The king was bored.
"Read a book," the queen said.
"It's raining," the king said.
"Rain makes me grumpy."
"Dirk," said the queen.
"Fetch the new jester.
He'll make the king laugh."
Dirk gulped.
Then he hurried out.
"Uh-oh," thought Tom.
"I think Dirk forgot to hire a new jester."
Dirk came back.
He was dragging a strange boy.
"Here's the new jester!" Dirk said.
The boy looked surprised.
"Make me laugh," said the king.
"Um . . ." The boy looked nervous.
"I can fix things," he said.
"Do you have a hole in your bucket?"
"Ha-ha!" Dirk laughed loudly.
"That's funny!"
But the king frowned.
"Juggle something," the king said.
Dirk got some plates.
The jester threw the plates into the air.
He tried to catch them.
The plates crashed to the floor.
The king and Dirk laughed.
But the queen was angry.
"You broke my best dishes!" she said.
Everybody stopped laughing.
"Tomorrow is the Grand Banquet," the king said.
"Jester, you must make everyone laugh!"
"But no broken dishes!" the queen said.
"I will lock the jester in his room," Dirk said.
"He can practice all night."
The boy spoke.
"But I'm not a—"
"Come with me!" Dirk snapped.