The Everlasting Sneezes.

On Tuesday, the queen started to sneeze. Achoo! She sneezed again and again. Achoo! Achoo! She went on sneezing all morning. This worried the prime minister. He called in the five wise persons.

"Good morning, Your Majesty," they said to the queen, bowing low.

Achoo, achoo, achoo!" she answered.

"The queen has a terrible case of the everlasting sneezes," the prime minister explained. "You must rid her of them at once."

"I know the perfect cure," said the first wise person. "Your Majesty must tease bees while you sneeze."

The miserable queen walked out to the royal garden where the beehives were kept. But just as she playfully poked the nearest bee's belly, she sneezed. Achoo!

Bzzzzzz! The startled bee stung her finger.

"I have a better remedy," said the second wise person as the royal jester coated the throbbing finger with soothing mud. "Your Majesty must squeeze fleas while you sneeze.

The closest fleas were on the royal dog. But the queen couldn't spot any of the teeny-tiny pests, so she tried squeezing the whole dog. Achoo! She sneezed as she squeezed.

Woof! said the bewildered dog. It nipped her thumb.

"I know a sure-fire remedy," said the third wise person when the royal jester finished bandaging the queen's thumb. "Your Majesty must freeze your knees while you sneeze.

The queen stood in the royal blue bathtub while six ladies-in-waiting filled it with ice. She stood and she stood. Soon the ice began to melt.

"Achoo! Achoo! Achoo! Get me out of here AT ONCE," she commanded angrily. "My toes are frozen."

"I know just what to do, Your Majesty," said the fourth wise person as the queen warmed her toes.

He pointed to a big oak tree in the corner of the garden. "If you can climb trees with ease, you'll nevermore sneeze. I learned that from my father. And he from his."

The long-suffering queen started bravely up the tree.

But halfway up, she was overcome by another sneezing fit. Achoo! Her foot slipped and down she tumbled, banging her head at the bottom.

As the royal jester applied a big bandage to the large lump rising on her head, the queen moaned, "Some wise persons you are! I've done everything you've said, and I'm worse off than when I started.

"I've been stung by a bee, nipped by a dog, I have frozen my toes, and now I've a lump on my head. Achoo! Achoo! Achoo! And I'm still sneezing."

The fifth and last wise person quickly stepped forward. "I know a remedy that never, ever fails," he declared. "Let the ocean breezes blow away all your sneezes."

So the desperate queen and her royal party trudged down to the beach. A strong wind was blowing across the white-capped water. The queen shivered.

"Achoo! Achoo! Achoo! I don't think these breezes are helping my sneezes," she said.

Her son, Prince Percival, was making a sand castle nearby. "Why, Mother dear, whatever happened to you?" he asked, looking at her bandaged head and thumb with great concern.

"Alas, my son, I have a terrible case of the everlasting sneezes," the queen answered.

"But, Mother dearest," Prince Percival said tenderly, "whenever I sneeze, you tuck me into bed. The disease that makes people sneeze is just a cold in the head."

The queen nodded. "My son, you're wiser than all the wise persons put together." Then she hugged him tightly and ran back to the castle, followed by the five not-so-wise persons.

She climbed into bed, blew her nose, and was soon fast asleep. In the morning, her bee sting, dog bite, frozen toes, and lumpy head were all better, and her everlasting sneezes were almost all gone. Achoo!