John Kuhn

         There once was a happy little girl named Sally. She was the happiest little girl in her school, the happiest little girl in her town, and the happiest little girl in her country. Sally was happier than all the other little girls because she had two grandfathers who were kings. This made Sally a princess of sorts, although on the inside she just felt like a regular little girl.

         One of Sally's grandfathers was the king of a tiny country called Nectaria. His subjects called him King Poppyseed because he liked to eat poppy seed buns, and every time he ate them, he got poppy seeds all in his bushy gray beard. Sally just called him Poppy.

         King Poppyseed was a kind old king, and the people of Nectaria loved him very much. He was always fair and just, and he never raised taxes. King Poppyseed liked to walk along the streets of his kingdom every morning and pick up any litter he found. There was never much litter in Nectaria, but the king wanted to do his part to keep things tidy. And while he walked, King Poppyseed always took the time to speak to all the people, rich and poor alike, to ask the rich to share with the poor and to tell them all how much he loved them.

         King Poppyseed liked all the people just the same. He made time to play with the children, and whenever they played, he let them take turns wearing his golden crown. Best of all, King Poppyseed didn't have any big, mean soldiers in his kingdom, and people were allowed to enter or leave Nectaria anytime they wanted. Few people ever left Nectaria, though, because it was a happy and kind place—a place very much like its king.

         Sally's other grandfather was ruler of the great empire of Biternia, a kingdom one hundred times the size of Nectaria. The people who lived in Biternia had to call their emperor by a very long title: His Magnificence, the Great and Honorable King Frumpworthy, Eminent and Sovereign Ruler of Biternia. They called him this because he got very, very angry if anyone called him anything else, or if anyone accidentally forgot part of his title. Even his granddaughter had to call him His Magnificence, the Great and Honorable King Frumpworthy, Eminent and Sovereign Ruler of Biternia. She didn't like to say all that every time she talked to her grandfather, but she was afraid of him. Everyone was afraid of him.

         This particular grandfather was a very strict king. He was tall and slender, not chubby like King Poppyseed, and he didn't have a bushy gray beard like King Poppyseed. Instead, he had a skinny little mustache and slick black hair. The people of Biternia feared him far too much to love him, and he was harsh with his people. He made all of them give half of all they had in taxes each year.

         The king of Biternia lived in a tall gray castle high up on a mountain. The only time he ever left his castle was when he went into the city to tell the people that he was raising taxes. And the only people he ever spoke to personally were the rich. He spoke to them because they were the ones he sent to gather taxes from the poor. (The men he sent always collected more taxes than they were supposed to and kept some of the gold for themselves. That's why they were rich.)

         The king of Biternia didn't like any of the people in his kingdom very much, but he liked himself very, very much. He spent some of his fortune to have the biggest mirror in the world made, and his servants hung it on the wall next to his throne. Many days, he spent hours sitting on his platinum throne, looking at his reflection in the giant mirror.

         Worst of all, the king of Biternia had thousands and thousands of big, mean soldiers in his kingdom, and they took whatever they wanted from the people there. The soldiers hated children. They often broke their toys and made them cry.

         The soldiers' most important job was to guard the borders of Biternia. The king had commanded them to let anyone who asked enter the kingdom, but to never, ever let anyone leave. Everyone wanted to leave Biternia because the king was so very mean and hateful, and being around him made everyone else mean and hateful too.

         Now every year for her birthday, Sally's father let her spend one month with King Poppyseed. Actually, he let her choose either of her grandfathers for a visit, but she always chose King Poppyseed. She chose Poppy because she feared her other grandfather and the soldiers stationed on his borders. So, on her tenth birthday, Sally packed her bags for a month in Nectaria, a place she had learned to love very much over the years. She kissed her father goodbye and climbed aboard a carriage pulled by two white stallions.

         When Sally arrived in Nectaria, the Nectarians threw a huge welcome party for her. Every citizen in the kingdom was there to welcome her and to wish her a happy birthday. She had never been hugged by that many people in her life. 

         As soon as they left the party, Poppy took Sally straight to the circus where they watched animals do amazing tricks. They laughed at clowns who laughed right back. Sally had a wonderful time with Poppy; he even let her wear his crown during the trapeze act.

