The Good King

: ANIMAL STORIES
: Boys And Girls Bookshelf

By Margaret and Clarence Weed



Once upon a time there was a King in Spain who had only one leg. He was

a Good King and he had a big Animal Farm where he kept all the animals

who had lost one or more of their legs.



In another part of Spain there was a Little Half Chick with only one

eye, one wing and one leg. The other chickens with two eyes and two legs

gobbled up the corn so fast that Little Half Chick was nearly starved.



One day a Donkey told Little Half Chick about the Good King and his

Animal Farm. Little Half Chick at once started hoppity-hop for Mother

Hen and said,



"Mother Hen, I am going to Madrid to see the Good King."



"All right," said Mother Hen, "good luck to you."



So Little Half Chick started off, hoppity-hop, hoppity-hop along the

road to Madrid to see the Good King.



Soon she met a Two-legged Cat going along hippity-hip, hippity-hip on

her leg and crutch. The Cat said,



"Hello, Little Half Chick, where are you going so fast?"



Little Half Chick said, "I am going to Madrid to see the Good King."



"May I go too?" said the Two-legged Cat.



"Yes," said Little Half Chick, "fall in behind."



So the Cat fell in behind. Hoppity-hop, hoppity-hop went Little Half

Chick. Hippity-hip, hippity-hip went the Two-legged Cat.



Soon they met a Three-legged Dog going along humpity-hump, humpity-hump.

The Dog said:



"Hello, Little Half Chick, where are you going so fast?"



Little Half Chick said "I am going to Madrid to see the Good King."



"May I go too?" said the Three-legged Dog.



"Yes," said Little Half Chick, "fall in behind."






So the Dog fell in behind. Hoppity-hop, hoppity-hop went Little Half

Chick. Hippity-hip, hippity-hip went the Two-legged Cat. Humpity-hump,

humpity-hump went the Three-legged Dog.



Soon they met a One-legged Crow going along jumpity-jump, jumpity-jump.

The Crow said:



"Hello, Little Half Chick, where are you going so fast?"



Little Half Chick said: "I am going to Madrid to see the Good King."



"May I go too?" said the One-legged Crow.



"Yes," said Little Half Chick, "fall in behind."



So the Crow fell in behind. Hoppity-hop, hoppity-hop went Little Half

Chick. Hippity-hip, hippity-hip went the Two-legged Cat. Humpity-hump,

humpity-hump went the Three-legged Dog. Jumpity-jump, jumpity-jump went

the One-legged Crow.



Soon they met a Snake with no legs at all. He had caught his tail in his

teeth and was rolling along loopity-loop, loopity-loop. The Snake said:



"Hello, Little Half Chick, where are you going so fast?"



"I am going to Madrid to see the Good King," said Little Half Chick.



"May I go, too?" said the Snake.



"Yes," said Little Half Chick, "fall in behind."



So the Snake fell in behind. Hoppity-hop, hoppity-hop went Little Half

Chick. Hippity-hip, hippity-hip went the Two-legged Cat. Humpity-hump,

humpity-hump went the Three-legged Dog. Jumpity-jump, jumpity-jump went

the One-legged Crow. Loopity-loop, loopity-loop went the Snake with no

legs at all.



Soon they came to Madrid and saw the Good King. With the King was his

little daughter Margaret. They both laughed as all these funny animals

came up. The King said to Little Margaret:



"Do you want to see us all go out to the Animal Farm?"



"Yes," said Little Margaret, "I will lead the way."



So she led the way along the street to the Animal Farm. Behind Margaret

came the One-legged King. Next came the Little Half Chick, next the

Two-legged Cat, next the Three-legged Dog, next the One-legged Crow, and

last of all the Snake with no legs at all. So they all went out to the

Animal Farm. And there they lived happily ever after.