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It is dedicated to

Richard Lucas,

entrepreneur and friend.

     When Prince Median was a young child, he dreamed of being much taller than all the other children in the kingdom. But he wasn’t. He wasn’t small but he wasn’t tall.  

     When I am king, I will be the tallest in all my kingdom. Nothing will be taller than the king, he told himself. 

     The king called for the royal jeweler.  

    “The king must be taller than everything. Make me a taller crown,” King Median instructed him. 

     But even with his new crown, he was not the tallest of all. 

    “Bring me the royal cobbler,” he bellowed to his vassal. 

    “The king must be taller than everything. Cobbler, make me taller shoes,” said the king.

     But even when King Median wore his new crown and shoes, he was still not the tallest of all. 

     “The king must be taller than everything. Build me a taller throne,” he demanded. 

     The royal carpenter built him a very tall throne.  

     But there were still people in the kingdom who were taller than the king.

     “The king must be taller than everything”, he yelled. “Command all the tall people in my kingdom to bend over and never stand up straight in public again.” 

     The king now felt very tall indeed. But one day a butterflew flew over his head. 

     “Capture that butterfly,” he screamed. “The king must be taller than everything.”

     The king’s assistants chased after the butterfly, but it flew higher and higher and finally disappeared. 

     The king called for the royal engineers.

     “Build me a tower,” he told them.

     “The king must be taller than everything.“

     The engineers built a tower for the king. He was very tall now, taller than all the people in his kingdom. 

     For a moment he was happy.  

     Suddenly, a bird flew overhead.  

     “Raise me even higher”, he told the engineers.

     “Higher,” said the king. “Higher.” And the engineers made the tower higher.

     And higher.

     And even higher.  

     By this time, the king’s tower was so high that his head was in the clouds.

     He couldn’t see a thing. How do I know whether I am the tallest of all? he asked himself. 

     “Higher, higher,” he yelled to the engineers below. 

     The king was now so far above the clouds that he could see the entire kingdom. He was taller than every mountain, higher than every bird and butterfly.  

     King Median stood proudly atop his tower. The king is taller than everything. Finally, he told himself. 

    “You can help me come down now,” King Median said to his engineers.  

    “Help you what, your royal highness?”

    “Take me down, you babbling fools,” screamed the king.

   “What? Raise you even higher?”

     So they raised the tower higher, and even higher, until they could not hear the king at all.   

        And to this day, they still cannot. 

     That was the original ending. Knowing that some people prefer a “Hollywood ending”, I’ve prepared one just for you.

     Kindly turn the page.

     Day followed night atop the lonely tower. King Median was hungry and thirsty. He took off his royal clothes and fashioned a parachute.

     Everyone watched as King Median floated down ever so slowly from the sky. He was wearing little at all. King Median ran straight to the castle.

     And never dreamed of being tallest again.  

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Thank you for reading this book!

If you like it, you might also want to read:

Danny Kerman Turns Seventy-Five

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