The King's Crown - A Coronavirus Support Story
Note: We are reaching out to storytellers, parents, and children all over the world to collect stories that bring a little healing and levity to the coronavirus outbreak. We believe families need tools to help children (and parents) deal with the anxiety and cabin fever, not just the virus. Storytelling is a time-tested way to build safety, intimacy, and creativity in the home.
Visit the Coronavirus Storytelling Home Page
To be clear - these stories, articles, and resources are intended to help parents guide young children and ease anxiety in the household after the serious work of preparation has been done. They are not intended to make light of the illness. While this and other stories can be shared directly with children, we believe you will find the greatest comfort in crafting stories of your own with the help of your child.
This story comes from Joseph Sarosy, co-author of How to Tell Stories to Children, a teacher, father, and freelance writer for Fatherly.
Once there was a selfish king. He had a magnificent crown, and he thought it was so beautiful that he decided to spread it all over the world. “Mount your horses!” he told his knights. “Prepare the armies!” He was determined to prove that his kingdom and his crown was the most powerful.
But before he left, an old magician sought out the king. “You will never defeat the entire world with horses and armies,” he said. “Everyone will see you coming, and they will defeat you. Their numbers are too vast for even your greatest warriors.”
“What can I do?” asked the king.
“You must hide yourself. I know a spell that will make you and your entire army invisible. In this way, you can conquer all the lands before they even know you are there.”
The king thought this was an excellent idea, and that night with the entire army gathered, the old magician laid the spell by the light of the moon. But as they became invisible, the king felt something strange happening. Everything seemed to be getting larger, or maybe it was he that was growing smaller.
“What’s happening!” he squeaked in a tiny voice.
“It is part of the spell,” said the magician. Not only will you be invisible, you will be so small that no one will hear your footsteps.
“But how will I destroy their armies!” the king squeaked. The sound of the tiny horses’ hooves went tippy-tippy-tip behind him as the men grew restless.
“This will not be a war of swords and spears,” said the magician. “You will not travel the world on horseback, but upon men and women. You will spread your kingdom from person to person, infecting each one of them and vanquishing all your enemies. The only visible mark of your success will be your crown, a corona, that appears on their bodies once you have defeated them.”
“I see,” said the king, smiling. “In this way, I will carry my crown throughout all the world!”
But what neither the magician nor the king knew, was that a young child stood listening through an open window in the castle walls. It was the gardener’s daughter. It would fall to her to save the world.
As she listened, the magician continued, “There is one vulnerability you must take precaution against,” he said. “You and your men will be washed away by the waters of the earth. You must take care never to get caught in the roiling streams or simmering lakes. Even steam will turn you to rotten peaches.”
“Rotten peaches?” squeaked the king.
“Well, you know…” said the magician. “Soggy stuff.”
“And there is one vile substance on the face of the earth that will make the toiling waters even worse. It was once made from pig fat and tree urine and frog backs, but today men and women derive it from botanical ingredients!”
“Disgusting,” said the king.
“They put lavender in it sometimes.”
“Gross.”
“Soap,” said the magician. “You must avoid soap at all costs. Your armor will protect you for short blasts, but twenty seconds of soap and water will destroy you instantly and turn you into…”
“Rotten peaches?” asked the king.
“Rotten peaches,” repeated the magician, slowly shaking his head.
That night, the king and his army rode off. Almost instantly he infected whole lands. Children and grandparents locked themselves in their homes, trying to avoid the crown of the selfish king. Schools were closed. Toilet paper was $10.99 a roll.
But the gardener’s daughter had work to do. First she told her father, but he wouldn’t listen. Then, she told the baker, but she didn’t care. In the corner sat the baker’s son, and when he listened to the girl he became courageous. “Let’s go,” he said, “I will help you deliver the message.”
The little girl and boy delivered the message all across the world, and people began sharing the news. The king and his armies were often in foreign lands first, leaving the stamp of their crown, but eventually the message spread. “Wash your hands,” they said. “Clean your house. Use soap for twenty seconds.”
“With lavender!” the boy added. “It smells nice.”
Soon, the king and his army had been reduced to rotten peaches. Limping his way home, he squeaked, “that was a terrible idea.”
When he arrived, the boy and girl towered over him. “What you did was wrong,” they said.
“I know,” said the king. The truth is, he had had a change of heart and he now felt guilty.
“But you can do something to make up for the disease you spread across the world,” the girl announced.
“What?” asked the king, still in his tiny voice.
“From now on,” she said, “you will teach the people to wash their hands and practice good health. You will teach them to drink water and eat healthy foods. In this way, your crown will spread all across the earth.”
The king smiled. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of that,” he said, slapping himself on the forehead.
And with that, the king returned to normal size. When he looked behind him, his army had been transformed into a well-trained staff of men and women in nurse’s uniforms, and the horses were now donkeys with ballet slippers.
“Wait, why donkeys?” the king asked, scratching his head.
The End
Announcing the 2020 Coronavirus Storytelling Challenge
As politicians and journalists wrestle for control over the story of coronavirus in the media, parents are locked down in a different battle – the story forming in our children’s hearts.
Schools are closing their doors. Parents are feeling anxious. Social distancing and empty shelves have us gasping for normalcy. We need skills for handling the disease, but we also need tools for managing the anxiety that treads in its footsteps.
That’s why we created the 2020 Coronoavirus Storytelling Challenge. As the nation struggles to catch up with the disease, let’s help parents and children connect at home, and take some of the pressure off.
The Storytelling Loop is a newsletter bringing you tips, science, and real-life examples of how storytelling builds the connection between parent and child. It is a joint project of Silke Rose West and Joseph Sarosy, authors of How to Tell Stories to Children. Originally published in August of 2019, a new edition is due out from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2021. You can find more from Joseph Sarosy at Fatherly. Are you involved in storytelling? Join Us.