The King Who Banned the Dark
by Emily Haworth-Booth
There was once a little boy who was afraid of the dark. There's nothing so unusual about that. Most children are afraid of the dark at one time or another. But this little boy was a prince, and he decided that when he became king, he would do something about the dark. He would BAN it.
On the first morning of his reign, the king told his advisors about this plan. They responded:
"With the greatest respect, your majesty..."
"If you ban the dark just like that, the people won't understand..."
"They'll revolt against you..."
"But if you make them think it's their idea..."
"It might just work!"
And so, the advisors started to spread rumors about the dark:
"The dark is scary..."
"The dark is boring! You can't play in the dark!" ...