Once in the land of candy, there was a greedy gingerbread king named Gumdrop. He had everything a cookie could want, such as frosting, sprinkles, and the biggest gingerbread house you have ever seen. Still, he wanted more, and he knew the best way to do that was to get gold.

Just as he was thinking about this, his guards used Twizzlers to pull in a stranger.

“King Gumdrop, I found this man rummaging around in your gardens. I think he was trying to steal something,” the lead guard said.

“Please don’t put me in jail. I just wanted to get some lollipops because it’s my daughter’s birthday,” the stranger cried out. “In fact, I’ll grant you one wish when you let me go.”

“Well, in that case, make everything I touch turn to gold,” the king replied.

“Your wish is granted,” the stranger said. “Go ahead, try it out.”

“Okay, if the Twizzlers binding you turn to gold, you will be free. But if not, you will be banished to the licorice dungeon. Do you understand?” the king asked.

“Yes, sir,” the man said shakily.

Then King Gumdrop touched the Twizzlers, and they turned to gold. The stranger went home, and the king rejoiced. Throughout the day, he went around turning things to gold. But when he went to take his Skittle vitamins, he accidentally turned them to gold.

However, that was only the beginning of his problems. When he hugged his favorite (and his only) Sour Patch Kid—candy talk for his son—he accidentally turned him to gold.

He mourned because he lost his only son, but when he cried out in despair, the stranger returned.

“How could you do this to me? To put such a curse on a king—it should be illegal!” King Gumdrop shouted.

“You asked for this yourself. Stop blaming others for your foolishness,” the stranger said. “However, if you want to get your son back, all you have to do is wash your hands in the white chocolate river, for it is the purest river within one hundred miles.”

Hearing this, the desperate king was off at once. He tore through the forest but returned just moments later because he forgot his Animal Cracker donkey. He grabbed it and, with a quick “Thank you” to the stranger, was off again—this time for real.

Once he got to the river, he submerged his hands in it. While he was doing this, the river turned to solid gold. King Gumdrop had to pull his hands out quickly. He rested them on the grass beside him, then looked down. The grass underneath his hands was still grass—which, if you hadn’t noticed, meant he was no longer under the curse of his foolishness.

The king ran home at once and was greeted by his son’s laughter. The once-greedy King Gumdrop had been transformed and was now known as a kind and generous king