Okay, PeterMarshallFan challenged me to top Donegan's last shaggy-dog gag, and a bolt of inspiration struck me. So I whipped this up, God help me:
So it seems the great monarchy of Elbonia was about to come to an end. The King, from the long-ruling Ledge family, had failed to produce an heir, was in poor health, and the line was about to die out.
All of this was followed with great interest by the nobility of the southern county of Luck, who had aspirations to the throne. The plan was to introduce their beautiful daughter to the King, convince him to marry, and then take over the throne when the King passed away…by whatever means necessary.
And so the plan was set in motion, and it couldn’t have gone better. His Royal Highness was taken by the fair Lady almost immediately, and it seemed like no time at all had passed before nuptials had been planned. It was a great ceremony, and Elbonia was awash in feasts and celebrations. Perhaps an heir could be produced in time!
This, of course, was not in the Lady’s plans. She was going to strike, and strike fast. She knew that King Ledge had a weak heart, and anything the least bit startling could be deadly. Her plan: to switch the King’s beloved court jester with a feral child, who would run rampant over the throne room, with the sudden disarray causing the fatal blow. She enlisted her family back in Luck to make all of this happen.
And they could not have executed the plan more perfectly. The King called for his jester to entertain the new couple before retiring for the evening, and the feral child was released, who promptly started tearing apart the Throne Room. The King, aghast at what he saw in front of him, felt his heart seize. And he knew it was time.
Lying, dying, in his new wife’s arms, he saw the smile on her face, and knew she was to blame for all of this, and also knew that the secret would die with him, as he had not the energy to alert any of his court. “How……could you….do this?” was all he could whisper to his new bride.
She grinned, stroking his cheek. “You silly old man, I’m surprised you didn’t figure it out sooner. After all, if No Ledge is King, and Lady Luck is Queen, then it must be that the joker’s wild!”
(I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry. Well, no I'm not.
