idea and let his loving subjects know how much he appreciated their
thoughtfulness.

You can just imagine the excitement there was all over the land as the
King's birthday drew near. All sorts of loving sacrifices had been
made and everyone was anxious to make his gift the very best he had to
offer. At last the day dawned, and eagerly the people came dressed in
white and carrying their white gifts. To their surprise they were
ushered into a great, big room--the largest one in the palace. They
stood in silence when they first entered it, for it was beautiful
beyond all expression. It was a _white_ room;--the floor was white
marble; the ceiling looked like a mass of soft, white fluffy clouds;
the walls were hung with beautiful white silken draperies, and all the
furnishings were white. In one end of the room stood a stately white
throne, and seated upon it was their beloved ruler and he was clad in
shining white robes, and his attendants--all dressed in white--were
grouped around him.

Then came the presentation of the gifts. What a wealth of them there
was--and how different they were in value. In those days it was just
as it is now--there were many people who had great wealth, and they
brought gifts which were generous in proportion to their wealth.

One brought a handful of pearls, another a number of carved ivories.
There were beautiful laces and silks and embroideries, all in pure
white, and even splendid white chargers were brought to his majesty.

But many of the people were poor--some of them very poor--and their
gifts were quite different from those I have been telling about. Some
of the women brought handfuls of white rice, some of the boys brought