It had been the warmest and the most useful fire in the castle, always
bright and glowing and cheerful. It made the big kettle sing, and it
cooked the food, and painted pictures in the fireplace for the little
Prince, who always sat in front of it before he went to bed. Some said
that the fire needed a special kind of fuel to keep it burning, and
others said that it had gone out because it was such a hard, cold
winter. Still others said that the castle folk were quarreling so over
matters of state that they made the castle too cold for any fire to
burn. The King blew the bellows, and the Queen wrapped up the little
Prince in a fur coat, and the Cook piled on more logs, but still the
fire would not burn.
"Go down the hill road," the King at last commanded the Court
Messenger, "and wherever you see a bright fire burning in one of the
houses, go inside and ask for some coals to bring back to the castle.
It may be that we can light our fire in this way."
So the Messenger, with a great iron lantern for holding the coals,
started out in the bitter cold.
"A light for the castle fire!" he called as he went. "Who will give me
some coals with which to light the castle fire?"
As the Messenger went on his way, a great many people heard him and
they all wanted to have a share in lighting the fire at the castle.
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