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And that would have been her life, were it not for the fateful day
that the King was accidentally struck by one of her missiles.
Rubbing his painful butt, the King decided that it was high time
she not only had her sight tested, but found a husband. At this
suggestion, Princess Tuna perked up a bit, and went to tidy her
bedroom. That evening, with the help of the Queen, the King
worked out a plan to help the princess find the best person for the
job. It would be an important choice too because, one day, they
would become king and queen of Cloud Cuckoo land.
The plan was to invite three princes from nearby states to visit the
castle on different dates and spend a day entertaining their
daughter. They could bring anything which they thought might
interest her, but they were not to talk about their latest carriages or
the football. When she had met each of the three princes, she
1
could then choose the one who would become her husband.
Following a royal proclamation throughout the region, three
young princes were invited to take part in this competition. Their
names were Johann, Sebastian and Bach.
2
Prince Bach arrived on a bicycle. Although he was stunned by the
beauty of the princess, unlike the other two, he didn’t stand there
panting like a dog with his tongue hanging out. He carried a large
bag of marbles with him. He showed her that if she looked up at
the sun through them, all kinds of wonderful colours could be seen
sparkling against the sky. He then taught her how to play marbles
and they spent several happy hours together rolling them down the
grand staircase and along the floors of the castle. She learnt what a
‘shooter’ was and how to ‘knuckle down’. He even fired one or
two marbles at the cuckoos with that catapult and told her lots of
amusing stories. It was a wonderful afternoon; one which she
would remember for many years to come.
‘Well,’ asked the King, after Prince Bach had left, ‘Which one of
these fine young men will you choose as your husband?’
3
‘Let me guess,’ said the Queen, hardly able to suppress her
excitement. ‘I have a feeling that we can rule out Prince Johann
and his silver collection. We were not prying but we couldn’t help
overhearing what you said about him while you were washing
your hands in the bathroom after his visit.’ Princess Tuna blushed
at the memory but kept a dignified silence. It was not having to
polish the cutlery that had disturbed her, it was the way he drooled
over it.
‘Yes,’ agreed the King, ‘And I think we can probably rule out
Prince Sebastian, because all he seemed to do was boast about his
vast wealth and his enormous collection of gold objects. And how
could you bear to put your hand in his mouth?’
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