         Regrettably, on the way home, Sally did something that she knew was wrong. She was walking with Poppy beside a park where some poor children were playing, and one of the boys had a shiny new ball that caught Sally's eye. The king stopped to say hello to the children, and then Sally tugged on his sleeve.

         Softly, Sally said, "Poppy, I really like that shiny purple ball he is playing with."

         Poppy smiled. "Yes, it's very nice. It was a gift from a wealthy family. He's a very poor little boy, and that is the only toy he has."

         Sally was quiet for a moment. She really wanted that ball for herself. So, without looking Poppy in the eye, Sally said, "Poppy, can I have that purple ball?"

         "No, dear," Poppy said gently. "No. That's his ball."

         "Yes, I know that, Poppy," said Sally. "But...but you're the king! Can't you make him give it to me?"

         The king frowned. "No, I can't. That would be wrong. You have many toys, and that ball is the only one he has. You may not have it."

         Sally was very quiet for the rest of the walk home.

         The next day, Sally woke up early and spent the morning riding horses with Poppy. She had a wonderful time, as always. Just being around King Poppyseed had a way of making the saddest little boys and girls happy, and of making the happiest children happier still.

         After a nap in the afternoon, Sally and her jolly old grandfather had their evening meal together. Regrettably, Sally did something that she knew was wrong.

         "Poppy," she asked, "may I have chocolate pie for supper?"

         "No, dear," King Poppyseed gently replied. "You must eat your meat and vegetables first, and then for dessert you may have chocolate pie. Eating pie for supper is bad for you, and I don't want you to be sick."

         Sally was quiet for the rest of her meal and didn't eat her meat or vegetables. She didn't eat her chocolate pie for dessert, either. She felt more than a little bit angry this time because the king wouldn't let her have her own way. She didn't speak to him for the rest of the evening, and when she went to bed, she lay awake for a while, whispering over and over, "He doesn't love me, he doesn't love me."

         The next morning, Sally woke up very late and didn't even say good morning to Poppy. He invited her to go fishing with him, but she said, "No. I'm sorry. I can't." So Poppy went fishing by himself.

         Later that night, after they had eaten supper, Sally spoke up. She had hardly spoken to Poppy all day. Poppy was really happy that she was speaking again, but, regrettably, Sally said something that she knew was wrong.

         "Poppy," she asked, "may I stay up until midnight?"

         "No, dear," the king softly replied. "Your bedtime is nine o'clock. If you stay up until midnight, you will be very tired tomorrow."

         Sally was quiet once more, but this time only for a moment. She was very, very angry at her Poppy now, and she began to speak to him in a very naughty tone.

         "You don't love me at all!" she told him loudly, but in her heart she knew that really he did. "You never let me do anything fun. ‘No, Sally, you can't have the ball.' ‘No, Sally, you can't have any pie.' ‘No, Sally, you can't stay up late.' You just want me to be sad all the time!" Sally had forgotten about all the wonderful times she'd had with her Poppy before. She'd forgotten about the birthday party, the circus, and riding horses. Sally was definitely not the happiest little girl in the world anymore. Poppy looked at her seriously, but he didn't speak.

         "You just want me to be sad all the time!" she repeated, sobbing. She knew it wasn't true, but she didn't care. She said it anyway. "Well, I am sad. And it's all your fault. It's all your fault, and I want to go somewhere where I can be happy. I want to go to Biternia. I want to go see my other grandfather. He won't make me sad. I want to go, and you can't stop me!"

         Poppy was very sad that Sally would say such things to him, but he said, "No, dear. I won't stop you. I don't have a big army like your other grandfather. I want you to stay, but if it's in your heart to leave, then leave you may. Whoever will may come to Nectaria; and whoever will may leave. Please stay."

         But Sally shook her head and said, "No." With that, she ran through the front door of the king's modest castle, down Nectaria's simple main street, across a field, all the way to the Biternian border.

