Page 10 - Tree of Happiness

The Elf smiled a sly smile and then began to speak. “First you must build a road. A wide road that will be paved with stone. It must go from one end of your kingdom to the other.” “Oh,” she said, “That will be very difficult.” “Yes,” replied the Elf, “It will be very difficult.” ‘’It will take a long time and cost a lot of money,” she cried.
“Yes it will, you are correct,” smiled the Elf. Then he said, “And you don’t have to do it but if you don’t, I can’t give you the key.” “Well” she whined, ‘’I guess I can do that. Is that all?”
The Elf laughed and said that it wasn’t. “Next, you must build a large monument at the end of the road with many, many rooms.” “But that will take forever,” she gasped. “It will take some time,” he agreed.
“It will be so very difficult and expensive,” she said. “Yes it will be,” he said. “And you don’t have to do it but if you don’t, you can’t have the key.” The Queen stomped her foot and said, “If I must, I must.” But she was obviously not pleased.
“Is that all,” she demanded. “Well, since you asked. No, that’s not all. You must go throughout the world and search out the thousand best books in the world. Even if it means going to every kingdom known to man. And after you have found the thousand best books, you must bring them back to the kingdom and place them in the monument.”
7