THE LITTLE KINGDOM

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 370, 2 June 1928, Page 29

THE LITTLE KINGDOM

Once upon a time there was a dear little kingdom called Joyland, and, in Charmingtown, which was the capital, lived the King. He was only seven, so, of course, most of the ruling had to be done by older people, and very old they were, with long, white beards which got in the way when they walked. They were very clever —as it happened, much too clever, for they didn’t believe in fairies. None of them had ever seen one, they said (just as though any fairy would go and play with such tooclevers!), and what they hadn’t seen they didn’t believe in. Charmingtown was on the very borders of Fairyland, so, of course, the fairies very soon heard of the ineculiar views of the little King’s Counsellors. “If it were not for the little King, who’s a great friend of ours,” they said, ’darkly, “what wouldn’t we do?” But even for the little King’s sake they couldn’t quite ignore such a state of affairs, and this is what happened. The dogs were affected first. Of course, they still loved their masters and mistresses, and did their duty by barking at burglars, and all that, but they seemed very dejected, somehow. Jolly dogs that used to sit about and grin lost all their jokiness. Then the flowers all faded. They didn’t die, but they drooped about and looked like we feel when nobody seems to love us. Then the birds were affected. They sat about in trees in gloomy llittle bunches, and instead of singing, they said in the feeblest manner about once a day. Then the children didn’t seem to be quite themselves, but they didn’t tell the grown-ups what was the matter. “What on earth’s wrong with the place?” asked the oldest old gentleman. “I know, sirs,” said the lttle King. “Out with it, then, Your Majesty,” they said in chorus. “The faries are cross with us all, because you don’t believe in them,” said the little King. “They won’t tell the dogs jokes any more and they’re missing it; and they wSn’t kiss the flowers any more, so they’re miserable; and they won’t tell stories to the birds, so they’ve nothing to sing about; and as for us children, well, it isn’t nice to know that the fairies are cross with us, is it?” “I suppose,” said the Counsellors, “wo shall have to believe in fairies aft€;r all.” “Oh, yes, please do,” said the little King—and they began to believe. And so it soon came about that Joyland was again a country of blooming flowers, jolly dogs, singing birds and laughing children!