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There once lived a young artist whose name was Shin. Shin was small, but he lived on his own ship. Shin traveled from planet to planet studying drawing. One day he came to a blue planet. "Ah, what a beautiful planet," Shin whispered to himself. "It sparkles like a blue jewel. I'll bet it has very kind people living there." On the blue planet there was a small kingdom. The kingdom was at peace. There were no wars or fighting, and people lived peacefully. The kingdom was ruled by a king who had a daughter, the princess. The princess was nine years old. Day by day she grew more beautiful and the people loved her. The king was 59 years old. Until he was 50 he had no children. The princess was his first child. But there was no queen. The queen had given her precious life to bring the princess into the world. |
 It
was spring when the artist arrived in the kingdom.The people of the kingdom became giddy with good cheer in springtime. For they knew that in May a big birthday celebration for the princess would be held at the castle. People from throughout the land would gather around the castle, singing, dancing and making merry. The king's birthday was also in May. So he hosted a magnificent birthday party for the princess and celebrated his own birthday at the same time. This year a rumor was going around that the princess's birthday celebration would be grander and more magnificent than ever before. For this year the princess would be 10 years old and the king sixty. Crowds thronged to the castle for the celebration. Shin, too, went along to observe, with sketchbook and colored pencils in hand. He saw how happy the people were and thought the little kingdom was wonderful. A gun salute crackled through the air, trumpets blasted, and the people cheered. For the king and princess had stepped out onto the balcony of the castle. "Now I understand. She really is lovely," the artist thought as he sketched the princess. |
 The
princess, who had just turned 10 years old, was a pretty little girl.She wore a pink dress and a floral crown of Chinese milk vetch flowers on her head. She looked like a flower fairy of the Chinese milk vetch descended upon the castle. The princess waved to the people and smiled gaily. Then something happened. A bee flew out of her crown of Chinese milk vetch flowers and buzzed about frantically. The princess pulled her hand back in fright. But it was too late. The bee stung her on her tender neck. Watching all this, the crowd began to buzz with confusion. The king suddenly became pale, lifted the princess in his arms, and carried her into the castle. Shin realized that she was in danger. He had only wished to observe the birthday celebration, then leave the kingdom. But he was worried about the princess so he ran into the castle. Once, Shin had gotten stung by bees when he got too close to a beehive. When you get stung by a bee, you must remove the stinger right away. If you don't, the poison will continue to flow into your body from the sac in the stinger. The artist felt unsure whether or not the people of the castle knew this. |
 Inside
the castle it was pandemonium.Nobody stopped him, so Shin went deeper into the castle. Suddenly his feet stopped in front of a door, for he caught a glimpse of the king's red cape. The king stood at the side of a small bed. Shin hurried in and looked at the princess's neck. And what did he see! The bee stinger was still there! There was no time to explain. Shin nudged the king out of the way, reached out, and pulled the stinger from the princess's neck. The king was surprised and looked at the artist. "Who are you?" he roared. "I am a traveler. But more importantly, we have to suck the poison out of her neck before it is too late." Shin quickly said "excuse me" to the unconscious princess, leaned over, and put his mouth to her neck. He sucked out the poison and spit it into the palm of his hand. For now everything would be all right. Shin wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. The king was dumbfounded and could only stare at the artist. The castle soldiers were also taken by surprise, but now they pointed their spears at the artist. |
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