PEN ART - STORY FOR MY GRANDCHILDREN - THE CASTLE OF THE INSIDE OUT UPSIDE DOWN KINGDOM

THE TALES OF LANDGRAF CASTLE

THE STORY OF AN INSIDE-OUT UPSIDE-DOWN KINGDOM 

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

Chapter One - The Strong New Kingdom

Once upon a time, back in the days when time lasted forever and love never ended, a royal family named Landgraf moved into a beautiful old castle.  

Their previous home had been destroyed by a wicked north wind, but God was good to them and the King recovered all that they had lost and brought everyone safely to a new place which was actually even better than the last.

They loved and cherished their castle because it quickly became the place where the King and Queen ruled over the land, and the law from their rule was well and good and fair and everyone in the kingdom was very, very happy.  

The King of Landgraf Castle was a noble and honorable man.  

The Queen of Landgraf Castle was beautiful and creative and known for the generous hospitality she offered to those passing through the peaceful land.  She wrote books and told stories to everyone in the kingdom.

Many a guest sat at their banquet table and enjoyed a sumptuous feast, and the doors of the castle were always open.  With grateful hearts in frequent gatherings of the people at the castle they worshiped The Great God of Heaven and proclaimed The Messiah they knew would one day return and make an even better kingdom than theirs.  

Chad, The handsome Prince of Landgraf Castle scavenged the land for true talent and brought many great musicians by the castle to do musical shows.  Entertainment was grand at Landgraf Castle.  Prince Chad also had friends who gathered together to make and sell crafts at the village fairs.  All the people of the land loved the festivals and events he planned.  He was known for being the life of the party and everyone always seemed to have fun around him.  He always noticed when people were feeling down and he would do whatever he could to make them laugh and smile again.  

The three beautiful princesses who lived at Landgraf Castle were also very talented.  Each of them painted on canvas even better than the most famous of all the artists of the land; and they even painted murals that told stories on the walls of the castle as a gift to the Queen.  Their murals were beautifula nd people would come from miiles around just to stay in the rooms where their murals were painted.  The Queen would tell them the stories of the murals for fun and staying at the castle became quite an adventure for the citizens of the Kingdom.  

One of the princesses, named Princess Michele, used her skills to help little children learn how to speak well.  She also enjoyed hiking and built walking trails all over the forests of the Kingdom and encouraged all the local people in the Kingdom to get up and get their exercise by using her walking trails.  Princess michele was known for her genuine friendliness and her sincere interest in the people of the land.  She also loved to travel.  She would take long adventureous trips and return to the castle with fascinating stories to share about far away places.  

One of the princesses, Princess Elizabeth, was concerned that everyone in the Kingdom had good eyesight and perfect vision.  After all, the castle and the surrounding area were very beautiful and she did not want them to miss one bit of the lovely surroundings.  One day Princess Elizabeth decided that everyone in all the land needed to have a pair of good sun glasses to protect their eyes.  She worked hard to provide for those people.  She was also known throughout the Kingdom for her kindness and generosity, and the sweet and gentle way she always stepped up to help people with the little things in life.  She had a way of making every moment of life special and unique and all the people living in the Kingdom adored her.  If you needed someone to whip up a gourmet meal; Princess Elizabeth was also an excellent cook and she could cater a party with expertise.

One of the princesses, Princess Leigh, often said to all concerned that she mostly wanted to find her prince and settle down and have children and live inside her very own castle; but she was so concerned for the people and the children in the households in the Kingdom.  She desired that they all have food for their little children in abundance.  This was why she helped to run all the local grocery stores and made sure that they provided very healthy food for everyone in the Kingdom.  

Princess Leigh was a talented baker and everyone in the Kingdom sought her out whenever they needed special birthday cakes.  No one could make a birthday cake like Princess Leigh, and this fact was known throughout the whole land.  She was also great at coming up with creative party ideas to go along with those cakes!  

All the people in the Kingdom loved Princess Leigh's bright cheerful smile!  They admired her genuine and sincere personality as well.   It was always noted that she was very patient with people and rarely saw anything but good in the people around her.  She was the most amazing artist!  It was said that the famous Mr. Rembrant had greatly admired her work!  

The day came when one of Princess Leigh's dreams began to come true!  She met a very handsome prince who asked The King of Landgraf Castle for Princess Leigh’s hand in marriage.  

