The Queen's Hut

One evening, Queen Gwenevieve let out a screeching cry.
She stood, knocking over the goblet and ran to the window. "This is the most excitement I've had in months!" she yelled swatting the blazing curtain.
Water quickly doused her dress, but by then the blaze had traveled up the wall to the ceiling.
"Save yourselves!" she shrieked.
Queen Gwenevieve raced to the drawbridge. Her subjects toppled past her. She ran to the stable and clambering onto her frightened mare flew after them.
That night Queen Gwenevieve had a new ceiling and new walls. Instead of the pictures of queen's past, she had the animals and stars. Instead of her splendid garden, she had tall grass and tiny bugs. Instead of giving decrees and hosting masquerade balls, she'd suddenly been granted the privilege of living like every villager.
Queen Gwenevieve reflected on her prized chandelier, her Persian rugs and catering servants. "With all of that how could I have been bored?" she thought. But the crazy thing was-she had been.
Queen Gwenevieve decided to re-build.
By the time the hut was finished so were the curtains for the windows and the wall-to-wall carpeting.
Her subjects came to visit. "If we had as many jewels as the queen, we'd have pretty fine houses ourselves," they said.
But to the queen they only offered this request, "We want to re-build you castle."
And so they began.
At the same time Queen Gwenevieve began to learn.
Roof repair…
Cooking…
Painting…
Even cleaning.
Little by little Queen Gwenevieve could feel something changing within her.
And the feeling was good.
The day her castle was finished, the queen couldn't believe so much time had passed.
She fingered her silken curtains, gazed upon her masterpieces and bent to touch the fragrant rose-petals at her side. The smell of breakfast drifted through the hut like a dream and lit on her pink tongue.
She called for her subjects.
"I would like to thank you," she began. "If not for the terrible burning of my castle I might never have discovered such an amazing secret."
"What secret?" every subjected asked.
But the queen didn't answer them. Instead, she brought from her hut twenty-five quilts, more than a dozen paintings and a bunch of fragrant roses. With her royal hand she extended her gifts to various subjects and villagers.
"You may use these in the castle if you wish," she decreed. "I will not be returning."
Her subjects were surprised. But as time passed they began to see the wisdom of the queen. From the highest window they'd watch her cooking and cleaning and trimming her fair roses. And in the deepest part of their souls they were very thankful.