The Snow from Astra Yanko (1)

This is a story from "Stories by Teramura Teruo"

THE SNOW FROM ASTRA YANKO

(part 1)
I'm going to tell you more about the king. He hated the cold, and he was a softy.
Because he hated the cold and was a softy, he wore about twenty layers of undershirts and clothes. As a result, he looked big and round, just kike a snowman.
"Brr, it's cold!"
As the king huddled, shivering, it started to snow.
The chief minister came to the king's room and said, "Your Majesty, it has started to snow. Let's go outside and have a snowball fight. That'll warm you up!"
To this the king replied, "You think I can go outside when there's snow on the ground?!? I'll freeze!"
But the chief minister still was worried.
"Your Majesty, if you just put on a lot of clothes and sit there by the stove all the time, your health will deteriorate."
"I'm doing it because I'm cold!"
"But you mustn't. If your health deteriorates and you get sick, you will have to drink some bitter medicine. And you will have to get painful injections."
Now, what the king liked most were omelettes, and what he hated most were injections. He couldn't stand being given an injection.
"All right, all right! I'll go outside. But then you have to warm up the palace garden for me."
"That can't be done, Your Majesty."
"You can put a lot of heaters out in the garden, can't you? Yes, that's it! Circle the whole garden with a ring of heaters. That's what we'll do!"
"Your Majesty. It can't be done. It's winter now. Winter is meant to be cold."
"In that case, hurry up and bring on spring."
"Your Majesty, it can't be done. The birds of spring are still asleep, for one thing, and the tulips still haven't even put out their buds. There aren't any buds on the cherry trees, either."
"Who cares? Go on, order the soldier to get rid of the snow from the garden first. After that they are to plant artificial tulips, glue paper flowers to the cherry trees, and then release into the garden all the birds we keep in the palace."
"Your Majesty, you're asking the impossibility!"
"Quiet!!"
Once the king has said something he won't budge. Helplessly, the chief minister did as the king said.
The soldiers started shovelling away the snow in the palace garden. The king was watching from his window. "All of you", he said, "are to make snowmen! You are to make snowman after snowman, untill all the snow is gone!"
They made 324 snowmen. The snowmen stood in neat rows, row upon row, in one corner of the garden.
As the king had commanded, vinyl tulops were planted. Paper flowers were glued to the cherry trees. All the birds kept in the palace were released into the garden.
"Well now, this should bring on spring," said the king, as he slowly, very slowly, went out into the garden.
But no nooner was the king outside that the North Wind came along, whistling and howling, and the king was sent flying. Dressed in so many layers of clothes that he resembled a round ball, the king went rolling along and finally came to a stop only when he bumped into a snowman.
"Yow! It's freesing out here!"
Then he saw the paper flowers that had been glued onto the cherry trees, flying about everywhere. When the wind blew them out of sight, the snow started falling again.
"Help me-e-e, somebody!!"
The king stumbled back to his room.
The birds flew away in search of a warmer land. The tulips, covered in snow, were all white.
...
(to be continued)