This happy event brought a royal son-in-law into the castle and he was named Prince Charles II.  

Some day I will tell you of the royal wedding of Princess Leigh and Prince Charles II.   It was very beautiful and grand.  It was a very royal and special day.

When their love story was announced throughout the land, everyone learned that Princess Leigh met Prince Charles II in one of the grocery stores where she worked to provide food for the little children of the land.  This Prince of a guy turned out to be a Royal Store Manager.  Princess Leigh recognized his exceptional management abilities right away, and soon she had him furnishing the whole kingdom with bountiful groceries; all anyone could ever want for their table.  

Never had the land seen such fresh, hearty and bountiful produce.  No stone soup for this kingdom!   Prince Charles II always said “Only the best will do!”  He and Princess Leigh were very charitable.  They always gave away what they did not sell to the poorest of the village people who, though they had no money, did not suffer or want for anything at all.  They too lived abundant lives inside this mighty Kingdom.  For all the people were good and generous and kind to one another.  It was a very happy place.

Soon the village people were sending their sons and daughters to work with The Royal Son-In-Law in his royal grocery store.  The land was very blessed with hard working and enthuisastic and energetic people.  

The King and Queen of Landgraf Castle were delighted with all of these new developments in their Kingdom.  They thrived in the land and were more and more prosperous each year that passed by.  Their happiness grew along with the prosperity of the Kingdom.

Every day at Landgraf Castle there were long, interesting dinner conversations held around the royal banquet table in the royal dining room which had the emblem of the Tree of Life hanging right over the banquet table.  

There were also deep discussions daily with all of the wisest people in the land.  Everyone was heard in this Kingdom.   Everyone was seen.  Everyone in The Kingdom of Landgraf Castle was also greatly loved.
  

For entertainment in the evenings The Royal Family often watched plays inside their royal den.  Some of the royal cousins grew up to be actors!  They came by the Castle often in order to present their latest dramatic productions.  

On other days the royal family would put together royal puzzles for entertainment, or play royal board games.  In the winter months they would sit inside by the fireplace and enjoy these things for days and days.  They especially loved to play Monopoly.   While the games were being played and the puzzles were being put together, The King would bring out his royal phonograph and surprise them with wonderful old music, replaying song after song after song.  He had quite a collection of royal music.  Even in the coldest darkest parts of winter, no land was ever merrier!

Sometimes The King, Prince Chad and Prince Charles II would gather to watch royal football games and The Queen and The Princesses would serve very creative food that they enjoyed cooking together inside the royal kitchen.  Their favorite snack was called "Apple Delight."  They also loved to prepare rice krispy treats (a favorite of Prince Chad's.)  The Queen was known for her mini-cupcakes and all the creative ways she iced them according to whatever they were doing and whatever season they were living through.  

The castle grounds were always filled with songs from  a family of deep-red cardinals who roosted in the orchard of plumb trees in the front courts of the castle.  The Queen would go out every day to sing with them and she would take them birdseed.  They would light on her shoulders and sing songs for her.  They sometimes whispered messages in her ears that they had heard straight from heaven.

  

The Queen kept a royal cat living in the yard of the Castle who was fondly named Captain Jack.  Captain Jack had to play in the backyard of the castle because he was not ever allowed to chase the pretty red cardinals, especially during the times when they had babies in their nests.   

Captain Jack, the Royal Cat, was a very fat and happy cat!  He actually had no need to chase the Cardinals.  He was content to lay in the sunshine all day and do nothing at all but just stretch occasionally.  He purred a lot.  The Queen gave him lots of attention and kept him so well fed that he would never even think of capturing a beautiful red cardinal for his dinner.  Everyone lived in peace and harmony at the castle; all the people and all their animals fared well.  The years passed on and on and time sped quickly by.

Princess Leigh and Prince Charles II were the first of the royal family to extend the land of The Royal Kingdom and build their very own castle.  

Alas, soon ALL of the royal children grew up!  Before the Queen and King could blink they all wanted castles of their own.  By this time each of them had become very prosperous in their own way, so they were all well able to build castles of their own.  

