HUMBLE PIE

In a land far away, in a time long ago or perhaps the distant future lived a little boy.

He was a special boy, not only because he was to be King someday, but he could jump higher, run faster and throw a ball farther than any other boy in the land.

The one problem with this little boy was his stubbornness. He did not wish the Queen (who was his mother) or the King (who was his father) telling him what to do.

Of course you are thinking this was not so unusual, for little boys never want to listen to their parents. But this little boy had a particular steadfastness that bothered his mother so.

"Prince Anthony, it is time for your dinner." The queen called out from a window.

Prince Anthony, who was dangling from a tree branch, called back "What's for dinner?"

"Mincemeat pie," replied his mother.

To which Prince Anthony responded, "Yuch! I hate mincemeat pie, I hate potato pie, I hate all pies!" And with that he climbed further up the tree.

This angered his mother greatly, so much in fact that she stormed out of the castle right out to the big tree Prince Anthony was climbing, and started to climb right up to the high branch he was sitting in.

If you think it is unusual to see a Queen climb a tree, think of how the King felt when he went to the window and spotted his wife dragging herself up.

"See here!" The King cried out, "What is this utter nonsense I see going on before my eyes?"

The Queen called down from halfway up the tree, "Prince Anthony will not get down from the tree to eat dinner. This child is much too stubborn!"

The King yelled for Prince Anthony to get down right now lest he receive five whacks from a willow branch right on his royal bottom!

The Prince thought (using good judgment for once) that it was better to get out of the tree than receive any amount of whacks on his royal bottom.

So he climbed down fast (he was also the best tree-climber in the land) and ran into the castle's dining hall.

The Queen on the other hand was not the best tree-climber, in fact she may have ranked the worst (not that you or I would tell a Queen that) and she had a rather difficult time getting down from the tree. The King had to call seven of the palace guards to help get the poor Queen down. Now both of Prince Anthony's parents were completely mad (it is never a good idea to get a Queen or King mad, and both at the same time! I am sure you are glad your not Prince Anthony).

To be a King, you must work very hard, but King Anthony did not want to. Now that he was the King he thought he could do what ever he wanted. (Which was true, but a good King knows there is more to being a King than doing what you want.) King Anthony had not learned that yet.

King Anthony spent all day riding horses, shooting arrows with his bow, fishing, running around and playing with his friends. While all the time, the Kingdom was going downhill. There were meetings of importance, taxes to set, taxes to take away, arguments to be settled between people. King Anthony did not pay any attention to them.

The Queen warned him, "King Anthony, you must do work around the Kingdom. If you do not go to meetings or make taxes or settle arguments the whole Kingdom will fall apart."

King Anthony was much too stubborn to listen to his mother and he continued to play around all the time.

Now you and I both know that if you do not take care of your responsibilities like making your bed or cleaning up your toys, trouble is sure to come. Imagine what would happen to a whole Kingdom if you do not take care of it!

Very soon the people who lived in King Anthony’s Kingdom grew very mad. The old King had never neglected his responsibilities. The new King, they thought, was acting too proud as if he didn’t care what happened to the people in his Kingdom. Actually that wasn’t true. It was just that he was too busy proving to his friends that he was the best at all sports that he never thought much about the people.

So some important people from the Kingdom gathered together and held a meeting. (You and I both know that this spells trouble for King Anthony.) They decided that they no longer wanted King Anthony to rule them. It was time for someone who cared to be their new King. They asked Sir Henry to be their new King.

Continued...Humble Pie,Part Two

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