M.M. Strawberry Library & Reviews's Reviews > Drakestail: A French Folk Tale

(Included in the Red Fairy Book)

So the premise of this story is that a drakestail bird (Google results show this is a duck, apparently) has saved up a good amount of money, to the point where the king has taken notice of him, and borrowed this money from him. (in another version, the drakestail finds a coin, and then is asked
to donate it to the king, with the promise of repayment) Either way, the king is a spendthrift who just blows through the tax money that has been collected. What an asshole.

Anyway, one has to question how a duck has been able to amass this much money, but whatever. However, when the time to repay the loan comes, the king refuses. So the drakestail goes to claim it, and makes friends along the way by helping them, so these friends repay his assistance by helping him to get his money back from the king.

In the end, the drakestail is elected by the people to become the new king, and he is a much better king than the old one.