The Messy Prince

“Oh Prince Rupert”, said Queen Daphne to her son one day, “When will you tidy up your room. There are toys and comics and all sorts scattered all over your floor. It’s just like a rubbish dump”.

“But I like it this way”, said Rupert, “And I always know where everything is because I keep the important things out where I can see them”.

“No, no”, replied his mother, “It is just unacceptable. What would our subjects think if they saw how messy your room is; it would be anarchy! Clean up your room at once or I will have to get the royal spanker to give you a good spanking”.

Prince Rupert started to sulk but, as slowly as possible, he went through the motions of tidying up his room.

That night however; a thief broke into the palace dressed in a special magical costume that made him completely invisible and carrying an invisible sack in which to put stolen loot.

And when he crept into the bedroom of the king and queen and stole all their gold and jewels and the golden crowns from off of their snoozing heads, they didn’t hear a thing but just kept on sleeping.

But when he crept into the bedroom of Prince Rupert, immediately, his feet made a loud rustling sound as he stepped onto old comics and sweet wrappers; then he stepped onto an old bicycle horn that made a loud honking noise and then, stepping on a roller skate, he slipped up completely and went whizzing across the room, crashing into the wall near Prince Rupert’s bed and landing head first in a pile of old, gold coloured toffee papers and pots of powder paint.

Of course, all of this noise and commotion soon woke up the sleeping prince and, picking up a big butterfly net and a wooden croquet mallet that were just lying about nearby, he threw the net over the head of the invisible thief, which he could see because it was now covered in sticky toffee papers and powder paint, and knocked him out with the mallet.

In the morning, when the King and Queen woke up they were shocked and horrified to find that their crowns and all their lovely jewellery had been stolen but then they were amazed and gladdened when they discovered that their son Prince Rupert had caught the burglar single handed.

“However did you manage it?”, said the Queen as she was making breakfast and serving her son up an extra slice of hot, buttered toast, “I and your father didn’t hear a thing”.

“I wouldn’t have heard anything either, if my room hadn’t been so messy”, said the Prince.

And so, from that day on,both the king and queen agreed that the Prince would never have to tidy up his messy room ever again.