The Girl Who Owned a City (12 page)
Read The Girl Who Owned a City Online
Authors: O. T. (Terry) Nelson
“Hey, Lisa,” Steve said. “Guess who's got the wild ideas now? You ought to hear Charlie's plan. Tell her, Charlie.”
Lisa flopped down on the big couch. “I told you he was the crazy one,” she said.
But Charlie wasn't a quitter. He described how they could train dogs to fight and kill if necessary. His dad had a book on training police dogs, and he'd read a mystery story about a man who trained killer dogs. Lisa was thinking about their castle surrounded by angry dogs. It would be even better than a moat, she thought.
Charlie noticed her smile and thought she was mocking his plan. “I'm not finished yet, Lisa,” he said coolly. He went on to tell them that German shepherds were the best breed for the purpose. Since there were so many stray dogs everywhere, he was sure he could find dozens to train. “Besides, I know a lot about dogs. My dad taught me.” Charlie had been secretly training Danny, his English setter. He offered to give Lisa a demonstration.
“That's not necessary, Charlie,” she said. “I think it's a great idea. It's better to use dogs for fighting than children.”
Then she decided to shock them. “And they'll be useful at the castle.”
“What castle?” All of them said it at the same time.
“You thought my other ideas were wild, did you? Wait till you hear this one!”
They listened carefully as she presented the details of the plan. There were no smiles and no jokes, just nodding. They could see her point that the houses on Grand Avenue were spread too far apart and were too hard to defend. The fire had taught them a lesson. Their own houses might be next.
She had expected them to argue and say that they wouldn't leave their homes. But they were excited.
“When do we start?” Jill asked.
“Tonight, of course!” Lisa answered. “There's no time to waste. We'll have to spend some nights under cover getting the place ready. Then, in about five or six days, we can move in. Eileen's dad had some big trucks. We'll figure out how to drive one and then, one night, we'll load all our stuff into the truck and slip it into Glenbard.”
They worked over the details of the plan until dark. No one but the six plotters would be told a thing about it until everything was ready. In the meantime, Steve could learn to drive a truck, Lisa and Jill could plan the indoor city, and Craig and Todd could hide supplies. They would work at night, and Charlie would be the temporary defense captain. Somehow, in the meantime, they would keep the enemy away.
There was no crying in the Jansens' house that night. Could it be, wondered Jill, that earning their own toys is the reason for it? For once, Jill rested well.
But Todd and Lisa had far too many exciting thoughts for sleep. Lisa wanted her brother to understand why she was so happy. But how could she say it so he would understand?
A story seemed the best way. The setting for her story came to her easily.
Once there was a tiny kingdom across the sea with knights in shining armor who had lots of adventures. Everybody was truly happy. They were busy doing things they liked.
In a huge castle overlooking the sea lived the king and his young son, the prince. Their kingdom was very rich, because the king was the wisest man in the worldâwell, at least in their world. He knew how to be happy and he knew how to make his subjects happy. He was fair and generous, and most of all, he let his people be free.
Now you know from other fairy tales that kings usually made their money by taxing the people in their kingdom. Well, not this kingâand maybe that was part of his wisdom. Other kings demanded cattle and gifts and jewels just because they wanted them. But they gave nothing in return. They didn't really think that peasants were as good as royal people.
But this king was really a lot like a smart businessowner. He thought of his subjects more as customers than as slaves. And since he was wiser than anyoneâsince he knew more than any ten of them put togetherâwell, what I'm getting at is that he sold them his wisdom. When they were unhappy or when they had a problem, they came to him for advice. If he could solve their problem, which he almost always did, then they would have to pay him. He would charge according to the size of the problem.
Advice about farming, for example, would only cost a goat or a pig. But advice about how to be happy was his specialty, and because happiness is the most important thing in the whole world, he charged a lot more for that kind of advice. Usually the people paid with their best jewels or with a year of service as a soldier to defend the country against the other kingsâthe ones who thought it was easy to get rich by fighting and looting.
The other kings couldn't figure it out. Why was this king so rich? It seemed crazy to let his subjects be free and to organize an army that they didn't have to join.
But those kings never saw the stream of people in line to buy the king's advice. He got smarter and richer all the time. And the happier and freer his people became, the harder they worked. The harder they worked, the wealthier they became. The wealthier they became, the more time they had to face and solve their problems. And here was the king's secret: while he got smarter, they got richer, so he could keep raising his prices.
Everybody got happier and happier, and the king couldn't complain because he was getting richer.
But there was a big mystery about the king's happiness advice. The people swore on their very happiness, never ever to reveal what the king told themâever!
Such happiness was everywhere. Maybe that's why they called it the kingdom of Real Fun. All the people of the land had real fun doing whatever they liked to do.
Does this sound a little
too
happy? Well, even the king had problems. Wisdom can't stop them altogether, you know.
Everybody was getting happier each day, except for one very sad person who became sadder every day. And it troubled the king greatly, because that sad person was the prince, his son!
Now the king's wisdom just wasn't great enough to deal with this problem. He tried everything to make the boy happy. He gave him horses and friends to play with and toys and servants. The boy didn't have a stitch of work to do. He had every reason to be happy, but he wasn't.
