Once upon a time in the Kingdom of Stark, the King and the Queen were having breakfast in the royal dinning hall. The King being in a talkative mood asked the Queen what she had planned for the day. The Queen responded that she was going to plant a vegetable garden, as the Royal Wizard told her that the King was not eating enough green vegetables. The Wizard suggested Brussels Sprouts. The King’s only response was UGH! Even Hughie the cat, who was listening, was not impressed and thought, catnip would be better.

That morning, the Queen, with the help of the Royal Gardener, planted the Brussels Sprouts seedlings in the garden. As the Queen was finishing theplanting a band of Gypsy Peacocks just happen to be passing by the field. The leader of the group was a very regal fellow, with beautiful tail feathers. How his mouth watered just thinking about eating the Brussels Sprouts. The question is how to get them without getting caught. He would have to wait until the Brussels Sprouts were big and ripe.

The Peacock Leader would tell the King that his group were entertainers, and that if the King would allow them to camp in the near woods, they would come each day to entertain the King and the Queen. The Queen was delighted. So for the next month or so the Peacock group would come to the castle. The leader would prance up and down in front of the Queen with his tail feathers spread out to show their full color and beauty. After each performance the group would conveniently walk by the Brussels Sprouts patch on their way to the camp in the woods.

So it went, in the morning, the Queen would go out to the garden and make sure that the Brussels Sprouts patch was watered and weeded. In the afternoon, the Peacocks would come to the castle and entertain the King and Queen. One afternoon while the Peacocks were at the castle, the leader of the group heard the Queen tell the King that she was going to pick the Brussels Sprouts the next morning for the King’s dinner.

That afternoon, after returning from the castle, the Peacocks planned their raid on the Brussels Sprouts patch. They would steal the Brussels Sprouts that night and be gone before dawn.

The Queen woke early the next morning as it was the day to harvest the Brussels Sprouts. She thought of all the wonderful meals that she would make for the King, scrambled eggs and Brussels Sprouts for breakfast, Brussels Sprouts sandwiches for lunch, and the best of all, roast pig stuffed with Brussels Sprouts for dinner.

When the Queen arrived at the field, she saw to her horror that all the Brussels Sprouts were gone. The Queen raced back to the castle to tell the King. The King ordered the Royal Guards to search the kingdom for the culprits. They did not have far to go, for there in the woods, at the Peacock’s camp, were all the Peacocks fast asleep, too stuffed with their ill-gotten gains to move.

The Peacocks were brought before the King. The King, after consulting with the Great Wizard said, "Since the Peacocks ate the Brussels Sprouts, they cannot be returned, therefore the Peacocks must give the Queen something of equal value." The only thing that the Peacocks had was their tail feathers. So it was agreed that the Peacocks would give them up.

Each Peacock came forward and gave up his tail feathers until finally the only one left was the leader of the band. His was the most beautiful of the group and his pride and joy. No longer would he be able to strut up and down for everyone to admire. The King then had the Royal Guards escort the Peacocks out the gate, and banished them from ever coming back to the Kingdom of Stark.

To this day, visitors to the Castle can see the Peacock feathers displayed on the walls of the great hall.

End of Story