Page 31 - The Gluckman Occasonal Number Nine

But faint heart never won fair lady. A handful of men stepped
forward, indicating their willingness to enter the competition. The
first, thin and pale and sporting a head of wild bushy hair, bowed
deeply in the direction of the princess. The king waved his scepter.
The contest had begun.
“I am Alfonso Arroganto, Your Majesty. I have been eking out a
meagre living composing greeting card messages. I am, you see, a
poet. And it is with a poet’s sensitivity and imagination that I perceive
the hidden meaning of this Rainbow Necklace. It can only refer to
the multifaceted charms of Princess Nollimay herself: the deep red of
her lips, the limpid blue of her eyes, the golden yellow of her hair, the
royal purple of her robes, the, uh, bright orange and green of the
palace parrot, and so forth. The legendary pot of gold at the end of
the rainbow, in this case must be—”