The old fisherman’s wife has come to me with a preposterous request. She wants me to give the hand of my daughter to her friend, a “golden crab.” Ha!

Yet I suspect there is more to this “crab” than meets the eye.

So I say, “Tell your crab friend to build a wall in front of my castle. It’s got to be higher than my tower, and I want to see all the flowers of the world blooming on it.”

If he can do that preposterous thing, I’ll grant her preposterous request!

The Prudent King in The Golden Crab, Yellow Fairy Book. Painting “Chance” by Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale.