Dean Krudd's Request

On the morning of July 13, Lorist was already in a foul mood. That rascal Andbel had gotten into trouble again. After waking up, he had caught a young rooster, apparently blaming its crowing at dawn for interrupting his pleasant dream, and had suddenly decided to barbecue it on the spot. He had wrapped the rooster haphazardly in some straw rope, then set it on fire...

Predictably, the burning young rooster became a terrifying existence—a fire-breathing battle chicken among the flock. With the burning straw rope trailing from it, the rooster became a fiery meteor. It first set the chicken coop ablaze, then flew into a roadside ornamental tree. Thick smoke rose from the tree before drifting into a maid's room, where it ignited the curtains and bedsheets. Finally, amid the maids' screams, the rooster dashed into the storage room, then flew back out of the now-smoking room and landed on the kitchen floor, barely alive...

Lorist hurriedly climbed out of bed and discovered that the servants had already extinguished the flames, which finally let him breathe a sigh of relief. He grabbed that rascal Andbel and gave him a thorough beating, making the boy's backside swell by an entire circle. Then, amid Andbel's wails, Princess Sylvia scolded him for half an hour for hitting too hard. Lorist's appetite was ruined, and after forcing down a few bites of breakfast, he went to sit in his study.

It seemed he would have to find Andbel a stricter tutor, lest Princess Sylvia spoil him into becoming utterly lawless. Fortunately, Princess Sylvia was not as indulgent toward her son as Ilena, who had no principles or limits. Eight-year-old Andbel was merely a little mischievous and had gotten into trouble because of his strong curiosity. Normally, he was still a good child. The