Page 6 - Three of Happiness

Then the Queen asked the Elf, “By the way Mr. Elf, why is there a door in the tree?”
The Elf smiled and then began to laugh and laugh. “Pardon me Queen but do you mean to tell me you don’t know about this tree?”
“Well, no,” the Queen replied. The Elf could not help himself as he laughed again.
“Queeny,” he said with a sly grin, “This is the Tree Of Happiness. All you have to do is go inside this tree and you will be happy.”
There was a look of shock on the Queen’s face as she realized what the Elf had just said. “Tree of Happiness,” she mumbled the words and then she ran to the door in the tree and twisted the doorknob. But the door did not open. She twisted and twisted the knob and pulled and pulled on the door but it would not budge. She turned to the Elf and asked, “How am I to get into the TREE OF HAPPINESS?”
The Elf reached under his shirt and pulled out a large golden key and said, “You must have the Key to get into the Tree
of Happiness.”
The Queen then ran back to the Elf and demanded, “Give me the key!”
The Elf replied, “I’m sorry but I can’t give it to you.”
The Queen snapped back, “What do you mean you can not give me the key? I must have it. I am so very tired of being unhappy.”
“Sorry,” said the Elf, “I just can’t do that.”
The Queen began to cry and cry. She begged the Elf to give her the key. She promised him great riches and tles and castles but s ll he said...”No.” The Queen quickly red of this because she was not accustomed to being denied anything.
In fact, she grew quite angry. She stood to her full height (a foot taller than the Elf)
and said, “You must give me the key!” She then began to threaten him with, “Death
in boiling oil!” She would have her soldiers come and, “Cut you into small pieces, very slowly.” S ll he told her “No.” She whined that he was just being mean to her and was a terrible, horrible, li le Elf for not giving her the key.
Finally, with tears in her eyes, she asked, “What in the world must I do to get you to give me the Key?” The Elf smiled and asked, “Don’t you know anything? You must undergo a series of trials and tests to determine if you are worthy to use the key to the ‘Tree of Happiness.”
Well, even I had to chuckle a little at this point of the story. I would think that everybody knows that, “a series of trials and tests” are necessary for a great gift like Happiness.
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