¹     Long ago in a kingdom beside the Sidelong River lived a king. He was known throughout the kingdom as the King Who Could Not Sing. He wanted to be known as the Singing King, but he could not even sing a simple tune. The king wanted to learn to sing so badly that he offered his fastest mustang to anyone who could teach him to sing.
 
²     A long line of subjects came forward in answer to the king's offer. The first young man tried teaching the king a simple eight-note scale, but each note sounded worse than the last. One young man tried teaching the king to sing a tongue-twister song. When the king tried to sing it, his tongue became so twisted that he couldn't even speak so he quickly gave up. A third man tried teaching the king a love song. He sang it so badly that everyone who heard it began crying.
 
³     Before long, the king had completely lost hope of ever learning to sing. Everyone along the length of the Sidelong River had tried to teach him; still, the king could not sing a single note.

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