the night and gave my ancestors some money for his upkeep. Some say stories of secret royal connections are common among Bohemians. If so, this story is part of their community folklore. If not, it's part of my family folklore. Now I just need to determine if I resemble any of the current crop of European royals ...

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