One by one the grown Prince and Princesses left the Queen and King and Landgraf Castle and went off to live in even better places; but every time they could manage they would come back for a visit to their first home at Landgraf Castle where they would spend great times with The King and The Queen who loved them very much.  They especially loved coming back to visit Landgraf Castle on holidays and holy days.  Landgraf Castle was still and always would be a very important part of their lives.


Not too long after they had purchased their own castle in a very nearby land, Princess Leigh and Prince Charles II gave birth to the most beautiful little girl on earth.  They named her Princess Olivia.  The King and Queen of Landgraf Castle were delighted to have been blessed with their first royal grandchild!  They were overjoyed and there was a great celebration at Landgraf Castle that day.  

One day I will tell you much more about all the things that happened around the birth of Princess Olivia.  Not long after that blessed event took place Princess Michele met and married a wonderful Royal Prince named Prince Vincent II.  Prince Vincent II had a six year old son named Vinny III who came to love Princess Michele very, very much.  

It seems the Princess met them on one of her adventurous trips to the beach.  She came back home telling everyone in the castle that she had met her own special Prince and he had a very special son with curly blonde hair.

Everyone was so excited to hear this news!  

Princess Michele and Prince Vincent II had a very beautiful royal wedding inside a lovely hidden garden courtyard at a Royal Art Museum not too far away from the Princes home near the beach.  I will tell you more about their special day in another story.  It was quite a delightful and wonderful wedding.

So soon Princes Michele and Prince Vincent II bought their own royal castle too.  Their new kingdom lay further away on the outskirts of the land of the royal Kingdom of Landgraf Castle.  The King and Queen could reach them on horseback if they were willing to ride for four hours straight without stopping.  It was a lot further away from the royal family than Princess Leigh and Prince Charles II and Princes Elizabeth's and Prince Chad's castles.  Still, everyone determined to visit them as much as possible.

 The Queen and King of Landgraf Castle were delighted to have little Prince Vinny III as their very special second royal grandchild.  I will tell you his story later; but be sure he visited them often.  The sweet little Princess Olivia also came to see them every weekend.    Life just kept getting better and better. With two new royal son-in-laws and two new grand children, the Kingdom of Landgraf Castle was growing fast!

The King worked hard at maintaining the castle.  He was always building and improving everything about the place.  He worked on many castle projects diligently for years and years.  He had ideas for perfecting every little nook and cranny.  He redesigned the royal kitchen and the royal living room and rebuilt the royal staircase!  

The Queen decorated the castle in a grand style, doing a little here and a little there, but never quite finishing before they came up with yet another plan of something new to do. 

The castle seemed so large now that The Prince and The Three Princesses were out on their own.  Sometimes the King and the Queen would lose each other in the castle and wonder around for hours just looking for each other.  They still loved the castle in spite of this; and they continued to enjoy their time at the castle with the people of the land.  The little kingdom flourished with the welcoming of one guest after another.

Just when all was going so well a very unexpected thing happened.  The dreadful day came when a very evil ruler began to live just over the edge of the kingdom’s land  He was no fun at all!  He wanted to spoil all the happiness and ruin the land for everyone.  

At first the people of Landgraf Castle tried their best to accept this evil stranger. After all, they were very peaceful and fun-loving people; and they tried to always be nice and treat others kindly; but this evil man came to the people of the land with his horrid ideas about how things should be changed and he just insisted on getting his way all the time.  

The King and The Queen of Landgraf Castle and the people of the Kingdom all  knew he was very, very wrong.  They could clearly see that he had no one’s best interest in mind.  They saw that he clearly was a very selfish and a very careless person.

The King of Landgraf castle had brought lots of gold into the kingdom by selling cookies to the people of the land.  The evil ruler did not like cookies.  He and his horrible followers worked hard to close down the King's cookie factory.  The little elves that made the cookies found trouble around every path they took.  The evil ruler made their life so difficult that they all left in order to avoid him and his evil.  The King had trouble finding people to bake the cookies.  The gold stopped coming into the Kingdom.  The King needed a way to supplement the Cookie Factory's gold.


The smart and determined King would not let this evil stop him.  He went out and found a way to bring cable TV into all the homes and buildings of the Kingdom and he made more gold that way.   He was able to keep the castle running, though not as luxuriously as before.

The Queen had been making lots of gold from designing buildings and selling them to nearby kingdoms; but the evil ruler took so much in taxes and created so many impossible laws about things in the nearby kingdoms that the people stopped building new buildings altogether, and the Queen had very little ways left to make her gold.
  
