The Prince and the Bowling Ball

by Lenny Maxwell

Illustrations by Jim Rowe

THUD. THUD. THUD.

What is it, thought the king. Why would anyone be knocking on my door at this time of night? Especially in a storm?

The king sent for his chamberlain and said, "See who is at the door."

The chamberlain sent for the knight and said, "The king wants to know who's knocking at the door."

The knight sent for his squire and said, "Go see who's knocking at the door and let me know."

The squire sent for the page and said, "The knight wants you to go see who's at the door and let me know."

The page looked around and found... nobody. So, muttering to himself, lie walked across the courtyard, getting soaked in the storm. He dropped the drawbridge over the moat and opened the castle door.

There stood a prince. Rather, there stood a man who said, "I am a prince." What he was a mess. He was soaked to the skin. The feather in his cap drooped. His hair was plastered down and water was running down his face and neck. He certainly didn't look much like a prince.

The page wasn't quite sure if he should admit him so he said, "Wait outside, I'll tell the squire you're here." Before the prince could answer, the page slammed the door and started back across the courtyard.

When he got back inside, he told the squire, "It's some guy that claims to be a prince."

The squire told the knight, "It's a rich prince from another land."

The knight told the chamberlain, "It's a powerful prince from our neighboring kingdom."

The chamberlain turned to the king and said, "Sire, it is a rich and powerful prince from a far-off land."

This is just what I've wanted, thought the king. I have no children, and there are no women in the kingdom I want to marry. Now, I can have a prince. A son. An heir. "Show him in, at once," he ordered the chamberlain.

The chamberlain turned to the knight and said, "Show him in, at once."

The knight turned to the squire and said, "Show him in, at once."

The squire turned just in time to see the page walking out the door.

"I know," said the page, "show him in, at once."

Once again, muttering to himself, the page made the trip across the courtyard through the rain. He opened the castle door and said, "The king wants to see you, at once."

As they walked back inside, the prince said, "I can't see the king looking like this, I have to get cleaned up and have some dry clothes.

The page stopped so abruptly the prince bumped into him. He turned to the prince and said, "Look, the king said 'at once.' That means right now. 'That means you don't have time to get cleaned up. That means we're on our way to his chamber. Now, come on!" With that, he turned and started off again.

The prince was so startled by the page's lack of obedience, he followed along without another word.

The page opened the door to the king's chamber and announced, "I have the honor of admitting...." he stopped and turned to the prince. "What's your name?"

The prince answered, "I am called Alan."

The page turned back to the group and continued, "I have the honor of introducing Prince Alan."

The squire turned to the knight and said, "This is Prince Alan."

The king interrupted him by saying, "I heard." Then to Alan, he said, "Come forth, Prince Alan. Let me see you."

Alan moved into the room, removing his cap as he did so. As he stood in the center of the chamber, water dripped from his cap. Water dripped from his cape. Water dripped from his elbows. He was making quite a puddle in the middle of the king's chamber.

"You're making quite a puddle in the middle of my chamber," said the king. "Why didn't you get cleaned up and put on some dry clothes first?"

The prince turned to the page who just shrugged and said, "Come on. I'll find something for you to wear."

The king stopped him. "Wait, it's not important now. After all, it is the middle of the night. I'll grant you an audience in the morning. For now, I think we all need some sleep. Show our honored guest to his quarters."

As everyone turned to leave, the king said, "The page can take care of that. The rest of you will stay."

After the page and Prince Alan left, the king said, "I need an heir and I really want him to stay. But how can we be sure he is a real prince? After all, it wouldn't do at all to adopt him as my son only to find out that he is nothing but a ... a chimney sweep."

The chamberlain turned to the knight and asked, "How can we test this man to make sure he is a real prince?"

The knight turned to his squire and asked, "How..."

"STOP IT!" roared the king. "If all of you keep repeating everything we'll never get anything done. Now, how can we test his claim?"

The chamberlain, the knight, and the squire all stared at the floor.

The king let them stare for several seconds before saying, "Great. Just great. None of my counselors can give me even an idea of what to do."

"How about putting a pea in his bed?" a voice said from the door.

Turning, they saw the page standing there.

"A pea?" asked the king.

"Yes, Sire," said the page. "A real prince would be able to feel even something so small as a pea through a mattress. If he can feel the pea, we'll know he's a real prince."

"You're right, of course," said the king. "Someone slip into his room and put a pea under his mattress."

The chamberlain looked at the knight. The knight looked at the squire. The squire looked at the page. The page nodded and said, "Right. I'm on my way."

The next morning, the king greeted the prince. "Well, how did you sleep, Prince Alan?"

"Great, Sire," he answered, "'that is the most comfortable bed I've ever felt."

Later that day, the king gathered his staff and told them, "Well, he failed that test. He said he slept great. But, I don't think we can trust that test. After all, he was pretty exhausted. Maybe we should try it with something else."

The chamberlain said, "How about a baseball? I have one in my room."

As one, they all turned to the page. He shrugged and said, "I'm gone."

The next morning, the king, once again, asked the prince, "Well, how did you sleep last night?"

"Great, Sire," he answered, "that's still the most comfortable bed I've ever slept in."

That afternoon was another meeting. "We can't let such a fine, upstanding young lad fail time after time," said the king, "So, what do we do now?"

"How about a softball?" suggested the knight.

"Wonderful," said the king. "That should do it."

The page didn't even wait. He was walking out the door as the knight said, "I have one in my room."

The following morning, the king was distressed as he heard Prince Alan say, "What a fine bed that is, Sire. I don't think I've slept this well in years."

The mood that afternoon was pretty sad. The king kept saying, "What will I do? What can I do? I have to have an heir. We have to find an honest test for him to pass."

The squire finally said, "Well, Sire, we could try a cantaloupe. The cook just bought several at the market and one of them is pretty big."

"Wonderful," said the king, "he couldn't possibly fail to feel that. It will prove, once and for all, that he is truly a prince."

The page didn't even wait. He was on his way to the kitchen.

But, alas, the following morning, the prince, once again, raved about how comfortable the bed was and how well he slept.

The king was distraught. "He failed again," he said.

The chamberlain was ready to give up and said, "Maybe we misjudged him."

The knight was dismayed as he said, "Alas, we may never prove he is really a prince."

The squire simply said, "We have to prove it somehow."

The page, in his most sarcastic tone, said, "Why don't we stick a bowling hall under his mattress?"

"What?" said the king, "Why, that's a wonderful idea. Certainly he'll feel that. Certainly that will prove he is really a prince. Page, if he feels that, I will give you to him as his servant."

"Gee, thank you, Sire," said the page. "I'll go find a bowling ball."

The tension was high the next morning as the king asked, "Well, Prince Alan, how did you sleep?"

The prince shook his head. "Not well, Sire. There was an awful lump in the bed, last night. I tossed and turned all night." He was completely baffled when everyone (except the page) started cheering.

The next morning, the page walked into his new master's room and greeted him. "Well, your highness, how did you sleep?"

The prince looked at him and said, "What is it with you people? Everyone keeps asking me how I slept. I slept great now that the bowling ball is out of my bed. How did you sleep?"

The page, looking tired, said, "Not well, I'm afraid. Somebody slipped a pea under my mattress and I tossed and turned all night."

The prince wasn't even listening. He was looking up the chimney. "You know," lie said, "somebody really should take care of this chimney. I don't think I've ever seen a dirtier one."

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