THE LISTENING KING
The Story of the Trouble Which Came to Him
Once upon a time there lived a king who liked to walk in disguise about the streets of the city, listening at people's doors. It was, in fact, his favorite amusement. Other kings of that land had been fond of war or hunting or fishing or games, but there had never before been one who liked to listen at doors. For this reason he was called "the listening king."
"It is the greatest fun I have," he often said to his counsellors. "Being a king would be a stupid life if one didn't have some diversion."
"Be careful that it does not get you into trouble," said the wise men. "We have often heard that listening to other people's secrets is a dangerous practice."
"I've had nothing but pleasure from it, anyway," the king would reply. Then he would add, "So far, at least."
Sometimes he would take a friend or two with him, and sometimes he would go alone. The habit of listening at doors became more and more a favorite one to him as the months and years passed.
Now in that city there lived a man of humble station who had three pretty daughters. One evening the king passed his house and stopped at the door to listen.
"Whom would you like to marry?" one of the girls was asking. It happened to be the youngest one.
"I'd like to marry the royal baker," the eldest sister replied.
"Why?" asked the youngest one.
"So that I might always eat fresh bread," was the reply.
"Whom would you like to marry?" the youngest sister asked the middle one.
"I'd like to marry the royal meat cook so that I might always eat meat roasted just to a turn," was her answer.
"Whom would you like to marry?" asked the eldest and the middle sister together.
"I'd like to marry the listening king himself," was the reply which their youngest sister made.
"Silly! Silly!" cried her two sisters. "We have perhaps a chance of getting our wishes, but what chance have you?"
"If one wishes for nothing splendid one never gets anything splendid," replied the youngest sister with a blush which made her look very charming to the king as he peeped through the keyhole.
The king went away with a shrewd smile upon his face. The next day he sent for the three sisters to come to the palace. They were very much frightened.
"Well," said the king to the eldest girl, "do you want to marry the royal baker?"
"Yes, your majesty," she replied. "I have no objections."
The king turned to her sister.
"How is it with you?" he asked. "What do you say to marrying the royal meatcook?"
"I'll be most happy to marry him, your majesty," she answered.
The youngest girl was blushing like a rose and her heart was thumping so that she could scarcely breathe. The king smiled as he noticed her fair head bowed upon her breast.
"Would you like to marry the listening king?" he asked her gently.
"Yes, your majesty," she responded, so low that the king could hardly hear her.
"Very well," said the king. "I'll have all these weddings celebrated at once."
Thus it happened that the two eldest sisters got their wishes and married the royal baker and the royal meatcook, while the youngest one wedded the listening king himself. The others were very angry at her luck and their hearts were filled with envy.
"Why didn't we wish to be queens or at least princesses?" one asked the other. "It would have been just as easy to have had our wishes granted!"
"Why didn't we! Why didn't we! How stupid we were!" cried the other.
They passed the time in plotting against their youngest sister, the queen.
A year flew by and twin sons were born to the royal pair. They had gold stars on their foreheads. The whole kingdom was filled with rejoicing. As for the listening king, he was so happy that he forgot to listen at people's doors.
The only persons in the whole country who were not happy were the two jealous sisters. They stole the tiny babies out of the palace and threw them into the river.
"Trouble has at last come to our listening king," said the wise men, when the loss was discovered.
The basket in which the twins had been placed floated away down the stream. It was found by a miller.
"What have we here?" he asked his wife as together they removed the cover from the basket.
"I guess it is something good to eat," said his wife. "What do you think it is?"
"I guess it is a poor little puppy which some one wanted to drown," replied the miller.
Then they took the cover off the basket. The two babies opened their eyes and smiled just then. The miller and his wife were the most surprised people in the whole country and also the happiest ones.
