Page 1
A prince named Edward lived in a big castle in the middle of the town. Every day the prince slept in and ate cake for breakfast, and his servants brought him all the toys he wanted and he played all day.
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In the same town, there also lived a boy named Tom. Tom was a pauper, so he was very poor and his clothes were very dirty. Every day he ran around the city stealing bread just so his parents and sister could have something to eat.
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One day he stole a loaf of bread from a store, and on his way home two guards from the castle grabbed him. "Thief! You are under arrest by order of the royal court!" they yelled. "The prince will have to punish you!" And they dragged poor Tom into the castle grounds where Edward was waiting for him.
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But Edward didn't punish him. Instead, he took him to a big, beautiful room with a huge feather bed and soft, squishy chairs. And there were toys all over the floor: horses and dragons and swords and blocks, that Tom had never even imagined. He laughed out loud, and said, "This is where you live!?"
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"Yes," Edward said, "but I hate it. It's so boring. I'm not allowed to leave the castle grounds, and there is no one else my age here. I wish I could go out into the town and see how other people live."
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"But why would you want that?" Tom asked and picked up a wooden horse. "This is all so perfect!" And the two boys looked at each other, because they both had the same idea. "Let's switch places!" they said.
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They switched clothes, and suddenly Tom was wearing velvet robes and soft, golden shoes, and Edward was wearing dirty pants and a torn shirt. Both of them were very excited that they were going to experience a new life! For the next few days, Tom slept late, ate cake for breakfast, and played all day with all of Edward's toys.
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Edward spent his time escaping from policemen who yelled, "Thief!" when he stole bread. He had to sleep on the cold ground without a blanket. He realized that playing with toys all day in a castle was really fun, but a lot of other people in the town led hard lives, because they were always hungry and cold.
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"I can help them!" Edward realized. "I am the prince after all! I can make new laws and I can find food for the hungry and places for them to sleep!" But he didn't want to go back to the castle and ruin the fun that Tom was probably having.
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Tom was having fun, playing with the toys and enjoying his expensive clothes. But soon Tom realized that he was sad, even though he had everything he could want. But it wasn't everything. He didn't have his parents and his sister, and he realized he missed them.
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So Tom left the castle and went back to his family, and on the way he ran into Edward. "Your life in the castle is wonderful, but I missed my family too much," Tom said. "I would rather be poor and live with them."
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Edward told him that he was going to make new laws to help all the poor people in the town. "And from now on you and your entire family will come and live with me in the castle!" And they did just that, and Tom and Edward played together every day.
