Chapter 6 Queen Kuka

Once upon a time, there was a king who was about to die.Before he died, he gasped like everyone else. This king should have died long ago, because his life was profligate, and his subjects long ago wanted to get rid of him. His father had bequeathed him a great fortune, money and jewels untold, but the foolish king who had just died spent nothing of it in his debauchery.Later, he began to tax the people, making most of them poor.He spends money like water, and lives a dissolute life every day.Still later, he sold all the rich furniture in the palace, all the gold and silver vessels and antiquities, the luxurious carpets and furnishings, and even his own gorgeous clothes.Only a dirty, moth-eaten mink coat remained for covering.He used the money from the sale of property to live a more dissolute life.

Please don't ask me what a life of debauchery is, I just know it's the best way to spend your money.And the king found out the way. Then he took all the jewels from the crown and the ball at the top of the staff, and sold them.As soon as he got the money, he spent it all.He's still so slutty.In the end, he came to the point where he was at the end of his rope.He couldn't sell the crown because no one could wear it but the king.Nor can he sell the magnificent palace, because only the king has the right to live there. Finally, he lived in an empty palace, with only a big mahogany bed for sleeping, a small bench for taking off his shoes, and a mink coat full of holes.

He was penniless and penniless.Occasionally he would borrow a silver coin from the Chancellor to buy a ham sandwich.However, his prime minister did not have much money.It seems that Da Ju, the prime minister who had encouraged the king to live so stupidly, would not fare much better. So the king died suddenly in desperation, leaving a ten-year-old son to inherit the impoverished kingdom.He left his son the moth-eaten mink coat and the jewel-less crown. No one envied this child.Few thought of him until he took the throne.At this time, it was recognized that he was an important person.There was a meeting of politicians and entourage headed by the Prime Minister and it was decided to do something for him.

These people had helped the old king live a life of luxury when he was rich.Now, they have all become poor people, but they refuse to work.So they resolved to devise a plan by which the little king's coffers would be filled with more money for their own convenience. After the meeting, the prime minister came to find the little king who was playing with a top in the yard.He said: "Your Majesty, we have already thought of a way to revitalize your kingdom and restore its former power and glory." "Well," said the king indifferently, "what are you going to do?"

"Let you marry a rich lady." The Prime Minister replied. "Want me to marry?" cried the king, "oh, I'm only ten years old!" "I know, it's a pity. But your majesty will grow up, and the state requires you to marry." "I can't marry a woman like my mother, can I?" asked the poor little king.He lost his mother when he was a baby. "Of course, we won't let you marry a woman who is as big as your mother. It's illegal. You must find a suitable wife." "Can't you marry her?" the king asked, picking up the top and throwing it at the prime minister's feet, laughing to see how he jumped up to avoid the attack of the top.

"Listen," said the Chancellor, "you are penniless now, but you have a kingdom. There are many rich wives and ladies who would gladly trade their fortunes for the queen's crown, even if the king was only a child.So we decided to publish an announcement, and let her be the queen of Kuka with the highest launch price. " "If I must marry," said the king after a moment's thought, "I would rather marry Niana, the daughter of the armorer." "She is very poor," replied the Prime Minister. "Her teeth are as white as pearls, and her eyes are as bright as amethyst, and her hair is gold," pleaded the little King.

"Yes, sire, but you must use your lady's wealth. If you take out Niana's pearly teeth, take out her amethyst eyes, and shave her golden hair, what will become of her What does it look like?" The little king shivered. "You can figure it out," the king sighed in despair, "but the little girl must be as good-looking as possible, so that she can be my good companion." "We will do our best." The Prime Minister said and walked away.He sent letters to all the neighboring countries asking for a marriage for the young King Kuka. There are many people who are willing to marry the little king. In order to bring as much money as possible into the country, the ministers of the Kuka Kingdom decided to auction the little king.

So they appointed a day when all the ladies of the neighboring countries were gathered in the palace.These wives and young ladies come from Birko, Mulgravia, Jongkun and other countries, and even from the distant McWilter Republic. On this day, the Prime Minister came to the palace early in the morning, washed the king's face, combed his hair, and then stuffed some old newspapers into the big crown for His Majesty to wear.The crown was ugly in appearance, and there were holes, large and small, where the jewels had once been.It has been kicked around and has pits everywhere.However, as the Prime Minister said, this is the king's crown and should be worn at the king's auction.

All boys are the same whether king or poor.The little king's only clothes were so dirty and ragged that he could hardly see anyone.But there was no money to buy new clothes, so the Prime Minister wrapped the old mink coat around the little king and asked him to sit on a small bench in the middle of the empty reception room. All the ministers, statesmen, and attendants of the kingdom stood around him.They are lazy, pretentious people.The number of these people is too numerous to invite, and it looks very dignified. At this time, the door of the parlor was opened, and those ladies who aspired to be the queen of Kuka swarmed in.

