The Simpsons:
Season:     9     / Episode:     2    
The Principal and the Pauper

They call him Flipper, Flipper, faster than lightning, No-one you see, is smarter than he, And we know Flipper lives in a world full of wonder, Lying there under, under the sea! Everyone loves the king of the sea, Ever so kind and gentle is he, Tricks he will do when children appear, And how they laugh when he's near! They call him Flipper, Flipper, faster than lightning, No-one you see, is smarter than he, And we know Flipper lives in a world full of wonder, Lying there under, under the sea!

The novel begins with Tom Canty, an impoverished boy living with his abusive family in London. One day Tom Canty and Edward VI of England Prince Edward, the son of King Henry VIII and Jane Seymour meet and as a jest, switch clothes. While dressed in the pauper's rags, the Prince leaves the palace to punish the guard who knocked Tom down. However, the boys look remarkably alike and because they switch clothes, the palace guards throw the prince out into the street. The Prince fares poorly in London because he insists on proclaiming his identity as the true Prince of Wales. Meanwhile despite Tom's repeated denial of his birthright, the court and the King insist that he is the true prince gone mad. Edward eventually runs into Tom's family and a gang of thieves and Twain illustrates England's unfair and barbaric justice system. After the death of Henry VIII, Edward interrupts Tom's coronation and the boys explain, switch places, and Edward is crowned King of England.

"Behind the Laughter" is the 22nd episode of The Simpsons' 11th season that was originally broadcast in the United States on May 21, 2000. It is presented in a narrative format, with Jim Forbes as narrator. The episode portrays the Simpson family as actors playing themselves on a sitcom, and tells a fictional story of how The Simpsons began.