A VERY long time ago-and if you would press me to say how long ago it was I really could not tell you， but sure it is that once upon a time there lived a great and powerful King。
He was such a kind and just man that people came from nine Kingdoms and laid their cases before him for him to decide and judge。This King was rich in wealth and children， and why should he not be rich and mighty， seeing that he had been working and toiling through a long life for the benefit of his people？
When the story begins he was no longer a young man。He had gathered wide experience， he had gone through many trials in life， and now in his old age he had all the wisdom of his years， and he would have remained a happy man if his wife had not borne to him in his old age another child in addition to the twelve which he already had。
“Oh， wife！”he said， when he heard of it，“there is no luck in this。We have now thirteen children， and thirteen is the unlucky number。Thirteen is a bad sign。I wish it would have been at least twins。We are in for trouble。Who knows what may now be in store for us！ Perhaps one of the others will die or some other misfortune will come upon us。”
It seems that he had spoken these words in an evil hour， for after the girl was born-for it was a girl-everything went visibly from bad to worse。Either locusts came and ate up the crops， or illness decimated the population， or wars and strife which devastated the country arose among friends。In a word， within ten years the Kingdom was on the verge of ruin， and you could have wept over it for sorrow。