The Unmarried King

The unmarried King is a Lovian children's book written by Erasmus Hordeum. It was published in June 2010 by Hordeum Books.

The Unmarried King
Once upon a not so long ago, there lived a young king in a land not so far away. He looked like an ordinary king, he had a crown on his head, he lived in a castle, and he had an entire kingdom. But something was missing. The king had no queen. Because the king was very young when he became king, it had never been a problem for his people. But now they began to think it was odd that they did not have a queen. One day the people went up to the king and said: "My dear King, how can it be that our country does not have a queen?" the king was astonished and replied "Do it need a queen? Can not I alone manage it?" people looked at each other and said "There are things in this world one can tackle alone. But some things must be dealt with in pairs". The King was still puzzled and said "Have I not run the country well enough until now?" he asked. "Yes, dear king, but all the kings in this country have been married. Your father was married, your grandfather was married your great-grandfather was married and so on." "Will it make my people happier if I get married?" the King asked. The people replied, "yes." "I will do everything so that my people are happy." The people cheered and then went home.

The following day the king sent bid after all the countries noble ladies. He sat in his throne and allowed them to enter one by one. The first was Countess von lapurén de la gitzburg, but she was so fat that she could hardly get in the door, so the king said at once. "No good". The next who came was the little Princess Marie, but she was so thin that the king was afraid to break her. "No good". Then came the Baroness Oldasacow, but she was so old that she could be the king's grandmother. "No good". The last who came was young countess Youngasapuppy, but she was so young that she could be the king's daughter. "No good". The people were frustrated. There was no more noble women in the country. The King reassured them, "Tomorrow we'll bid for all the world's noble women" the people were calmer, and went home to go to bed.

The morning after there was a long queue outside the king's gate. Noble women from all around the world had come to the tiny kingdom, hoping to become the new queen. The king sat back in his throne. And let the first woman enter.

Countess Maritza was from Poland and was considered as the most beautiful countess in Poland. But beauty depends on the eye which sees. And the king's eyes could not see the beauty in Maritza. Her nose looked like the beak of a parrot, and on the cheek she had a big black wart, in Poland they seemed to be calling it a beauty spot. "No good" the King said.

Princess Mary was from England. She was the youngest daughter of the English king. King thought she was very beautiful. He asked her "what training do you have?". She replied "I did not want an education." So the king asked: "what interests do you have?" she replied "dresses, handbags and shoes." The king was puzzled and asked "are you making your own dresses, handbags and shoes?" Princess Mary laughed and replied, "No, my dad buys them for me. I'm getting new dresses every day." The king asked: "What do you do if your dad will not buy your dresses?" The princess answered, so I howl so loud that the whole of England can hear me. "No good" said the king, and so began the princess to howl so loud that all the small kingdom could hear her. 15 guards had to keep her out of the throne-room. They led her to a soundproofed room in the royal cellar.

Then there was Princess Lone from Denmark, Princess inghilf from Norway and Princess Ilona from Sweden, but they were all so dull that they can not even be mentioned in this story. "No good"

All day long women from all corners of the world came in. Princesses from Europe, countesses from Africa, Empresses from Asia and baronesses from America. But every time the king thought that they were missing something. Chief's daughter, Mambuku from Tanzania could not sing. Princess Maria of Spain could not dance. Baroness Teresa from Chile was not tall enough and the Emperor of Japan's daughter was too tall. "No good" the King kept saying until there was only one girl left.

The people in the small kingdom became more and more worried. Perhaps the King would never ever get married. The last girl who was left was the American president's daughter Laura. The people looked nervously up at the King when she came into the room. And saw how the king suddenly brightened up. Had he finally found something he liked?

Laura stood before the throne and introduced himself. But the king looked not at her. He looked down the back of the hall. The people were curious and looked down at the back of the Chamber, but could not find out what the king was so charmed. Suddenly King said "I want that!" and pointed at something in the back room. "Step forward" he said then. Of the group of people came a handsome young man. It was the president 's son Jacob. The people gasped, and there was complete silence in the great hall.

It's him I want, it's him I would marry. The people looked at each other and all started talking at once. "Can he do it," "We want a queen," "He must be joking". But the king insisted in his decision. The Prime Minister had to check the kingdom's old law, but there was nothing that said, that a queen had to be a woman. So the king chose Jacob.

The King and Jacob were married on a sunny day in the great royal cathedral in the kingdom's capital. The people cheered and partied for several days. Now, they had finally gotten their queen.