The Best Queen

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there lived a king who had one son and a daughter. The prince had come of age and it was time for him to ascend the throne.

However, in order to become the new king, the prince needed to marry.

So the prince's father set out in search of a suitable bride for him. He chose three princesses from the neighbouring countries, each of whom had a special magical skill.

Emily was a great cook. With her magic, she could produce delicious food from tasty chocolate and vanilla cakes and cookies to the most pleasant turkeys, barbeques and drinks. If the prince were to marry her, the kingdom would never fall short of food again. No one in the kingdom would ever sleep hungry.

And so the people of the land really liked Emily and wanted her as their new queen.

Lily was a little different from Emily. She could control the weather with her magical powers. She could make it rain or snow whenever she wanted to. With a twist of her hand, she could form the most colorful rainbows and make the sun shine a lot brighter.

The officials of the king's court, as well as the king, preferred Lily as the new queen for if she were to become the bride, their land would never have to face any calamities. The people of the kingdom would be safe and happy.

The third princess, Mandy whom the king chose had a power unlike any other. She was a brilliant swordsman and possessed a magical sword and shield-so tough that it could withstand the mightiest attacks.

She, however, was less ladylike and not fit for a queen or so everyone thought.

But it was for the prince to decide. After spending a few days with each of the girls, the prince finally called an assembly.

"I shall marry the one who can take the best care of my little sister, Pansy, and make her happiest", he announced.

And so, one by one,each of the princesses spent a day with the prince's little sister.

Emily made Pansy's favourite cake and ice-cream.She even conjured up the biggest chocolates Pansy had ever seen.Emily took her to the market where a little boy approached them.

"Miss can I have a small piece from the many chocolates that you have here",he requested Emily.

"Absolutely not.", she thundered.

"I've made these especially for your princess Pansy. No one else can eat them. Now go away, boy. Go home and wash yourself. You look so dirty.", she said.

And with this away they walked with Emily trying her best to keep Pansy happy.

The next day,on Pansy's wish, Lily made it snow in the kingdom. She and Pansy played with snowballs all day. While they were playing and skating on the snow, a courtier came followed by a man

"Miss Lily. Oh, how wonderful it is to see you. Might I request you to prevent this snow from falling. You see I'm a representative of the land's people. They have exhorted me to inform you that this snow is causing much harm to our crops.", said the man

"Can't you see that your princess Pansy here is in the middle of her skating. It was her wish to play in the snow and so I'm afraid it can't be stopped ", said Lily.

And so Lily tried her best to keep Pansy entertained.

It was Mandy's turn the next day. However, she was nowhere to be seen. Pansy kept on waiting for her the entire day but she didn't show up. Later in the evening when she finally came, she apologised to Pansy. To make up for her absence, she showed Pansy amazing tricks with her sword and even taught her a few of tricks.

On being questioned as to where she was, she said that on her way to the court, she saw a poor man begging for food on the streets. She got down from her carriage and ordered her footmen to arrange food for that man.

Then she continued on her path where she met an old lady whose cat had fallen in the well. She immediately ordered her footmen to get the old lady's cat out of the well. And so kept on meeting different people who needed help and surely she couldn't leave them in difficulty. When she finally reached the court, it was already evening.

The next day, the prince again called for an assembly. All the three princesses were called and only one was chosen by the prince as his queen.

(SO CHILDREN, CAN YOU GUESS WHO WAS CHOSEN? YOU WILL HAVE TO TELL ME WHY.... READ ON.....)

"I hereby declare that I shall marry Mandy and make her my queen ",the prince announced.

Everybody in the entire kingdom was surprised by the prince's decision. No one had expected Princess Mandy to be chosen.

Finally, the King asked his son why he had chosen Amy, who had clearly lost to other princesses, as his bride.

The prince said, "Princess Emily indeed kept my sister the happiest. She cooks the best food but she couldn't satisfy the hunger of a poor child who requested chocolates from her. A person who can't satisfy the hunger of my people is not fit to be my bride."

He further announced, "Miss Lily outlooked the needs and problems of this kingdom's people and kept her enjoyment before their problems. I'm sure you all don't want such a queen.

"Mandy spent her entire day helping the people. It's true that she lost to other princesses but she passed the test. I kept such a test not to see who keeps my sister the happiest but so see who can handle her duties as a queen and as a wife the best."

And so Mandy and the prince were married to each other. A grand ball was held and on Mandy's request, a special banquet was arranged for the people as well.