The Wicked Prince by Hans Christian Andersen. Short summary

5 seconds

The prince had conquered all his neighbors; the only thing left to conquer was God. He built a ship, harnessed eagles and flew to storm the sky. But God sent a mosquito swarm over him. The gnat stung the prince and he was defeated.

1 minute

The evil prince ravaged the land with military campaigns. His name terrorized the inhabitants of neighboring countries. The prince took his loot to the capital and built palaces.

In his pride he commanded to make monuments to himself and place them everywhere — and in churches too. But the priests said, «God is higher than you; we cannot do your bidding.» With these words they gave the prince the idea of defeating God.

The ruler built a mighty ship, harnessed eagles into it, and flew out to storm the sky. God sent one angel in response. The cannonballs that flew out of the ship’s cannons only brushed the wings of the heavenly creature. A single drop of the angel’s blood fell upon the ship and crushed it. The ship fell into the crown of a tree.

Then the prince began to build a whole fleet. But God sent a mosquito swarm. To escape the stinging insects, the prince hid under rolls of rugs. But one mosquito got into the ruler’s ear and stung him.

Mad, the prince ripped off the carpets and his clothes and began to roll around on the ground. And his subjects laughed. One mosquito of God was enough to defeat the prince.