         When she got to the border, Sally saw a dozen big, mean soldiers guarding it. She was very afraid, but the soldiers all smiled wide smiles, and one of them said, "You look like a very tired, very sad little girl. Why don't you come over to our land? You can rest and be happy." Another soldier offered her a lollipop.

         Sally took a deep breath, looked over her shoulder at the happy land of Nectaria one last time, and crossed into Biternia. She took the lollipop from the soldier and began her trek toward the big mountain where her grandfather's dark castle towered over his kingdom. As she walked, Sally discovered that the delicious-looking lollipop the soldier had given her tasted too bitter to eat.

         Sally knocked on the door of the castle late that night; she was tired from too much walking. Her heart felt sad because it was dark and she was alone and her lollipop had tasted bad. A melancholy servant let her in after she knocked and, when her grandfather saw her, he smiled a smile much too big for his narrow face. He said, "Welcome to my kingdom, granddaughter. I trust you'll enjoy it here. Come, now, let's get you cleaned up."

         Sally had a bubble bath in the biggest tub she had ever seen, and she slept that night on a bed much bigger and softer than the one King Poppyseed had provided for her.

         The next day, Sally woke up late; she felt sore and groggy. She hadn't slept well at all, for she had dreamt all night about her Poppy, about how sad he'd looked when she said all those nasty things to him.

         That day, Sally and her grandfather spent the whole day sitting in his throne room, looking at the king's reflection in his giant mirror. Sally was incredibly bored, and she began to wish that she had never left Nectaria.

         Later that day, as the sun slipped slowly down among the mountaintops, Sally did something that she knew was wrong. She asked her grandfather if she could stay up until midnight. The king smiled his very broad, very ugly smile, and he patted Sally's head with a cold, pale hand.

         "Why, dear child, you may stay up until morning if you like," he told her. "I only want you to be happy." He smiled again after he had said this, and he made a sound between his teeth that sounded very much like a hiss.

         Sally was happy with the king's answer, although she didn't like his cold hand patting her head. She stayed up all that night, just as he had said she could, and she watched the sun rise early the next morning. But all the next day, Sally felt miserable. She was tired and cranky. More than once, she thought of Poppy; she remembered how he had said, "If you stay up too late, you will be very tired tomorrow." She tried not to think about Poppy too much though because she missed him, and she felt guilty for treating him badly.

         Once during the day, as Sally and her grandfather sat looking at his reflection in the mirror, Sally asked him a question. "Your Magnificence, Great and Honorable King Frumpworthy, Eminent and Sovereign Ruler of Biternia," she said, "may I please wear your crown?"

         "What?" the king gasped. He couldn't believe she had asked such a question. "Wear my crown? You silly little girl! What a stupid question to ask!" With that, he threw his head back and laughed at his granddaughter. He laughed so loud and so long that she felt foolish. But she interrupted his laughter.

         "It is not a stupid question!" she cried. "King Poppyseed of Nectaria lets me wear his crown all the time, and it's a much finer crown than yours."

         Sally's grandfather's face turned red and wrinkly. "It is forbidden in my kingdom to mention the name of the king of Nectaria!" he shouted angrily. "He is my sworn enemy, and one day my great army is going to crush him. One day, little girl, my army will conquer that little king; and, mark my words, when they do I will certainly have him beheaded." Sally started to cry, but the angry king of Biternia kept shouting at her. "You have broken the law, granddaughter," he told her. "If you ever mention that name again, I will have to throw you in the dungeon. Would you like to see my dungeon?"

         "No," she whimpered. She was going to tell him that King Poppyseed didn't have a dungeon, but she stopped herself at the last moment.

         "You are never to say that name again, do you understand?"

         Very timidly, through her tears, Sally whispered a tiny "Yes." And she was very, very sad.

         At suppertime that night, Sally smelled dessert baking in the oven. It smelled like devil's food cake, and, regrettably, Sally again did something that she knew was wrong.

         "Your Magnificence, Great and Honorable King Frumpworthy, Eminent and Sovereign Ruler of Biternia," she asked, "may I please have devil's food cake for supper?"

         "Why, my dear child," answered the smiling king, "you may have it for breakfast, lunch, and supper, if you wish. You may have the whole cake to yourself. I only want you to be happy."

