This is the whimsical tale of a king, queen, nine princesses, nine parrots, one nightingale and some cats. It has a message too, as Princess September was to discover, It is very difficult to put the happiness of someone you love before your own'. This story was Somerset Maugham's contribution to the library of Queen Mary's Doll House. Maugham, along with 199 other well-known authors of the day, provided a miniature edition written in his very own hand, which was subsequently bound sumptuously in fine leather. The tale itself, however, was first published in Pearson's Magazine'