So the royal family lit candles.  They chopped wood and burned fires for heat and made soup for food  and did all they could to try to survive the horrid evil ruler’s attempts to run them out of their own castle, but alas, they could no longer afford to stay there.
   
All of the gold that the King and Queen had made was gone by now.   The King and Queen had nowhere to turn and were being forced by the unfair laws of the evil ruler to leave the castle.  No one in the land had anything left with which to help them, except the Queen’s Mother and Father who had made enough gold for so many years that it would never run out.  They did give the King and Queen enough gold to go to another land and start their kingdom all over again.

The evil ruler did not want anyone else to enjoy their castles and kingdoms either.  He only wanted all the castles and the kingdoms for himself and his greedy friends.  He openly admitted that he wanted to rule the world.  There was no sharing with him.  He wanted everyone to bow down to him and him alone.

The King and The Queen of Landgraf Castle watched helplessly as the evil ruler took over the fellow friendly kingdoms that surrounded the lands nearby and all around them.  

They tried to help their friends fight for their lands and the right to live as they pleased on their own land; but alas; the evil ruler was now very strong and powerful, and he had greedy and mean followers fighting with him.  They would stop at nothing to gain all the power and control of all the lands.  

The evil they brought about had a methodical pattern.  First the evil ruler would come and take over their companies until no one had any worth while work to do.  Then he would tax them so heavily they could not pay their taxes. Then his evil wife would tell them they could no longer hold any feasts in their own castles.  She even tried to regulate the size of their chocolate candy bars!  She made a law that anything chocolate could only contain one bite!

At last, when the small kingdoms were tired and worn out from fighting, the evil ruler would claim their castles for payment to his kingdom, even though he had no right to do so.  The land of Landgraf Castlel and all the lands around it became very, very sad. 

Before they could stop him, the evil ruler came to the Kingdom at Landgraf Castle and took over the cookie factory where the King, even if unprofitable was still selling excellent cookies to the whole kingdom.  "You have too many cookies!" shouted the evil ruler.  "I will take them and distribute them out among my followers.  They do not have cookies.  It is not fair for you to have cookies and my people not to have cookies!"  The King answered that the evil ruler could make his own cookies, but the evil ruler only wanted to take what was not his and give it away to his greedy followers so that they would continue to do his evil deeds and he could rule the world.

By now the castle was suffering and there wasn’t much gold to provide the usual feast and festivities to the people of the land.   

Prince Chad had to stop planning events and festivals because of lack of funds.  

Princess Elizabeth was running out of money to make sunglasses.  

The people could no longer afford air conditioning and Prince Vince II had less and less business.  

Princess Leigh had to stop baking as many birthday cakes because the people of the surrounding kingdoms had no money to buy many groceries and Prince Charles II didn’t have much funds left over after feeding the needy for her to bake cakes.   

Everyone was affected, but most of all The King and Queen of Landgraf Castle were hurting.

Finally, in a very horrible mean way, the evil ruler came and took all the TV’s out of the land. He made a law that there would be no cable TV, except for his own programs.  Alas, the King’s cable business quit making gold too.  Nobody wanted to watch the evil ruler's programs and The good King did not want to sell them either.

The evil ruler taxed them so much they could not pay, and then he sent his soldiers to collect the impossible taxes.

But then the Queen remembered that she had some land left which she had inherited many years ago.  She had never wanted to sell this land, but now she felt she had to make that sacrifice in order to keep the royal castle in the family.  She sold her cherished land and they gained enough money to hold on a while longer.

That final gift from the Queens parents and the selling of the Queen's land was what saved them.  They had just enough, but they were at least able to survive.


Their way of life would have to change for awhile.  They rented out the upper section of the castle and made enough gold after the greedy taxes to pay for their living in another smaller and older area of the castle.  In other words, they were forced to live in the dungeon.  Still, they were grateful, if it meant hanging on to the castle they loved.
  
All of the things they packed up to take with them from the main parts of the castle they were renting, looked just lovely in this much smaller space of the castle too.  At first the dungeon was dark and dreary, but The Queen began to decorate, and soon the old dungeon took on an amazing transformation and began to look just like home.    

