THE SCEPTRE
Said a king to his wife, "Madame, you are not truly a queen. You are too vulgar and ungracious
to be my mate."
Said his wife, "Sir, you deem yourself king, but indeed you are only a poor soundling."
Now these words angered the king, and he took his septre with his hand, and struck the
queen upon her forehead with his golden sceptre.
At that moment the lord chamberlain entered, and he said, "Well, well, Majesty! That sceptre
was fashioned by the greatest artist of the land. Alas! Some day you and the queen shall be forgotten, but this sceptre shall be kept, a thing of beauty from generation to generation. And now that you have drawn blood from her Majesty's
head, Sire, the sceptre shall be the more considered and remembered."
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