The King's Stilts
Encyclopedia
The King's Stilts is a children's book by Dr. Seuss
, published in 1939 by Random House
. Unlike many of Dr. Seuss's books, it is narrated in prose rather than verse.
The King's Stilts tells the story of King Bertram of Binn, who dedicates himself to safeguarding his kingdom, which lives in a precarious existence. It is surrounded by water, which is held back from flooding the land by a ring of dike trees, which are in turn subject to attack from flocks of nizzards. To protect the kingdom, a legion of Patrol Cats is organized to keep the nizzards at bay, and King Bertram sees to their care personally.
When not attending to his royal duties, the King enjoys himself with a rigorous cavorting on his personal red stilts
, which distresses his minister Lord Droon. When Droon manipulates the King's page boy Eric to steal and hide the stilts, the King grows more depressed and begins to neglect his duties. This leads to the Patrol Cats becoming less vigilant, and soon the nizzards make headway in eating away the dike trees.
Seeing the results of his actions, Eric resolves to return the stilts to the King, and succeeds in doing so despite the efforts of Lord Droon to stop him. King Bertram then summons the courage to mobilize the Patrol Cats to fight off the nizzards and save the kingdom. Lord Droon is imprisoned (and forced to eat nizzard every day) while Eric is rewarded with his own pair of red stilts, joining the King on his outings.
Dr. Seuss
Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist most widely known for his children's books written under the pen names Dr. Seuss, Theo LeSieg and, in one case, Rosetta Stone....
, published in 1939 by Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
. Unlike many of Dr. Seuss's books, it is narrated in prose rather than verse.
The King's Stilts tells the story of King Bertram of Binn, who dedicates himself to safeguarding his kingdom, which lives in a precarious existence. It is surrounded by water, which is held back from flooding the land by a ring of dike trees, which are in turn subject to attack from flocks of nizzards. To protect the kingdom, a legion of Patrol Cats is organized to keep the nizzards at bay, and King Bertram sees to their care personally.
When not attending to his royal duties, the King enjoys himself with a rigorous cavorting on his personal red stilts
Stilts
Stilts are poles, posts or pillars used to allow a person or structure to stand at a distance above the ground. Walking stilts are poles equipped with steps for the feet to stand on, or straps to attach them to the legs, for the purpose of walking while elevated above a normal height...
, which distresses his minister Lord Droon. When Droon manipulates the King's page boy Eric to steal and hide the stilts, the King grows more depressed and begins to neglect his duties. This leads to the Patrol Cats becoming less vigilant, and soon the nizzards make headway in eating away the dike trees.
Seeing the results of his actions, Eric resolves to return the stilts to the King, and succeeds in doing so despite the efforts of Lord Droon to stop him. King Bertram then summons the courage to mobilize the Patrol Cats to fight off the nizzards and save the kingdom. Lord Droon is imprisoned (and forced to eat nizzard every day) while Eric is rewarded with his own pair of red stilts, joining the King on his outings.