Salt over Gold

Once upon a time, far far away in a fairy-tale kingdom, a king lived with his three daughters in a beautiful castle. But the king felt that the crown weighed too heavily on his head: he was tired of ruling. So he decided that he would choose one of his daughters to be queen and rule over the land, so that he wouldn’t have to be king any more.

“But which of my three daughters shall I choose?” the king wondered. Then he had an idea. He decided that whichever daughter loved him best would be the new queen. Losing no time, he called all three of his daughters to see him.

“Tell me, my dear eldest daughter, how much do you love me?” he asked inquiringly.

“Daddy, I love you as much as gold!” cried his eldest daughter.

“That’s lovely,” replied the king, smiling with satisfaction. “And how much do you love me, dear middle daughter?”

“Daddy, I love you as much as gemstones and rare jewels!”

“That is also very nice. And what about you, Maria, how much do you love me?” asked the king, turning to the youngest princess.

“Dearest daddy, I love you as much as salt,” replied Maria with a smile. But her father did not like her answer.

“Salt?!” he repeated crossly. “Ordinary salt that every pauper has! Do you appreciate me so little?! Get out of my sight and only come back when salt is more precious than gold or fine gemstones!”

Maria was startled and she was sorry she had made her father so angry. She had only wanted to tell him how much she loved him and appreciated him. But she obeyed and without another word she left the castle. She didn’t know…