The young king tiptoed out of the palace without his crown or cape.
He skipped down the marble steps, barefoot, and pressed his palm against the sunstone wall. It glowed warm and orange.
A little girl tugged on a red kite stuck in a banyan tree.
The young king climbed the rough bark and gently freed the kite. The girl clapped and laughed.
In the market, an old man dropped his brass pots. Clatter, clatter, clatter!
The young king knelt and stacked every pot into a neat tower. Then he offered his arm to help carry them.
The old man's eyes crinkled into warm crescents. He patted the young king's shoulder.
Three royal guards stormed into the square, spears pointed. 'The king has vanished!'
The guards grabbed the young king's shoulders and spun him around—then froze.
One guard dropped his spear. It landed with a loud THUD.
The young king stood tall while the guards fell to one knee.
That evening, he walked back through the palace gardens wearing his crown and red cape.