The king was smart enough to know that the sad prince could never rule the land, because he was learning neither wisdom nor happiness.
The more the king gave to the prince, the sadder the prince became. Before long, even the king himself started to become sad. I must not be so smart, he said to himself, if I can't even make my son happy.
When he was nearly at his wits' end, the king decided to get help. He offered a big reward and had a notice posted all over the kingdom.
“Whoever can tell me how to make my son happy,” said the notice, “shall inherit this kingdom upon my death.”
And it was signed: “The King of Real Fun.”
As you might imagine, no one could advise the king as he wished, though hundreds of people tried.
And then tragedy came to the king. In the middle of a night that was sadder than most, the little prince disappeared. He was gone, without a trace.
Things got much worse, in fact, before they got better. The king began to lose confidence in his own wisdom and, of course, the advice business began to slack off.
Finally, one day in the spring of the second year after the prince had disappeared, business was so slow that only one person came to the king for advice. The king could see it clearly now. He was going broke! Pretty soon he would have to start taxing his people. He shuddered at the thought.
I can hold out for another month or so, he thought. Especially if I move into a smaller place. This castle costs a lot to keep up. Maybe my next customer will have a high-priced problem.
Then a visitor was announced.
“Your Highness, this young man seeks to hear any advice you may have about happiness.”
Good, the king thought. Another customer for happiness advice.
“Step up here, lad,” said the king, almost greedily. “What is your problem?”
The young man seemed terribly sad. From his expensive clothes, the king predicted a very high price for his advice. But what if I can't help him? he thought. Even the king had lost faith in himself by this time.
“Have you guessed the ending already, Todd? These fairy tales are all very much alike, aren't they? You haven't? Okay then, I'll finish the story.”
The young man said, “Great King, your wisdom has let my father prosper. He has earned riches not possible in other kingdoms. But can your wisdom help me? Though I have everything and though I try to be happy, I am still unhappy. I laugh out loud to myself, smile in the mirror, buy new clothes and horses and jewels every day. But still I am not happy.” And he cried right in front of the Great King.
The king smiled to himself. “This will be easy money,” he thought. “I'll just give him my usual happiness advice.”
“I will help you,” the king said. “But first, do you swear by the happiness I will show you how to find that you'll never repeat the words I shall now tell you?”
“Yes, Great King. I do so swear.”
The king went on. “And are you prepared to pay the high price for such advice?”
“Yes, Great King, I have a golden ring worth hundreds of goats.”
So the king drew a small card from his royal robe with the happiness advice neatly written on it. (You see, the king never said the words aloud for fear that some spy would overhear. After all, his advice was a trade secret.)
The words on the card made the young man smile a real smile for the first time in his long, sad life. The words were:
Having things is something but not everything.
Earning the values for your life is more than just something, it's everything!
“Remember those words, lad. Get to know and understand their meaning. Happiness is quite simple, you know. There's nothing in the world that you cannot face. Do not fear! Fear is the ugliest thing because it alone equals unhappiness.”
The king's speech was finished, so he asked the young man for the golden ring.
“May I ask you a question first, Great King?”
“Yes, ask it!” said the king, a little impatiently.
“Why, Great King, should I have to pay for your advice if your own son couldn't be made happy by it? And what good is your advice? Why should I give you my most precious treasureâmy golden ring?”
The Great King was silent for the first time. He had always had a wise answer, but now he said nothing.
“Let me tell you something, Great King. Let me give you some advice for a change. I think you need it. Why, you yourself are not happy. I can see it in your face.”
The young man reached into his robe, pulled out a card of his own and gave it to the king. The king turned pale when he saw it. It said:
Let your son practice what you preach!
Let your son discover the truth that I already know: “Having things is something but not everything.
Earning the values for your life is more than just something, it is everything!”
Let your prince earn the values for his own life!
The king said, “Maybe you're right, lad. I gave him too much. Just as your father has done to you. And if only I could find my son, I would try your advice. My wisdom tells me that you are rightâthat giving him too much was a great error.
“Find my son and bring him to me! If your advice helps him to find happiness, then you shall inherit the kingdom and all that I own.”
“Your Highness, I have already found him. He knows my advice and now he is truly happy,” said the young man.
The king was astounded at these words. And he knew their truth when he saw the golden ringâthe one he'd given to his son, the prince.
The young man removed his disguise and said, “Yes, Father, I am heâyour son and the rightful prince of this kingdom. I have earned happiness and the right to inherit all that is ours.”
Needless to say, they lived happily ever after.
Lisa ended the story. Todd was trying to think it through. He didn't understand it completely yet.
The day had been a bright new beginning for Lisa. She forgot her sadness. She had made a real plan for the children of Grand Avenue. And she had, during the course of her fairy tale, found a grain of precious truth.
She was happy.
The Glenbard plan worked perfectly. On the night of January first, Grandville became a ghost town. Its citizens and their secret treasures disappeared from the face of the earth. Or so, at least, it seemed to the fearsome and cruel army of Chidesterâand Elm.