In Midgard there once lived a very, very mighty king who had a wife and a little son. One day he sent for his wife, ”My beloved wife; I feel the time to say goodbye is near. I have sent for you so you shall vow that you shall never marry again when I am gone but care for the child faithfully.”

“The queen pledged she would never think of marrying but care for the child, so that it would never be in want of anything. So the king said good-bye and retired into the solitude of a forest.

“Now the ministers had to manage the affairs of the government until the boy was grown up, and that was no easy matter for them; for until then the king had made all the decisions himself, and they only had to implement them.

“In this way they were spared a lot of responsibility which now they felt all the harder on their untrained shoulders.
So the loyal ministers met every day early in the morning, discussing their duties and deciding the plans for the day; and in the evening they met again and evaluated the achievements.