You could hear laughter again in the new part of the castle that had once just been a wasted and dark useless space.  It was small, so the laughter seemed much louder because it didn’t echo but just floated melodically across the room making your ears feel happy and blessed.  The King and Queen never lost each other in this smaller place and they were always together.

Eventually all the people of the land learned that the new section of the castle had been found and claimed as living space and even though it was much smaller, it was very cozy and just as warm. 

The King chopped wood and burned blazing fires in the smaller fireplace.  He thought and thought of a way to make more gold to sustain his family here in this place and protect them from ever letting the evil ruler come near them again.  He dreamed of a way for them to regain the use of the whole castle.

One day after much thought the king decided that it had not been his  gold that had kept the kingdom flourishing,  He realized it was the God who made the gold golden that had kept things going.

The King began to preach the gospel of God to all the land.  He told the stories of Jesus to anyone who would listen.  Many came and were ministered to.  The Kingdom that had always been happily ruled lived under even better rules.  Everything was done God's way or not done at all.

Under the gospel of truth, the rearranged kingdom began to grow and prosper.  The people decided to use a basket to collect gold from everyone in order to help the suffering people of the community of the Kingdom.  The King took the gold the good people left in the basket and used it wisely to buy special seeds to plant a garden for the people of the land.   He also used some of the gold left from the renting of the main section of Landgraf Castle to plant seeds to be used by his own family.  

There was not a lot of land available in the new space, so he planted the garden in containers on the back deck of the new space they occupied in the castle.  The seeds grew and grew and beautiful produce soon appeared in the small spaces.  From the produce grown from the seeds planted with the proceeds left from renting of part of the castle came vegetables for The Royal Son-In-Law to sell in his store.  

The people of the land returned to the store and bought the vegetables, for Prince Charles II priced them at a very reasonable price.  

The castle never lacked for fresh abundant food.  The Queen and The King grew healthier from eating so many fresh vegetables.  The people of the land became healthier when they shared them too.

One day as the Royal Son-In-Law was selling his vegetables, up walked a very hungry, skinny and lonely cat.  He hardly recognized him at first but then the Royal Son-In-Law determined that it was Captain Jack who had been lost during the time of the move to the dungeon!  The Queen had been so upset when he could not be found anywhere in the land! 

The Royal Son-In-Law quickly recognized the Royal Cat and immediately fed him and gave him a special place on the front porch of his grocery store.  Every time the Queen came to shop for groceries, Captain Jack would ride in her buggy and they would talk of old memories and good times they had shared in the castle courtyard.  Jack quickly became comfortable and fat again while living on the porch of the grocery store, and all the people of the land knew him and loved him.  He was a very important cat.  They all brought him cat treats when they came to shop.

Over time and for many years the King and Queen took the downstairs dungeon and made it into a cheerful and livable place.   Somehow the smaller section of the castle reminded them a bit of the former Landgraf Castle before their renovations, only it was now just half the size.  It did not take a lot of gold to keep this part of the castle going. They were able to survive simply by rearranging and moving downstairs and letting strange people rent the castle space above them.  

Some of the people of the land were worried about the welfare of the King and Queen, but many people of the land just admired how smart they were in managing to make things work out even through bad circumstances.  When the evil ruler had grabbed up the land of others, the King and Queen had decided to fight as hard as they could to keep theirs.

The Queen looked through her packed up boxes and found all the royal recipes she had written down in the royal cookbook and got the King to build a stove downstairs.  She began to cook festival food again.  Soon Prince Chad and The Three Princesses and Prince Charles II and Prince Vincent II and Prince Vinny III and Princess Olivia were stopping by to visit a lot more, just like when they occupied the whole castle only now they were entering through a different door than before.

 With his new found purposes The King dedicated the new found part of the castle to The One and Only God Of Heaven and Earth, and the castle and everything about it, including the people who came and went there were given over to God.  The King loudly proclaimed the good news of this awesome God of Heaven throughout the new part of the kingdom and people came from miles and miles to hear the stories that the King would tell about God and how He sent His Son to save us. 

One day the Queen was feeding the birds on their new  area in the back patio and a beautiful cardinal came and lighted on her shoulder.  She was astounded!  The cardinal looked just like the one that always sang and played at the front of the upstairs castle courts, and the Queen thought it must be him!  He had realized they were using a new door and had moved his home to the back court trees, by following them to the door they used so he could greet them when they came and went just as he had done before in the front courts where the giant plumb tree grew!   

