Behind the castle short story

Author : Susanna Pitts

Once upon a time, there were three castles…. or if you prefer you could even call them palaces. One of them was in Brussels. Although it was royal looking, it was boring, grey and noisy.
The other castle was in Waterloo in the domain Argenteuil. It was very big and amazing, surrounded by nature. It had a very royal look about it too.
Next to this second big castle there was a smaller castle, more like a country house maybe. It was very cozy and had a garden with deer and tropical plants that made the garden very charming.
There was a king called Leopold. He lived in the noisy palace in the middle of Brussels.
He was a nice man, he was a fair man, he was a generous man. He did all he could for his country and he loved his people. He had a good heart.
After the war the people didn’t want him anymore as king. He was very sad and disappointed because he loved his country. But what could he do? His son Boudewijn became king. Leopold went looking for another place to live now.
It was 1960. He moved into a small castle together with his wife. It had a gorgeous garden and it was very cozy. It was the smaller one of the two castles in Argenteuil.
Every day he walked to the big castle and back. He knew everybody there and he was loved very much.
He loved nature and he loved the animals that were on the property.
Leopold still had a lot of valuable possessions: cars, horses, jewels and a treasure chest full of golden coins.
As the months went by, Leopold noticed more and more that money didn’t make him very happy anymore. The only thought that made him smile was the thought of helping people. As he wasn’t king anymore, he had to find another way.
One day he had a plan. He knew the treasurer of the big castle. His name was Heinrich. Leopold invited him to come over and they drank some coffee. They drank a lot of coffee and chatted for six long hours.
Then they got up and lifted the treasure chest into Heinrich’s car. No one said a word. Together they brought it to the big castle. Nobody saw what happened.

Heinrich was a fair man and he knew everyone in the village of Waterloo. The king told him he could distribute the golden coins to anybody he thought needed it most.
The first coin he gave to a poor old lady who lived next to the big castle in an old wooden cottage. She always had a friendly smile on her face even though she was poor and hungry. Sadly, her cat was sick. Although her life was difficult, she had always stayed positive.
The second coin he gave to a young man who was lame and had a parrot. The parrot tried to eat the coin, but luckily it was too hard.
The third coin was given to a lady who had a coffee shop but sadly not enough coffee beans.
The fourth coin was given to the schoolmaster so he could buy some books for his class. He bought lots of Enid Blyton and Jane Austen books.
Week after week the coins made people happy and full of thankfulness.
Nobody knew who they were from. Heinrich did his job well. He did it carefully and fairly. He always thought of who needed it most.
This was the message he gave when he handed over the coin, the message Leopold told him to give: »This is for you, use it carefully and don’t waste it and one day do something good to somebody else without anyone knowing it is you. »
Because of this message the village became a place full of good deeds. It became happier and friendlier.
One day the castle doors were painted again.
One day the baker decided to lower the price of his delicious buttery croissants.
One day the Brown family received a bag of clothes for their five children.
One day a girl went to cheer up the old people in the nursing home with her violin.
It seemed like people had learned something good, something valuable, something important.
What would you have done?