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Contents
Also by Michael Morpurgo and Shoo Rayner:
About the Publisher
He was so rich his palace was built of nothing but shining marble and glowing gold, so rich that even the buttons on his silken clothes were made of diamonds.
He was so
He did nothing for himself, except eat. He was so
And then he’d wash it all down with a jug of honeyed camel’s milk.
It was because he was so very
He had to sleep in a bed
But believe it or not there was something the Sultan cared about even more than his food – his
Before he went to sleep every night, he would always open his treasure chest and count out his jewels – emeralds, rubies, diamonds, pearls, sapphires, hundreds and hundreds of them – just to be quite sure they were all still there. Only then could he go to bed happy and sleep soundly.
But outside the walls of his palace, the Sultan’s people lived like slaves, poor, wretched and hungry. They had to work every hour God gave them. And why?
To keep the Sultan rich in jewels. Everything they harvested – their corn, their grapes, their figs, their dates, their pomegranates – ALL had to be given to the Sultan. He allowed them just enough food to keep body and soul together – no more.
Lathered up and exhausted, the old warhorse staggered suddenly and stumbled, throwing the Sultan to the ground.
It took ten servants to get him to his feet and brush him down. He wasn’t badly hurt, just a bit bumped and bruised, but he was angry; very angry.
He ordered his servants to whip the old horse soundly, so that he wouldn’t
