In which today's story is fun to share with kids who help with shouting

 The King Who Wanted to Touch the Moon (Dominican Republic)

 There once was a king who got everything he wanted.  Everything.  He got everything he wanted, all of the time!

If somebody didn’t want to give him something, he would say, “I am the king!  I wear the crown!  I get what I want!”

And people would see the crown, and they would have to give the king whatever he wanted.

One morning, the king saw somebody eating strawberries.  “I want strawberries!” he said. 

His assistant told him, “Okay, I’ll ask the cook to give you strawberries with your lunch.”

“NO!” said the king.  “I am the king!  I wear the crown!  I get what I want!  I want THOSE strawberries!”

And the person with the strawberries had to give them to the king. 

One afternoon, the king saw somebody reading comic books.  “I want comic books!” he said.

His assistant told him, “Okay, let’s walk to the library so you can get some comic books!”

“NO!” said the king.  “I am the king!  I wear the crown!  I get what I want!  I want THOSE comic books!”

 And the person with the comic books had to give them to the king. 

One night, the king was looking out the window at the moon.  “I want to touch the moon!” he said.

His assistant told him, “You can’t touch the moon.  Nobody can touch the moon.  It’s too high up in the sky.”

The king said, “I am the king!  I wear the crown!  I get what I want! And I want to TOUCH THE MOON!”

The king called for the royal carpenter.  “Build me a tower so I can climb up high and touch the moon!” 

The carpenter said, “Your Majesty, I don’t know how to build a tower to touch the moon.  I build tables and chairs and boxes and desks.”

The king said, “I am the king!  I wear the crown!  I get what I want!  Build a hundred boxes and stack them up so I can climb up high and touch the moon.”

So, the carpenter built a hundred boxes.  They stacked them up high.  But when the king climbed to the top of the stack, he could only touch the top of a tall tree.

He climbed back down.

The king said, “I am the king!  I wear the crown!  I get what I want!  Build 500 boxes and stack them up so I can climb up high and touch the moon.”

So the carpenter built 500 more boxes and stacked them up on top of the 100 boxes.  But when the king climbed to the top of the stack, he could only touch the top of a tall mountain. 

He climbed back down.

The king said, “I am the king!  I wear the crown!  I get what I want!  Build 1000 boxes and stack them up so I can climb up high and touch the moon!”

The carpenter built 1000 more boxes and stacked them up on top of the other boxes.  When the king climbed to the top of the stack he could a-l-m-o-s-t  touch the moon, but not quite.

“Build one more box!” he shouted down to the carpenter.

“But, Your Majesty, there is no more wood.  We’ve already chopped down all the trees!”

“Well then,” said the king, “bring me a box from the bottom of the stack.  I will put that box on top of the others and then I will be able to touch the moon.”

“But Your Majesty, we can’t do that!”

The king said, “I am the king!  I wear the crown!  I get what I want!  Bring me a box from the bottom of the stack!”

So they pulled the biggest box from the bottom of the stack.

And you know what happened!  

The stack fell down and the king fell with it.  And when he fell, his crown came off and rolled away and got lost in the pile of broken boxes.

Without the crown, the king didn’t get to have whatever he wanted. 

And he never did get to touch the moon.