Henry VIII of England, in a spell of temper against his rival Francis I, King of France, commissioned a clergyman named Bonner to deliver an insolent and threatening message to the French court. The clergyman realized it would be a risky job and protested that he could never hope to get back to England alive if he dared to talk to the French King in the manner Henry VIII wished.
"Don't worry about that," said the monarch soothingly. "If the King of France puts you to death, I will cut off the heads of all the Frenchmen I can get my hands on."
"That may be, your majesty," replied Bonner, tapping his head. "But of all the heads in England, there is none that fits my shoulders as well as this one does."
英國國王亨利八世恨法王法郎西斯一世與之爭競，委派一個牧師去法國王廷傳達口信，詞意侮慢，語帶恐嚇。那牧師叫邦納，覺得這任務很危險，提出異議說，要是依照指示，大膽向法王陳詞，一定沒命回英國。
亨利安慰他說：「不用擔心。要是法王把你處死，我抓到一個法國人，就殺一個。」
邦納拍拍頭顱，回答說：「陛下，無論你怎麼殺，英國所有人的頭顱，都不如這個頭顱那樣，可以絲毫不爽，長在我兩肩中央。」
*Spell可以指「（疾病等的）發作」，例如a coughing spell是「一陣咳嗽」。這個spell，改為fit字也可以，例如a fit of temper、a coughing fit等。