Page 16 - The Tree of Happiness

One day the Queen arose to a knock on the door. “Excuse
me madam,” the courteous head advisor said in the open doorway. “The workmen are ready to lay the last stone to the Queen’s Road. I mean, the road and they would like for you to be present.”
‘’It is quite all right to call it the Queen’s Road,” she said with a smile. “I know that the name was once meant to be a joke or insult but I am quite proud of this accomplishment. So please, do call it... The Queen’s Road.”
She rode on her great white horse to the site where they were laying the last stone. The leader of all of the laborers helped her down off her horse. He was a big, dark man, with rough hands and a soiled cap.
He seemed overwhelmed by the presence of the Queen but stood erect and said, “We wanted to have you here to complete the road. It has been difficult but it has given many of us a chance to work and earn money for our families.
We want you to have the honor of laying the last stone of... the Queen’s Road, if you don’t mind.”
13