King Carlyle and Jacob the frog spent several days with the Water Sprites, and King Carlyle was pleasantly surprised to find that as a frog, he was able to breathe underwater for long periods of time. Jacob the frog explained that this is something that some frogs in the forest are able to do, and perhaps some of Catherine’s magic had left a bit of a residue.
The Water Sprites were friendly and kind, and King Carlyle enjoyed his time under the water at the bottom of the river. He loved exploring the underwater gardens, and swimming against the gentle current of the river, and meeting the fish and the various other underwater creatures.
But gradually, King Carlyle began to discover that not everything was well among the Water Sprites. They began to talk about a lost queen, who had once been their benevolent leader, but who had gone on a journey down the river one day, and had never come back.
“We should find this lost queen for them,” said King Carlyle to Jacob.
“Indeed, it does sound like a problem,” said Jacob. “But, your majesty, would not this job be better suited to Midor? With Midor’s connections, he would be able to get every creature in the river searching, and no doubt the lost queen would be found before the day is out.”
“I feel that Midor’s powers are often much exaggerated,” said King Carlyle. “If Midor could solve every problem in the forest, then how come we find so many problems everywhere we go? But regardless, Midor is not here now. And who knows where he is, or when we may see him again. If we wait for Midor to solve all of our problems, then we will never be able to get anything done. No, we have to solve the problem ourselves.”
“But surely your majesty is aware that we have another of other problems at the moment,” said Jacob the Frog. “Indeed, we are on our own quest right now to the land of the fairies. We cannot afford to get sidetracked on another separate quest.”
“I am King of this forest, and wherever there are problems, it is my duty to fix them,” said King Carlyle. “What kind of a king would I be if I forsook the problems of my own people in order to solve my own problems?”
And so it was that King Carlyle and Jacob the Frog set off in search of the lost Queen of the Water Sprites.
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