King Hugo's Huge Ego

Hugo was a very short king with a big ego. He made his people listen to him talk about how wonderful he was for hours. He made his people bow to him each time he walked past. A peasant girl, Tess, was walking down the road with a heavy load. Hugo was behind her and his servants ordered her to move off the road. Tess told the king to go around her. This infuriated the king and the servants bumped Tess into the gutter. Tess, it turns out, is a witch, She was so angry with the king that she put a spell on him, making his head grow every time he thought about how wonderful he was. His head grew and grew and grew, until he floated off the castle walls and fell into the mud. Who should come along but Tess?! She tweaked his ears and out of his head came all the haughty things Hugo had thought about himself for so many years until his head returned to normal size and he felt embarrassed at himself and apologized. Tess and Hugo, of course, fell in love and married.

Fabulously expressive illustrations. Rhyming text.

“King Hugo's head deflated
like a giant pink balloon,
and when he heard what he had said,
he felt like a buffoon.

Sheepishly he said to her,
‘I do apologize.'
Then he looked at Texxa
with his big, sad puppy eyes.”