Transcriber’s Note:
The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.
THE SEVEN PLAITS OF NETTLES,
AND OTHER STORIES.
CONTENTS.
THE SEVEN PLAITS OF NETTLES.
Once upon a time there was a verybad King who ruled over a verygood country.
It was a good country because theland was rich, and things grew well,and because the people worked hardand were thrifty and intelligent. The6King was bad because he was terriblyextravagant, because he spent fortunesupon fortunes on pleasure, because hegambled all the money in his mintaway, and, with all this fearful spending,he never thought of giving anythingto the poor. He was a verybad King indeed, just the meanest,poorest thing in kings that ever satupon a throne!
When the King’s pockets wereempty, and the treasury chest andmint were also empty, the only thingHis Majesty could do was to increasethe taxes. This he did on anaverage about every other fortnight,and the consequence was that histhrifty, hard-working people had togive all their money to pay the King’sdebts. This the people did not in theleast like doing, and the King wasvery unpopular indeed; in fact, matterswent to such a pitch that his subjects7would not bow to him when they methim in the streets of his capital.
But the King did not seem to mindthis one bit; he continued his extravagancesand his wicked gambling, hecleared out the treasu