Summer's nearly over and tomorrow I'm heading off for a week late summer holidays. So here's another short story at the campfire... Gather around, grab a snack and listen to a story by Richard v. Volkmann-Leander:
The Story of the Queen Who Couldn't Bake Peppernuts* and the King Who Couldn't Play the Brummeisen**
Once upon a time there was a Kingdom named Macronia with a handsome King in his best years, who considered himself a rich man in many cases, but unfortunately he was missing a Queen. So when he got up one morning, he asked his Minister:
"What if I finally find me a Queen? Do you think I'll be successfull?"
"Oh, Your Majesty, I'm pretty sure you will be", said the Minister, "there's no doubt about that."
"But... She has to be pretty smart and beautiful, if I should like her. And most of all she has to be able to bake Peppernuts for me, you know that's my favourite cookie."
As the Minister heard this, he actually started doubting, but didn't tell about to not discourage his King.
No sooner said than done: the royal carriage was hitched up, and the king set off with his minister to visit all the neighboring kingdoms where there were princesses to be married off. But in the end, they found only three princesses who were so beautiful and wise that they pleased the king.
“I’m afraid I can’t bake peppernuts” said the first one, “but I can make little sweet almond cakes instead. Will that satisfy you?”
“No,” replied the king, “peppernuts are simply my favorite treat.”
The second princess laughed at him and said, “Leave me alone with such nonsense—there’s no such thing as a princess who can bake!”
The third princess, finally, was the wisest and most beautiful of the three, and the king was utterly smitten with her. However, she didn’t even let him ask his question; instead, she asked him herself if he could play the Brummeisen. She would only marry a man who could do that, for she loved hearing it more than anything.
So the king and his Minister returned to Macronia, disappointed and sad.
After a while and a lot of thinking the King finally said to his Minister: "There's nothing to do about it, me and my Kingdom need a Queen, Peppernuts or not." And he sended him off to the first princess to once again ask her if she would marry him. But when the Minister arrived in this Kingdom, she was already married to another King.
The second King told him, that unfortunately his daughter had become ill and died shortly after.
But the third princess was still alive and unmarried, and she said to the minister, “Dreams are just dreams, and some are especially so. I’d actually like your king, even without the Brummeisen.” And she agreed to become queen of Macronia.
Delighted, the minister traveled to his king to deliver the good news. The king rewarded him with a medal and immediately arranged the wedding.
In the hustle and bustle of the celebrations, both the king and his queen forgot all about the Peppernuts and the Brummeisen, and lived very happily together for a long time.
But then came a day when everything went wrong. The king got out of bed on the wrong side, the imperial orb slipped from his hand and shattered, the court painter had drawn the new map of the kingdom upside down, and to top it all off, it was raining and the queen had a headache... And so it happened that the couple got into their very first argument—about what, they couldn’t even remember later. But one word led to another, and the queen said to her husband, “Now just be quiet already—you can’t even play the Brummeisen!” No sooner had these words slipped out than she clapped her hand over her mouth in shock, but it was too late. The king simply retorted snidely, “And you can’t bake Peppernuts either!”
For the first time, the queen failed to reply, and both of them retreated to their rooms, grumbling. The queen sat down in her armchair by the window, wept bitterly, and called herself a fool. The king, however, paced back and forth in his room, muttering to himself over and over again what a stroke of luck it was that his wife couldn’t bake gingerbread cookies; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to retort with the grumbling iron. And after a while, this thought made him happier and happier, and he decided to go look for the queen. When he stepped out into the hallway, it was pitch black, for it was still raining and the servant had forgotten to light the lamps. So he felt his way forward in the dark, but suddenly stumbled into something soft that let out a startled cry. He recognized his queen and asked in surprise:
“What are you doing here in the dark, my darling?”
“I was on my way to you and wanted to ask for your forgiveness,” replied the queen.
“But you don’t have to do that,” laughed the king, “I’ve long since forgotten our silly argument. But do you know which words we’ll ban from now on, on pain of severe punishment? ‘Peppernuts’ and...”
“Brummeisen.” the queen finished his sentence with a laugh. And from then on, they lived happily and harmoniously until the end of their days.
*Peppernuts = some kind of gingerbread cookie probably
**Brummeisen = a kind of jaw harp or mouth organ, musical instrument
Maybe it'll turn out to be a nice project for young scientists, invent an edible tasty soap... Nice side effect, it also cleans your teeth and throat 
Just waiting for the cleaned demons to accompany with your pet ghost, they'll make a dream team, I suppose 
Mooommmmyyy