The King looked at them very anxiously, and found that all the women were old enough to be his grandmothers, and ugly enough to frighten the crows from the royal fields, and he had no interest in them. However, none of these ladies went to see the poor little king sitting on the bench. They immediately surrounded the prime minister who was acting as the auctioneer. "How much did you pay for Queen Kuka's crown?" cried the Prime Minister. "Where's the diadem?" asked a fussing old woman.Not long ago she buried her ninth husband, and she has a multi-million dollar fortune.

"There is no diadem yet," explained the Prime Minister, "but whoever will pay the highest price can buy it and have the right to wear it." "Oh, I see," said the old woman, "I'll give you fourteen dollars." "$14,000!" shouted a tall, thin woman with a wrinkled, sour face.The king looked up and thought, "She's like a frost-damaged apple." Now, the auction prices are skyrocketing, and the scene has reached a crazy level.The poverty-stricken courtiers beamed with joy when the auction went up to a million dollars. "He will bring us a good fortune," one of them whispered to his colleagues, "and then we can help the king spend it." The king began to worry.He saw that the good-natured and cheerful-looking women, who did not have much money, made no bids, except the wrinkled old woman who seemed determined to get the queen's crown and the crown at any cost. husband.The old thing got so excited that her wig was a mess and was worn across her head, and her false teeth were falling out one by one in her mouth.Seeing everything in front of him, the little king shuddered, but the old woman did not stop. The Prime Minister finally ended the big auction, and he shouted: "The Queen's Tiara of Kuka was sold to Mary Ann Broadkinsky of Bocus for $3,900,624 and 16 cents." The old woman paid cash on the spot.This story does sound like a fairy tale. The king was very disturbed at the thought that he must marry this terrible woman.He began to cry bitterly.The old woman saw him and slapped him hard.At this time, the Prime Minister came over and accused her of abusing the future doctor in public. "You are not married yet. You will have to wait until tomorrow before your wedding. At that time, you can beat and scold him at will. But now, we want people to see that this is a union of love." That night the poor little king could not sleep at all, and his heart was full of fear for his future wife.He missed the little Niana girl of his own age, and how he wanted to be married to her.He lay on the hard bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.The moonlight poured in through the window and shone on the polished floor like a large white sheet.During the hundredth turn, his hand touched a secret spring. It rests on the headboard of the large mahogany bed frame.With a sharp sound, a wooden plank flew open, revealing a hole. The sound attracted the King's attention, and he, looking at the open plank, rose on tiptoe, reached into the hole, and brought out a folded paper.It is like a book with several pages bound together.On the first page it reads: "Once the king encounters difficulties, please fold this paper in half and light it, and his wish will be granted." This is not a very beautiful poem.But when the king finished reading it by moonlight, his heart was full of joy. "There is no doubt that I am in trouble," he cried. "I will set fire to this paper at once, and see what happens." He tore off the first page and put the rest of the stack back in the secret place.Then, he folded the page in half, put it on the stool, struck a match, and lit the page. There is a magical smoke coming out of this burning paper.The king sat on the edge of the bed and watched it hopefully. When the smoke cleared, he was surprised to see a fat little man sitting on a stool.With his shoulders folded and his legs crossed, he sat silently facing the king, a black thorn pipe dangling from his mouth. "Hello, I'm here." The little fat man began. "I see," replied the little king, "how did you come here?" "Didn't you burn that page?" the fat man asked back. "Oh, yes," admitted the king. "Then, you must be in trouble. I have come to help you out of trouble. I am a slave of the royal bedstead." "Oh!" said the king, "but I never knew you existed." "Your father doesn't know either, otherwise, he wouldn't be so stupid to sell everything for money. By the way, you are lucky that he didn't sell this bed. So now, what do you want? " The king replied, "I don't know what I want, but I know what I don't want. I don't want the old woman I want to marry." "This problem is easy to handle," said the little fat man. "You must first return the money that the old woman gave to the prime minister. Then, you announce your divorce. Don't be afraid, you are the king, and your word is the law." "Well," said the King, "but I need the money badly. How am I going to live when the Chancellor returns the million dollars to Mary Ann Brodkinskel?" "Well, that's very easy, too," replied the little fat man again, putting his hand in his pocket, then pulling it out again, and tossing the king an old leather purse, "I'll give it to you, as long as it's with you." , you will always be rich and prosperous. You can take a quarter from your purse at a time, as many times as you want. No matter how often you withdraw, another quarter will appear in the In the purse, the money will be inexhaustible and inexhaustible." "Thank you." The king thanked him and said, "You have given me a valuable help. As long as I have money, I don't have to ask others to marry me. I am extremely grateful to you!" "Please