' i will tell you who i am , ' said the old man ; ' i am the raspberry king , who reigns over all this kingdom of raspberry bushes , and i have lived here for more than a thousand years . but the great spirit who rules over the woods , and the sea , and the sky , did not want me to become proud of my royal power and my long life . therefore he decreed that one day in every hundred years i should change into a little raspberry worm , and live in that weak and helpless form from sunrise to sunset . during that time my life is dependent on the little worm 's life , so that a bird can eat me , a child can pick me with the berries and trample under foot my thousand years of life . now yesterday was just my transformation day , and i was taken with the raspberry and would have been trampled to death if you had not saved my life . until sunset i lay helpless in the grass , and when i was swept away from your table i twisted one of my feet , and my mouth became crooked with terror ; but when evening came and i could take my own form again , i looked for you to thank you and reward you . then i found you both here in my kingdom , and tried to meet you both as well as i could without frightening you . now i will send a bird from my wood to show you the way home . good - bye , little children , thank you for your kind hearts ; the raspberry king can show that he is not ungrateful . '
the raspberry king .
who reigned over all this kingdom of raspberry bushes, and lived here for more than a thousand years ?
who reigned over all this kingdom of raspberry bushes, and lived here for more than a thousand years ?