The Crown Jewels of Heezenhurst

by Sylvia Mendez Ventura

The land of Heezenhurst was once ruled by a contented king. His kingdom was tropical green and the
weather was pleasant all year round, even when it was raining cats and dogs.
For, truth to tell, it was not cats and dogs that rained on King Heezen, but precious stones. Whenever
he went outdoors in a drizzle, the raindrops that wet his crown turn into tiny pearls.
During heavy rain the pearls were large and lustrous. Soon King Heezen had a magnificent pearly
crown.
One rainy day the king noticed that the raindrops falling on his crown were turning red. He was
alarmed but when he looked closer, he saw that the red drops were lovely rubies.
When the first monsoon rains fell, King Heezen ran excitedly to his garden to see what the heavens
would drop on his crown. Lo and behold - diamonds large and small, shaped like hearts, teardrops
and hailstones!
After countless rainshowers, typhoons, thunderstorms and hurricanes, King Heezen had the most
glittery crown in the world. His people and his foreign visitors marveled at the pearls, rubies,
diamonds, emeralds, sapphires and topazes that festooned his majestic head. They had fun picking
out their birthstones. Even her Imperial Highness, Queen Hurst, was envious, for the king's crown
made her jewel collection look like kiddie marbles.
But as the gems multiplied through the years, the crown grew too big and heavy. It gave the king a
royal pain in the neck. The time came when he dared not go outdoors in rainy weather for he was
tired of seeing raindrops turn into precious stones. If he had to go out on kingly business, Queen
Hurst held a big umbrella over his head in case of a sudden shower.
Of course he could have gone out bareheaded or with a plain hat, but he insisted on wearing his
crown all the time for fear someone would steal the priceless gems.
One stormy night the palace roof began to leak. When the ruler awoke, he found to his horror that ten
new turquoises the size of quails' eggs had been deposited on his crown. He ordered the carpenters
to plug the leaks immediately.
Soon King Heezen refused to go out even in sunny weather. He was afraid the palace gardener
would accidentally train the garden hose on his royal head and increase the carats on his crown.
Whenever His Majesty shampooed his hair, he would wrap the crown in a towel and hide it in a secret
cabinet. Then he would blow-dry his hair thoroughly before wearing the crown again.
The poor king had hardly any time to rule his kingdom, so worried was he about his bothersome
crown. His people became disobedient and naughty. They spent their time marching in the streets
carrying pieces of cardboard.
Now it happened that there dwelt in the palace a man who worked as a prophet, adviser and court
jester combined. His name was Dwende, or Dwarfy for short. When the king was suffering much pain
and heaviness, he asked Dwarfy what he should do.

Dwarfy peered into his crystal ball and said, "Your majesty, I see the faces of your two sons. This
means it's time for you to give the crown to one of them."
The king agreed and sent for his older son. Alas, the crown didn't sit handsomely on the prince's head
for it was shaped like a pumpkin. In fact, his father had always called him "Calabasa-Head."
The second Royal Highness tried on the crown but it was too big far his head, which was shaped like
a patola. The crown slipped dawn past his forehead and stuck to his ears. All the king's firemen had
to be called to free the prince's ear.
Queen Hurst spoke up. "What about me? Why shouldn't I wear the crown?"
"That's ridiculous!" exclaimed the king, the dukes and duchesses shouted, "Give her a chance!"
Queen Hurst crowned herself but to her shock she felt a hammering headache. For an instant, she
thought she was wearing a bulldozer.
"See what I told you?" scolded the king as he snatched the crown from her head. What next,
Dwarfy?"
The prophet looked in his crystal ball again and saw the faces of the king's brothers, cousins and
uncles, and some of his dearest friends. So, at Dwarfy's advice, King Heezen sent for all of them, and
each one tried on the crown for size. But the king didn't like the shapes of their head and even the
way they parted their hair.
Now his majesty was truly desperate. "Am doomed to wear this dreadful thing for the rest of my life?"
he groaned.
Dwarfy bought a different crystal ball to look into. This time he saw crowds of Heezenhurst citizens
carrying big placards with silly words on them, like "RETURN" and "HOLE" and "OUTER SPACE."
"Aha!" exclaimed the prophet. "I know what this means. There is a hole in outer space which will
absorb your crown if you throw it up there. Remember that all your jewels rained down on you from
above. Therefore, you must return them to their source."
"Show me the hole!" cried the king.
The next morning, King Heezen rode his golden helicopter to the peak of the highest mountain in the
land. As he looked up, the blue sky parted and he saw the hole in outer space. He lifted his jeweled
crown from his head and tossed with all his feeble strength. It flew straight up and into the hole as if
borne by an enchanted wind. The sky sparkled with brilliant colors before it closed again.
The crownless king now walked happily in the streets of the kingdom while people from tall buildings
showered him with bits of shredded paper.
And he never went back to the palace again.