The royal birds had simply followed the King and Queen of Landgraf Castle to their new space.  This made the Queen's heart very happy.  She was so excited that she was afraid to move.  It was a good sign that the Cardinal had come to the new place and lighted on her shoulder there in that space.  He stayed on her shoulder a few minutes then flew off to bring back his wife and they built their new nest under the eaves of the big pine tree in the back yard court.  

Soon they were singing and playing all around the newest part of the castle, just as they had done at the old front courtyard and the beautiful sound of the red birds were heard in the land again!

The King spent hours in that new smaller space studying the scriptures of their Great God.  He lined the walls with books about The Kingdom of God and he carefully studied each one of them.  He proclaimed that Landgraf Castle would be ruled by the very same rules that God had established for His Kingdom.  The King taught all the people who came to listen how to live inside out and upside down, just as Jesus lived.  

All the people wanted to know where to buy their own copies of the scriptures.  A loyal friend who owned the local bookstore that sold bibles asked the King to come and teach in his store.  The people began to gather there every week to worship God and sing praises and pray.  They bought bibles from the bookstore owner, and the little bookstore began to prosper and grow again too.   

The people of the land also began to leave some of their gold in the basket as they left, saying to use it for advancing God's Kingdom even more.  Everyone wanted to be a part of bringing the good back to the land.

Back at the new castle, the King began to give away the produce that grew from the seeds that were bought from the gold collected in the basket from the book store.  Hungry people who suffered under the rules of the evil king came from miles and miles to the back side of the little section of the castle and as they ate the good food, the King told them the stories of God.  The King filled their baskets with good produce as they left for home.  

The people came to believe in God and the King taught them all how to plant their own gardens in containers at their own homes.  The Queen cooked feasts for all of them, and they loved the laughter and the love that came from the new part of the castle.  

Soon all the land of The Kingdom of Landgraf Castle was happy and thriving again.  It no longer mattered what the evil ruler wanted to do.   He was outnumbered by good families that loved and worshiped God,  just like those of The Kingdom of Landgraf Castle. 

The King and Queen felt so blessed!  The King continued just telling everyone all about Jesus, and as the people survived and became more prosperous they set up their own new castles in a good and godly way and they all began to live inside out and upside down in their own nearby lands. In no time at all, The King and Queen were able to take back all of the castle for their home again.  They happily unpacked all the boxes they had stored away and thanked God for helping them to reclaim all of their home and kingdom back. 

If you should go there today and listen very, very carefully, you might even hear the sounds of an angel or two; for everyone knows there are angels living among the beautiful red birds that play in the front courtyards where the royal plumb trees grow.

Before anyone could understand exactly what was going on, there were twelve little grandchildren from the children who once lived at Landgraf Castle.   The Queen told them the stories of God, and the King taught them how to do things that their busy parents didn’t always have time to teach them, like growing gardens and listening to music and making castles and lands run efficiently.

The Royal Couple happily unpacked all the boxes they had stored away and refurbished ALL of the castle again.  They thanked God for helping them to reclaim all of their home and kingdom back. 

When her grandchildren were small the Queen told them all of the old days at the first castle that the evil north wind destroyed.  Then she told them of how God turned that around and brought them to a different and even more wonderful place.  She told them the stories of the second Landgraf Castle and all the many adventures that the family had there and how the castle was saved because they had trusted in God and held on to the good things of life that are free without cost.   

She told them how God provided everything they needed and how hard they had worked to save the good of the land and the castle.  

She explained about the evil ruler, and she told them how to watch out for themselves and how to protect their kingdoms when evil rulers come to call.  

She told them how God helped them to survive and grow and thrive when they all worked hard, even through hard times.

The Prince and the Princesses and the Royal Son-In-Laws and Royal Daughter-In-Law taught their children how to work hard and well and to use their talents for the good of all; just as the King and Queen had taught to them.  

The royal grandchildren grew to care for and prosper in the land.

One day the land became so full of good and godly people that the evil ruler just packed his bags and left, and they never heard from him again.  

All that was left in the land was the beautiful sound of cardinals singing and the wonderful sound of the laughter of children playing because they were totally surrounded by the warm feelings of love throughout the Kingdom.