         Sally was again elated with the king's answer, and as soon as she took her first bite of cake, she forgot all about the cruel things he had said to her. Then she ate the entire cake all by her herself, having no vegetables or meat for supper.

         Sally had scary nightmares that night and woke up sick the next morning. She felt terrible all that day, and she didn't at all feel like going to town with the king. He had to go into town to give a speech about raising taxes, and he had invited her to go with him. She felt too sick and too tired to go, but she was afraid to tell him no.

         When they got into town, the king of Biternia stood on a high platform, far away from the people of Biternia. Sally sat behind him on the stage in a great big, uncomfortable chair. Several soldiers stood all around her, dressed all in black, keeping swords in their hands and scowls on their faces.

         Before her grandfather began his speech, Sally looked out at the people. They were far away, but she could see the ones in the first row. All of them looked poor. One woman wearing particularly tattered clothes held the hand of a little girl with a dirty face. The little girl clutched a cloth baby doll. The doll was old and grimy, and Sally had at least a hundred dolls in her room at the castle that were newer and nicer than it.

         Unfortunately, Sally did something that she knew was wrong. After her grandfather finished his speech, she went to him and asked if she could have the poor little girl's doll.

         "Whatever you want, granddaughter," he said, and she watched as he sent two of his biggest, meanest soldiers to take the baby doll away from the girl. They brought the doll to Sally, and she hugged it tightly there on the platform, but she felt miserable. She watched the little girl cry and cling to her mother's worn dress. After holding the doll for a moment, Sally realized that it wouldn't make her happy, since she knew someone else was sad about losing it. She asked her grandfather to have the soldiers take the doll back to the little girl.

         "Don't be stupid," he scolded her. "You are the king's granddaughter, Sally. If you want that doll, then that doll shall be yours. And I will have that little girl's parents whipped if they say anything about it."

         Sally tried to tell her grandfather that she didn't want the doll anymore and that she certainly didn't want anyone to get whipped, but the king waved a dismissive hand at her. He wanted to be left alone.

         When Sally got back to the castle, she looked at all the fancy dolls piled up in her room. She tried to count them, but there were too many. She stopped counting at 67 and lay in her bed, holding the raggedy doll against her chest. She lay there for a long time that night, but she couldn't sleep a wink. She felt tired from staying up too late; she felt sick from eating cake for supper. And now she felt bad for taking a poor little girl's only doll. As she lay there, she cried, and then she whispered very, very quietly, making sure that her grandfather couldn't hear her.

         "Poppy," she whispered, "you were right. You were right about everything, Poppy."

         It felt good to say his name, even though she had to whisper it. Something about that name made her feel better. It made her feel brave and strong. She sat up and made a brave, strong decision. She decided to go back to Nectaria. She would sneak away from her wicked grandfather's castle. She would go now: there was no better time for an escape than the middle of the night, even though she was scared to go out after dark.

         Sally got out of bed and dressed quietly. She gathered up all the dolls she could carry and snuck down the stairs. As quietly as she could, she opened the giant castle door and tiptoed outside. She scooted down the mountain and slinked through the city, staying in shadows and watching for soldiers. Along the way, she left all the dolls she carried on the doorsteps of the poorest-looking houses. Then, after she had delivered the last of her dolls, Sally ran as fast as she could toward Nectaria.

         When Sally got to the border, a dozen soldiers stood glaring at her. They were the same soldiers who had let her into Biternia. She spotted the soldier who had given her the bitter lollipop and smiled.

         "Remember me?" she asked.

         "What do you want?" he growled.

         "I...I want to go back to Nectaria," she answered, trembling.

         The soldier took her very roughly by the arm. The other soldiers came close and glowered. "You can enter Biternia anytime you want," the soldier told her, "but you can never, ever leave."

         Sally was terrified, and the soldier was hurting her arm. She couldn't get away from him, and she started to cry. She remembered what the king of Biternia had said about saying King Poppyseed's name in his kingdom, but she didn't know what else to do. Sally took a deep, deep breath, and she turned her face toward Nectaria.

         "Poppy!" she shouted. With all her strength, she shouted. "Poppy! Come help me!"

         One of the soldiers struck her across the face. "It is against the law to say that name here, child," he yelled. "We have a dungeon for little girls like you." The other soldiers smiled cruelly and nodded.

         Sally became very, very afraid; she was sure she would be thrown into the dungeon. But just then she looked up and saw Poppy running toward her from Nectaria. He crossed the border into Biternia to save her.

         The soldiers were shocked. King Poppyseed had crossed the border. This had never happened before. They couldn't believe their eyes. All the soldiers let go of Sally and drew their swords. They surrounded the king.

         "Sally," King Poppyseed gravely cried, as the soldiers put their hands on him. "Sally, run! Don't stop! Don't look back until you've crossed the border. You'll be safe in my kingdom. Don't stop until you've reached it. Run!"

         And Sally ran. She ran as fast as her legs would take her and, behind her, she heard loud and confused voices. She couldn't make out most of what they were saying, but she heard one soldier say, "You know the rules, Pumpernickel. You can enter anytime you want, but you can never leave."

         And she heard Poppy reply, "Yes, I know the rules."

         Sally heard the soldiers attacking her grandfather, but she kept running. Tears poured down her face, and the wind swept them back around the sides of her neck as she ran. The soldiers were so busy hitting and kicking King Poppyseed that they forgot all about Sally, and she was able to cross the border safely into Nectaria.

         Sally turned around and saw one of the soldiers raise his sword high in the air. King Poppyseed lay on the ground at his feet. Trembling, she remembered her other grandfather's words: "One day my great army will conquer that little king; and, mark my words, little girl, when they do, I will certainly have him beheaded."

         From a dark castle on a mountain far away, Sally heard a wicked king's laughter. Then, as she watched in horror, the soldier's sword came down.

         Sally walked slowly toward Poppy's castle. He had gotten her safely back into Nectaria, but it had cost his life. She finally realized just how much he loved her, but he had to die for her to see it. If she hadn't been so selfish, if she hadn't run away to Biternia, her Poppy would not have died.

         Sally was back in Nectaria, where she most wanted to be, but she was anything but happy. The only reason she had ever wanted to be in Nectaria was to be with Poppy. Without Poppy, Nectaria was just like any other kingdom. And now Poppy was gone.

         Sally walked so very slowly and sadly along the road to Poppy's castle that it took her three days to get there. She knew he wouldn't be there, but she went anyway. She didn't know where else to go.

         Sally knocked on the door early on the third day. She cried softly, until, suddenly, Poppy opened the door!

         "I...I thought you were..." Sally cried.

         "I was," Poppy said gently, not allowing her to say the sad word she had been about to say. "But let's not worry about that now. You've had a rough few days. Come in and rest."

         Sally came in gladly and rested well. She was once again the happiest little girl in the world. Well...one of the happiest little girls in the world. For, when she got into the castle, there stood the poor little girl from Biternia, the one whose doll she had taken away. The little girl smiled at her. She was holding the dirty old doll under her arm.

         "How...how did you get here?" asked Sally.

         The little girl giggled. "When Poppy came into Biternia, many of us escaped." And the little girl took Sally by the hand and led her to a window. Sally looked out and saw thousands and thousands of people, and they all stood around Poppy's castle, dancing and singing and laughing.

         "They used to live in the sad land," she said, "but they are residents of Nectaria now. And so are you. And so am I."

         Sally smiled with the little girl. They were in Poppy's land now, and they would become best friends. Even better than best friends—Sally and the little girl would become sisters, for the people in Poppy's kingdom are really one big family. And everyone in the family—Poppy, Sally, the little girl, all the people from Biternia, and everyone who lived in Nectaria—they all lived happily ever after.

         And I do mean ever after. 

 

Copyright 2006, John Kuhn

John Kuhn is a writer of speculative fiction from Texas. He lives there with the woman he married twice (once in her country and once in his) and two black-eyed little boys who never get tired. Look for his upcoming works online at Son and Foe Magazine, KidVisions, and DKA Magazine, and in the pages of Turnpike Gates, The Sword Review, Kaleidotrope, and The Mythic Circle.