Long ago, in the far away Kingdom of Ciccone, there lived a Queen of Hearts. She was called the Queen of Hearts because she had won the heart of every poor farmer in the land. Indeed, they were right to love her, for whenever one of the farmers became tired from hard work, the Queen would come down from her grand palace of gold to wipe the sweat from their brow. Sometimes, she would even invite the most productive farmers up to her room to enjoy the view.

This made the farmers work even harder, for when one of them thought they might get a chance to see the Queen inside the palace, they would plant extra carrots which would be used to feed the hungry children of the land. The Queen of Hearts came to love the farmers so much that she started inviting some of them up to spend all their time in her palace. Any of them who were asked would eagerly accept this, as the duties she made them perform in the palace were much easier than working in the hot fields. They also got bigger rewards, none the least of which were more chances to see the Queen. It was a perfect arrangement.

But one day, trouble came along. While the Queen was up in her palace playing games with some of the farmers, a thief appeared in the fields. This was no ordinary theif, however. This theif was not interested in stealing carrots. No, this theif did not want diamonds or money either. This theif wanted something far more valuable than any material possessions. This theif wanted to steal the most valuable asset in the kingdom. This was a Theif of Hearts.

The Theif or Hearts would walk from farmer to farmer, touching them on their backs while they worked. Indeed, the Theif of Hearts was evil. Just one stroke with her fingernail would make the farmers give their hearts to her. She could not be stopped. Soon, she began to tell the farmers that the Queen was evil. The farmers would believe her because she had stolen their hearts. They could not know who was good, and who was evil. After the Theif had stolen the hearts of one third of the farmers, she disappeared into the ground.

When the Queen returned to the field to check on the farmers, she discovered some of them goofing off and laughing. Angered at this, the Queen ordered them back to work. Without food, the children of the kingdom would starve! The Queen wanted to make sure everyone would have food, so she told the farmers that they would get no favors from her unless they worked twice as hard for two weeks! Can you imagine the Queen's anger when she heard their reply? They told the Queen she could plant the carrots herself!

Then Queen was enraged! How dare they show such disrespect! These insubordinate farmers would have to be punished. The Queen did not want to be cruel, for the farmers had always been good workers before. So, in her mercy, the Queen decided to let the bad farmers go with only a spanking. She took each one of the bad farmers up to her palace balcony and spanked them in front of the whole kingdom. She made sure everyone else saw what happened so nobody would even think about trying such a stunt again.

For a time, the Queen's plan worked. In fact, it worked so well that the farmers began to work harder than ever. Some would even go out in the fields at night to plant more carrots. This had never happened before. The Queen was delighted! She was so grateful that she began inviting all the farmers up to her palace to hold big parties. The farmers loved the Queen more than ever. But alas, paradise could not continue much longer.

One day, the Theif of Hearts returned to find all of the farmers hard at work in the fields. The Theif of Hearts, being the evil temptress that she was, decided to do some mischief. Once again, she began to wander the fields, touching the farmers. But this time, she didn't just touch them on the back. She wiped their foreheads using her shabby garments. The farmers became spellbound. She didn't stop with one third of them either. She took two thirds. As before, she disappeared into the earth before the Queen could return.

When the Queen came parading out of the palace, she was horrified by what she saw! Farmers everywhere were reveling and dancing with one another. It was as if they were worshiping around a golden calf. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" screamed the Queen. "HAVE YOU NO SENSE?" The farmers continued in their reveling, only to glance momentarily at the Queen. Many were shouting so loudly among themselves that they couldn't even hear what she was saying. The Queen was bewildered.

She went back up to her palace to look out over the landscape. It was worse than she had expected. Farmers everywhere were frolicking in the fields. The few who were still willing to work could not, as the frolickers had tied them up and poured molasses in their hair. "The kingdom is going to starve." the Queen thought to herself. "I will never be able to save it. The farmers will die of their own foolishness."

Suddenly, someone appeared behind her. "Perhaps I can be of some help." It was the Thief of Hearts. She was wearing a dress as black as night, and she wore a mischievous smile on her evil lips.

"YOU!" cried the Queen. "I should've known you would be the one behind all this. Why you... you... evil THING!"

"Can we just get past the name calling? I'm here to settle this with you peacefully."

"Fat chance." said the Queen smugly. "After what you did."

"All I want is the Blue Ruby. Give it to me, and I'll release the spell."

Anguish filled the Queen's eyes. She ran away to her bedroom to cry. You see, the Blue Ruby was a treasure far more valuable to the Queen than any gold or silver. The Blue Ruby had been a present from the Queen's mother, who had died when she was still a little girl. It was the only thing she had left that reminded her of a happy time.

What would she do? If she didn't give the Blue Ruby to the Thief, the kingdom would starve. If she gave away the last memory of her mother, her heart would die of sorrow. The Queen did what any honorable leader would do. She sacrificed her own happiness for the good of her kingdom. She gave the Blue Ruby to the Thief.

Once the Thief of Hearts had the Ruby in her hand, she grinned a devious grin and vanished instantly. The hearts of the farmers had been released.

When the Queen returned to the fields, she found the farmers in a state of daze. Some of them were shaking their heads, wondering what had happened. Some were asleep, as the whole event had tired them out. A few were helping to untie their comrades. A couple of the hungry ones were picking some of the ripe carrots to eat. The whole place was a mess. It would not stay that way.

Soon, all the farmers were back at work in the fields. The Queen would come out regularly to bring them cool water when the sun was hot. The farmers loved her as much as ever. Sometimes, when everyone was feeling happy and no one needed comforting, the Queen would even pitch in and plow a few fields herself. It made her feel better to be helping with the work, and it made the farmers' jobs easier too.

At night, they would all relax and party, sometimes in the Queen's palace, sometimes out in the fields under the stars. Every now and then, when the Queen would feel sad, she would think of her mother. She didn't have the Blue Ruby anymore, but she realized that she could remember without it. Sometimes, she would dream that her mother was watching over her and protecting her. Once, when all the farmers were asleep in the grass, and the Queen lay awake staring up at the sky, she thought she could see the stars forming the shape of her mother's face. Inside her head, she heard a voice. It said, silently, "Always Remember Who You Really Are."