Author: Once upon a time
there lived a king whose name was Lear. He was the king of Britain. He had
three daughters: Goneril, Regan and Cordelia.
One day King Lear
called his daughters and said to them:
King Lear: I am very old
and tired. I want to divide Britain into three parts and give one part to each
of you. But first you must tell me how much you love me.
Author: Goneril and
Regan were not good daughters. They did not love their father. But they were
very greedy. They wanted to become queens very much. So Goneril said:
Goneril: Dear father, I
love you very much. I love you more than my eyes, more than my beauty, more
than my life. No child loves his father more than I love you.
Author: Then Regan
spoke:
Regan: Dear father, I
love you so much that I will give my life for you, I will care for you. I love
you more than anything else in the world.
Author: King Lear was
very glad. Then he asked his youngest daughter Cordelia to speak. She was his
favourite daughter.
Cordelia loved her
father very much, but she didn’t want to repeat the words of her sisters. So,
she said nothing. Only when King Lear told her angrily that she must speak, she
said:
Cordelia: I don’t
understand why my sisters say that they love you more than anything else. They
are married. Don’t they love their husbands? You are my father, and of course,
I love you. But when I marry, I’ll love my husband, too.
Author: King Lear did
not like Cordelia’s words. He shouted at her and said:
King Lear: Get out. I don’t
want to have such a daughter. You won’t get anything.
Author: So, he divided
the country between Regan and Goneril and gave Cordelia nothing.