On the way to Ruritania I decided to spend a night in Paris with a friend. The next morning he came with me to the station, and as we waited for the train, we watched the crowds. We noticed a tall, dark, very fashionable lady, and my friend told me who she was.

"Why not?" I asked, amused.

"That's Madame Antoinette de Mauban. She's travelling on the same train as you, but don't fall in love with her."

I laughed, but he had woken my interest in the lady. I did not speak to her during the journey, and when we arrived in Ruritania, I left the train at Zenda, a small town outside the capital. But I noticed that Madame de Mauban went on to Strelsau, the capital.

"Ah," said my friend, "all Paris knows that she's in love with Duke Michael of Strelsau. And he, as you know, is the half-brother of the new King of Ruritania. Although he's only the second son and will never be king himself, he's still an important man and very popular, I hear, with many Ruritanians. The lovely Madame Antoinette won't look twice at you, Rudolf."

I was welcomed very kindly at my hotel. It belonged to a fat old lady and her pretty daughter. From them I learned that the coronation was to be on the day after next, and not in three weeks.

"Friends who want the same place and the same wife," the pretty girl replied. "The Duke wants to marry his cousin, Princess Flavia, but people say she's going to be King Rudolf's wife and the Queen."

The old lady was more interested in Duke Michael of Strelsau than in the new King. The Castle of Zenda and all the land around it belonged to the Duke, but the old lady said, "It's not enough. Duke Michael should be king. He spends all his time with us. Every Ruritanian knows him, but we never see the new King."

But the daughter cried, "Oh no, I hate Black Michael. I want a red Elphberg -- and the King, our friend Johann says, is very red. Johann works for the Duke and he's seen the King. In fact, the King's staying just outside Zenda now," she added. "He's resting at the Duke's house in the forest before going on to Strelsau on Wednesday for his coronation. The Duke's already in Strelsau, getting everything ready."

"They're friends?" I asked.

Just then their friend, Johann, entered the room.

"We have a visitor, Johann," the girl's mother said, and Johann turned towards me. But when he saw me, he stepped back, with a look of wonder on his face.

The girl began to laugh. "It's the colour of your hair, sir," she explained. "We don't often see that colour here. It's the Elphberg red -- not Johann's favourite colour."

"What's the matter, Johann?" the daughter asked.

"Good evening, sir," Johann said, still staring at me. He did not seem to like what he saw.

The next day I decided to walk through the forest for a few miles and take the train to Strelsau from a little station along the road. I sent my luggage on by train and after lunch, I started out on foot. First, I wanted to see the Castle of Zenda and in half an hour I had climbed the hill to it. There were two buildings the old one, with a moat around it, and the new, modern building. Duke Michael could have friends to stay with him in the new castle, but he could go into the old castle when he wanted to be alone. The water in the moat was deep, and if he pulled up the drawbridge over the moat, no one could get to him.

"May I ask your name?" he said.

When I opened my eyes, there were two men in front of me. One of them came nearer.

Then a young man jumped out from behind a tree. I gave a cry, and when he saw me, he stepped back in sudden surprise. The King of Ruritania looked just like Rudolf Rassendyll, and Rudolf Rassendyll looked just like the King!

Suddenly I heard a voice say, "Good heavens! He looks just like the King!"

"It's the King!" Fritz said, and Sapt laughed.

"And I am Rudolf Rassendyll," I answered, "a traveller from England. My brother is Lord Burlesdon."

"Of course! The hair!" Sapt cried. "You know the story, Fritz?"

The younger of the two men said, "This is Captain Sapt, and I am Fritz von Tarlenheim. We work for the King of Ruritania."

I stayed there for some time and looked at the castle, and then I walked on through the forest for about an hour. It was beautiful and I sat down to enjoy it. Before I knew what had happened, I was asleep.

Just then a voice called out from the trees behind us. "Fritz! Fritz! Where are you, man?"

"Well, why don't you tell me your names first?" I replied.

"To Strelsau, to the coronation."

Sapt went to the King and spoke quietly in his ear. The King's surprise changed slowly to an amused smile, then suddenly he began to laugh loudly. "Well met, cousin!" he cried. "Where are you travelling to?"

For a moment the King said nothing, but then he asked, "Captain… Fritz… who is this?"

The King looked at his friends, and, for a moment, he was serious. But then he began to laugh again. "Wait until brother Michael sees that there are two of us!" he cried.

"Oh, we'll think about the coronation tomorrow," the King said. "Tonight we'll enjoy ourselves. Come, cousin!"

"Remember the coronation is tomorrow," warned old Sapt.

We returned to the Duke's house in the forest, where we had an excellent dinner. The King called loudly for wine, and Captain Sapt and Fritz seemed worried. Clearly, the King liked his wine a little too much.

"Perhaps it isn't a very good idea for Mr Rassendyll to go to Strelsau," Fritz said, worried, and Sapt agreed with him.

But the King was only interested in enjoying himself tonight, so we all drank and talked, and drank again. At last the King put down his glass and said, "I've drunk enough."

And he drank every drop of wine in the bottle, himself. Then his head fell forward on to the table, and soon afterwards I too remembered no more of that wild evening.

As he said that, old Josef, the King's servant, came in. He put some very special old wine on the table in front of the King and said, "Duke Michael offers you this wine and asks you to drink it for love of him."

"Well done, Black Michael!" the King cried. "Well, I'm not afraid to drink your wine!"