“When finally order prevailed again the former soldiers continued.
“Noble Sirs! The young king's son has made his fortune!”

“A deep, deep sigh of relief went through the hearts of the troubled ministers.
“Your prince has married the only daughter of the exceedingly rich king of a very, very rich country that is far, far away and she has born him already a splendid, extremely gifted daughter of which particularly the immeasurably rich king of that country is proud.

“So the prince has sent us here to tell you that he is fine, that he greets everyone affectionately, and that he asks you to demand a dowry adequate to his high status; his country here might not need it - due to its wealth - but the old nobility of his royal line required it. And maybe the dowry might be of some use here and there in the treasury.”

“The ministers heaved another collective sigh of relief and a great burden fell off their minds - in particular off the minds of the finance minister and of the minister of commerce.
Very different from their usual habit they now stood together laughing at the far end of the assembly hall; and they thought of how heavy a load of responsibilities they were relieved of by the mere words of the two envoys.

“The ministers had almost become used to the thought that a king was not really required - and that monarchy was not necessarily the only possible form of government - but the pressure of the lack of funds had had its impact on them and had burdened their nerves to the extreme.
And thinking of the not always straight ways of raising money for the state they often felt a little bit like cheats towards the people.

“Indeed, everyone thought if the king's son returned now and even brought so much money with him that they got rid of this problem once and for all, they would be more than just glad.

“They all longed back to the time when they could go on the streets as honourable ministers without being molested by permanent entreaties - let aside the threats.
In those days the faces on the street had been content and they smiled gratefully, and nobody asked them for anything for everyone was happy and had everything he needed.

“How did the prince make it?” thought many of the ministers.
“How did it happen that the rich daughter of the king married him? He had not much money or valuables with him.
Maybe he even thinks that here, at home, everybody is swimming in money and that the treasury is brimming with gold and jewels - like in the old days.
Well, it doesnit matter how he achieved it: he made it, and thatis what counts!

“Now he can help us out of this difficult situation. The whole country needs his help and it always did!
When the king is rich - then the country is rich; when the king is poor - the country is poor too; if there is no king at all, how could the country be rich?

“If we were as rich as a real mighty king - like our former king - then naturally the country would also be rich; however, we are not rich and therefore the wealthy king's son has to return.”