As mother of all the Elements, I have made my decisions. My eldest son, with his lively imagination, will be Lord of the Fire. My second son, who is stable but rather dull, will be King of the Earth. I will put my third son beneath the seas. He is monstrously wild and savage, and I won’t have him in my sight.

Finally, I’ll make my youngest son Lord of the Air. I favor him, though he’s a slave to his passions. My worst fear is that he will fall in love, so let’s hope that I have raised him with a healthy horror of sex.

Queen of the Elements in The Invisible Prince, Yellow Fairy Book. Painting by Maxfield Parrish.