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If you wanted to make someone cry without hurting him, how would you do it? A little girl in this story thought of a very funny way.
There was once a young princess who could not cry. That would have been all right if she had not laughed at everything. And this was not a nice thing for any young girl to do.
The mother and father of the princess were so unhappy about her laughing that they asked a wise fairy to help them. The fairy thought and thought and thought. At last she said, “If the princess can only be made to cry once, she will be just like other people.”
Soon everyone in the king's palace was trying to think of some way to make the princess cry. This was a very hard thing to do. No one wanted the young girl to be really unhappy, but she must be a little sad or she would not cry.
At last the king said that he would give a bag of gold to anyone who could make the princess cry without hurting her.
From all over the country wise men came, to see what they could do. They were all sure that they could make the princess cry.
The first wise man said, “The princess must be shut up in a room by herself for a week. While she is in this room, she must be given nothing to eat but bread and water.”
To the queen this seemed very unkind , but she said that it would be all right if the princess could have bread and milk instead of just bread and water.
When the young girl was taken to the room, she laughed. Every time a servant came with a bowl of bread and milk, she found the princess laughing. And on the last day of the week the child was as merry as ever.
“Look!” she said. “My feet are now so thin that I can't keep my slippers on.” As she said these words, she kicked her foot into the air and sent her slipper flying across the room. How the princess laughed when she saw the surprised looks of the king and queen!
But the queen did not laugh. “My poor hungry child,” she said. “You shall not live on just bread and milk any longer.” Hurrying to the kitchen, she told the servants to take chicken and cookies and ice cream to the princess for her next meal.
Another wise man was sure that he had found a way to make the little girl cry. For six weeks he made the most awful faces and the most terrible noises. To his surprise, the little girl laughed harder every day. So the man gave up and went away, looking very cross and very tired.
The last wise man who came to the palace thought the little girl would surely cry if some of her nicest toys were broken. He went quickly to her room and began smashing her beautiful playthings. But the princess did not care.
“What fun! What fun!” she cried, and in a moment she, too, was throwing the toys about and laughing merrily.
At last everyone began to think that nothing could be done to make the princess cry. “She will just have to go on laughing always,” they said sadly.
In a small town near the king's palace, there lived a mother and her little girl Marigold . They were very poor, and the mother had to work every day to earn a little money.
She worked so hard that she became sick, and poor Marigold was very sad. The little girl had no money to buy the good food her mother needed. Indeed , there were only a few pennies left in the whole house.
Now it happened that Marigold had often heard about the princess who laughed at everything. Two or three times she had even seen the young girl riding about on her white pony. Marigold wished very much that someone could make the princess cry.
One day, as Marigold was cooking dinner, she suddenly thought of a way to earn some money.
“I will go to the palace and make the princess cry,” she said. “Then two wonderful things will happen: the princess will be like other people, and I will get the bag of gold. With the money I can buy food that will make my mother well again.”
As soon as dinner was over, the little girl put on her cape and hood . Then she told her mother that she was going to the king's palace to see if she could make the princess cry.
Marigold's mother tried hard to keep her from going and said, “How can you hope to do what so many wise men could not do? You are my own dear little Marigold, but it is no use for you to try such a thing. Give it up, dear child.”
Marigold wanted very, very much to try; so her mother said no more. Sadly she watched her little daughter start off for the castle with a small basket over her arm.
When Marigold reached the castle, she felt frightened. But she thought of her sick mother at home and of the princess who always laughed. So she walked up the steps and knocked at the door.
A servant answered her knock. When he saw Marigold standing there, he said in a loud, cross voice, “Go to the back door, where you belong !”
Marigold went around to the back door and knocked. The servant who came this time looked at the little girl and her basket and said, “We have no food to give away today.” And he started to shut the door in the child's face.
Just at that time the queen happened to be in the kitchen. She saw Marigold and came to the door.
“What is it, my child?” the queen asked kindly. For poor little Marigold stood there looking very frightened and unhappy.
“I have come to the palace to make the princess cry, dear Queen,” answered Marigold, making a very low bow.
The queen smiled and said, “How can a little girl like you hope to do what so many wise men could not do?”
But Marigold was so sure she could make the princess cry that at last the queen invited the little girl to come in.
“You won't hurt the princess?” the queen asked. She smiled as she spoke, for Marigold had such a kind little face that the queen knew she would never hurt anyone.
Then the queen took Marigold to her daughter's room. The princess was very happy to see a nice little girl instead of the old men who so often came to visit her. When the queen saw how pleased her daughter was, she shut the door and left the children together.
By this time everyone in the palace knew that a little girl had come to make the princess cry. Soon a great crowd of people was waiting outside the room.
“I wonder if that child can really make the princess cry,” whispered one of the people.
“No, indeed!” said another. “Does she think she is wiser than the wisest men?”
At last the king and queen could wait no longer. They quietly opened the door and peeped into the room. And what do you think they saw? The princess was standing at the table with Marigold's basket in front of her. She was peeling onions as hard as she could, while the tears ran down her face. She was crying at last!
The king and queen ran into the room and took their daughter in their arms, onions and all. Some of the queen's friends put their handkerchiefs to their noses. The servants laughed when they heard what had happened. And the cook said, “Well, I could have done that myself!”
From that day the princess was like everybody else. She cried when she was unhappy and laughed when she was glad. I am pleased to say, though, that she always laughed much more often than she cried.
As for Marigold, she got her bag of gold from the king. With the money she bought good food, and her mother soon became well and strong again.
The king and queen often invited Marigold to come to the palace and play with their daughter. They all grew to love her very much because she was always kind and good and merry.
1. How did the first wise man try to make the princess cry? How did the second one try? What did the last wise man do?
2. Marigold said that two wonderful things would happen if she could make the princess cry. What were they?
3. How did Marigold make the princess cry?
4. Why did everyone love Marigold?
5. Which words tell what kind of girl Marigold was?
6. What is the funniest part of this story?
