More than a thousand years before you were born there was a beautiful Queen who lived in a gray stone castle so tall that its walls seemed to touch the clouds and stars From her windows high in the castle the Queen could look out in every direction to see the lands she ruled Her kingdom stretched so far into the distance that she could not see the ends and it was so wide that she could not see the edges She called her kingdom the Land of Far and Wide
But instead of being proud of her beautiful country the Queen thought it needed improvement and therefore was always angry and impatient She would scold her goldsmiths and weavers and fume at her tapestries rare ivories and silks She was never quite pleased with her ladies in waiting and not quite content with her luxurious throne She would look out at the hills and trees and grassy pastures and say Maybe I should have that mountain moved over just a little more to the left Yes that’s it Or she would say That forest is much too green I want it fixed at once Get it out of my sight And finally she would exclaim Oh will I never be happy until the Land of Far and Wide is perfect in every way
If the Queen had looked straight down from her windows she would have seen the moat that encircled the castle to keep enemies away The moat was covered with beautiful white water lilies that looked like a soft white blanket But the Queen always looked out at the distant hills and valleys and lakes of the Land of Far and Wide She never ever looked down at the moat If she had she might have seen William looking up at her as he perched on a lily pad