don't mind." The little fat man replied while smoking his pipe slowly, watching a wisp of green smoke gradually disappear in the moonlight. "Such things are easy for me to do, don't you just want these things?" "That's all I can think of," replied the king. "Then, please close the secret board on the bed frame," said the little fat man. "In the future, if you encounter difficulties again, the rest of the book will help you." The little king, standing on the bed as before, stretched out his hand and closed the opening again so that no one would notice.After that, he turned around, and the slave of the royal bedstead had disappeared. "I guessed it," said the King; "but it's a pity he went away before I could say 'good-bye.'" Relieved, the little king happily put the leather purse under the pillow, and lay down on the bed again, where he slept until the next morning. When the sun rose, so did the king.He was refreshed and relaxed.The first thing he set out to do was to send for the Prime Minister. The very noble Prime Minister came.He looked melancholy and unhappy, but the little king was full of longing for his own bright future and didn't notice his mood changes. He said to the prime minister: "I have decided not to marry anyone, because I have just acquired a fortune, so I order you to return all the money that old woman paid you for Queen Kuka's crown. And you also put up a notice, Tell people my wedding is not happening anymore." The Prime Minister trembled when he heard these words.Because he realized that the young king was beginning to decide his own destiny, and he was going to seriously exercise his power.The Prime Minister acted like he had committed a crime.The king had to ask: "Well, what's going on here?" "Your Majesty," answered the poor man in a trembling voice, "I cannot give her back the money, because I have lost it!" "Lost it!" cried the king, surprised and angry. "Indeed, my lord, on my way home from the auction last night, I went into a chemist's to buy something for my throat. My throat was hoarse from talking so loudly. My lord should admit that if I hadn't Thanks to our efforts, the auction price would not have risen to such a high level. However, when I entered the pharmacy, I left the purse on the carriage seat. When I went back, the purse was gone. I didn’t find the thief either.” "Did you call the police?" asked the king. "Called, but they were too far from the carriage, but they promised me to find the robber who robbed the purse. I don't hold out much hope for them. " The king sighed. "What shall we do now?" asked the King. "I'm afraid you must marry Mary Ann Brodkinsky," replied the Chancellor, "unless you actually order the executioner to chop off her head." "That would be cruel," said the king, "and we cannot do harm to this woman. Only if we give her all her money back. For in any case I would not marry her." "Return the money to her. Is this the huge property you just mentioned?" the Prime Minister asked. "Oh, yes," said the king thoughtfully, "but it will take a long time. Besides, it is your duty to call the old lady here." The Prime Minister has gone to see Mary Ann.When she heard that she could not be the Queen of Kuka and could only get her own money back, she was furious and slapped the Prime Minister so hard that his ears hurt for an hour.Finally, she followed the prime minister into the king's drawing room.As soon as she saw the king, she clamored for her money, claiming to be settled with last night's interest. "The chancellor has lost your gift," said the little king, "but he will pay you out of my purse. My fear is that, in any case, you will only accept change." "That's all right," she said, looking scathingly at the Chancellor, as if about to go up and give him another slap in the face, "I don't care if they're small change, as long as I get the full amount that is due to me, which must include a The interest for the night, where is the money?" "Here," replied the king, handing the chancellor the leather purse, "is full of quarters, and you can only take one coin out of it at a time. But we have enough money to pay to the woman, and riches." Since there were no chairs, the Prime Minister had to sit on the floor in the corner.He began to take silver coins from the purse one by one, counting them as he took them.The old woman, sitting across from him, also took the quarters he handed her one by one. That's a lot of money, $3,900,624 and 16 cents in total.Four quarters is a dollar.One can imagine how many quarters would it take to reach this total? The king left them to go to school.Since then, he has often come to the Prime Minister, interrupting him for a long time, and taking out the money from the purse that he needs to dispose of as a king.Although he delayed the Prime Minister and the old lady's time to count the money, the work they did did take longer. In comparison, what does this interruption have to do with it? The king grew up, and he married the armor maker's daughter.Now they have two lovely children.From time to time they went into the great drawing room of the palace, and let the children watch the two old men count the money.The gray-haired prime minister counted quarters of silver to the shriveled old woman, and the old woman stared at every piece of silver that the old prime minister handed her, for fear of being cheated. A total of $3,900,624 and 16 cents in silver quarters is a lot indeed. This is the punishment for the Prime Minister for throwing away the old lady's money so carelessly.It was also Mary Ann Brodkinsky's punishment for trying to marry a 10-year-old king in order to wear the crown of Queen Kuka.