Stories for kids - The Young King (part three)

OSCAR WILDE THE YOUNG KING ~ PART THREE

STORIES FOR KIDS

THE YOUNG KING

By Oscar Wilde

PART THREE

THE CORONATION

A servant arrived with the coronation clothes. They were extremely beautiful but the

young King remembered his dreams. 'Take these clothes away. I don't want to wear

them,’ he said.

'Is this a joke, Your Majesty?' asked the servant, but the young King told him about his

dreams.

'In my robe there is sadness and pain, in the rubies there is blood and in the pearl there

is death,' he said.

The servant replied, 'Please forget your dreams. Put on the robe and the crown. The

people will not recognise a king without a crown and a sceptre.'

But the young King put on his old tunic from the forest and took his shepherd's staff. ‘I

arrived in the palace with these clothes and I will leave the palace with these clothes,’

he said.

'Now I am ready for my coronation. ’

A servant asked him, 'Where is your crown. ’And he took a briar of thorns from his

balcony. 'This will be my crown,’ he replied.

The young King rode his horse to the cathedral. The people laughed when they saw

him. 'This is not the King but the King's servant, ’ they said. He explained his dreams

hut one man was angry and said, 'Do you not know that rich people give poor people

work? It is difficult to work for a hard master but it is more difficult to work for no

master. Please return to the palace and put on your coronation robes. ’

'The rich and the poor are brothers, ’ he replied, but the people laughed again.

He arrived at the great door of the cathedral but the soldiers stopped him. 'What do you

want? Only the King can enter by this door.’

'I am the King,’ he replied. The Bishop saw him and asked, 'Where is your crown?

Where is your sceptre?'

The young King told the Bishop of his dreams but the Bishop answered, 'Listen to me,

I am an old man. There are many had things in the world but you cannot change them

all. There are thieves and pirates and beggars but you can't make these things disappear.

They are too much for one person. Go back to the Palace and put on your coronation

clothes. ’

But the young King passed the Bishop and entered the cathedral. He went to the altar

and looked at the image of Christ. He saw the light of the candles and the smoke of the

incense. Suddenly a crowd of people ran into the cathedral. They had swords and were

very angry. 'Where is this King dressed in beggar's clothes?' they cried. 'We must kill

him because a beggar cannot rule us. He will be bad for our country.'

But the young King prayed silently in front of the altar. Then he turned and looked at

the people sadly.

At that moment a ray of sun shone into the cathedral. It illuminated the young King at

the altar. The sun made a beautiful robe around him, red roses grew on his dry crown of

thorns and white lilies grew on his staff. The roses were redder than rubies and the lilies

were whiter than pearls. Music started to play and voices started to sing. The glory of

God filled the cathedral. The people knelt down.

'He is crowned by someone greater than me, ’ the Bishop said and he knelt in front of

the young King. The boy came from the altar and passed the people. But they didn't

have the courage to look at his face because it was the face of an angel.

Another story..