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A Fable?
Author: velveeta jones    Date: 04/03/2011 14:08:32

Once upon a time there was a kingdom in a beautiful land, marked by luscious fields of bountiful crops tilled by happy farmers and their families. Scattered throughout the kingdom were several clusters of small villages and towns, each filled with everything that a person might need: candle shoppes, blacksmiths, farming supplies, inns, taverns, bakeries and of course, a Starbucks.

The kingdom was a very prosperous and happy kingdom ruled by the benevolent and somewhat progressive-thinking King Randolph.

The King believed that if his subjects were given opportunities and ruled with a firm yet loving hand that they would be happy and safe. The Kingdom had a small but powerful and loyal army that protected the land, and his subjects so loved the king and the kingdom that they would gladly pick up arms to defend their land.

The King had two children Prince Andrew and Princess Ann, twins, but only in looks did they resemble their heritage. Prince Andrew was outspoken and had many opinions. He often argued with his tutors and looked down upon the castle’s many staff, often barking out orders in a most un-Princely fashion. While Princess Ann was a quiet reserved girl. Her beauty and her quiet fortitude made her tutors think that she was may not be very smart.

The kingdom’s subjects new that one day Prince Andrew would be their king, but Randolph had other ideas. There had never been a ruling Queen, and as Ann was actually the elder by several minutes he considered a plan. He would give each of his children a large section of the kingdom to rule over as a test, then the king would decide which of them would be better suited to rule the land.

Andrew was given a large section in the middle to southern part of the kingdom that bordered the sea, while Ann was given the Northern and Eastern part of the kingdom that bordered another kingdom.

Prince Andrew threw himself into ruling his portion of the land. His subjects fell in love with him right away and bowed to his feet. He lowered their taxes immediately. He had his generals pick the strongest men over the age of 16 to serve in his army, which he demanded become the most powerful army in the world. His subjects were overjoyed! Prince Andrew closed the schools for special needs children, as they didn’t need to learn anyway, they were resigned to be servants or farmhands and did not need much of an education. Money would be better spent on making weapons for the army. He contracted the village blacksmiths to stop making tools and to start making swords and cannons. He contracted the carpenters to stop building barns and to start building ships for his navy.

Meanwhile, in her section of the kingdom, Princess Ann had her generals go to the neighboring kingdom to speak with them and make certain that their was peace in the land. She contracted the carpenters to build more schools and she made the schools free and for everyone. She contracted the blacksmiths to expand their business and hire more people to make swords for her army. She raised taxes throughout her portion of the land, but her subjects were flush with money as they were more educated because of the free schools and business and crops were doing well.

Andrew, meanwhile, was in trouble. His subjects were losing faith in him because their roads were in deplorable conditions; jobs were only available in the taverns and inns as maids or dishwashers or other low paying, unskilled jobs. Even the local Blockbuster had filed for bankruptcy. When they tried to complain to their Prince, he had the army clamp them down.

Princess Ann’s section thrived. Many subjects were able to get loans to start new businesses and ideas were flowing. The Princess encouraged religious tolerance and there were many different cultures that shared their art and food with each other. Women felt empowered in her land and were given more opportunities that they passed on to their children. Her land was at peace; her subjects were happy and content.

It was clear to king Randolph who he should pass his crown to, and so he called his children back to the castle. He praised Princess Ann for her steadfastness and strength. He admonished Andrew for abusing his subjects and polluting his land. Prince Andrew was furious. How can you say she is strong, he asked, her subjects do not even fear her? The King replied, “Strength does not always come from the one who has the bigger army, but the one who has the bigger heart”.

Prince Andrew stormed out of the castle. He called his army forth and destroyed his father and sister and proclaimed himself Emperor of the land. He tore down all the cultural centers that Princess Ann had built and turned them into re-education centers. He paved over family farms and sold them to outsiders to make factories that made cheap products and paid low wages and polluted the rivers. He ruled the land with an iron fist.

The End.
 

9 comments (Latest Comment: 04/04/2011 02:25:38 by BobR)
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Comments:

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Comment by livingonli on 04/03/2011 16:37:13
Welcome to the untold tale of Red State America.


Comment by Raine on 04/03/2011 16:53:35
I do not like that ending. But I do Love this blog!

Comment by livingonli on 04/03/2011 16:58:10
I guess those are Huckabee's re-education camps.

Comment by velveeta jones on 04/03/2011 17:32:58
Quote by Raine:
I do not like that ending. But I do Love this blog!

Fables don't have happy endings.



Comment by velveeta jones on 04/03/2011 17:33:25
Plus, I'm not big on "Hollywood" endings.

Comment by Raine on 04/03/2011 18:46:49
Quote by velveeta jones:
Quote by Raine:
I do not like that ending. But I do Love this blog!

Fables don't have happy endings.


Remember, I'm of German decent, I grew up on GRIMM;s fairy tales...

Comment by livingonli on 04/03/2011 20:11:01
If the Knicks win today, they make the playoffs for the first time since 2004.

Comment by trojanrabbit on 04/03/2011 20:27:02
In the next part of the fable, the kingdom to the north comes to fear Emperor Andrew so much, they gather their army and crush Emperor Andrew because his subjects had become too ill with pollution to defend themselves.

Comment by BobR on 04/04/2011 02:25:38
Quote by velveeta jones:
Quote by Raine:
I do not like that ending. But I do Love this blog!

Fables don't have happy endings.


Neither does reality.