Page 1
Once upon a time there lived an evil king who was also
the fastest runner in the land. He would run through his
kingdom and demand gold from his subjects.
Page 2
One day a young girl came to town. She saw how poor the
people were. They told her about the evil king.
"My name is Pearl," she said. "I think I can help you."
She told them her plan. They all agreed to help.
Page 3
The next day the king received a note. It said if he could
beat Pearl in a race he would get all the gold he wanted.
But if he lost, Pearl would be the new ruler.
Page 4
The evil king laughed.
He knew he could run faster.
"Agreed!" he said.
Page 5
The next day was the race. First one to the castle wins!
And they were off. They ran and ran. Pearl was fast but the
king was faster. "I will win!" he said. But he was getting tired.
Page 6
Then the king saw food ahead.
"Free snacks!" a woman
shouted. He grabbed candy,
cookies and a soft drink. He ate
them quickly and ran off.
Page 7
When Pearl reached the
table, the woman gave her
oranges and water. Then she
was off.
Page 8
The castle was in sight and
the king was far ahead.
Suddenly he did not feel well.
He was tired and sleepy.
He tried to run but he had
no energy.
Page 9
Pearl ran past the king.
She felt great.
She ran to the castle and won!
Page 10
Now the kingdom had a new ruler.
To celebrate, the people had a big feast.
The evil king got a new job as
the not-so-evil grocer in town!
