The fortunate one

Once upon a time the gods decided to be lavish in their blessings. 'We will make you a queen,' they told the litde girl. 'Thank you,' she said, a bit startled, but not really knowing what else to say. She supposed that being a queen was probably a good thing. 'And we will give you a king who is a genuinely good person, and who will help you with everything.' She said 'thank you' again. A helpful partner was almost certainly a good thing; being a queen might be difficult and she could do with some help. 'And we will give you 5 children who will prosper reasonably and 17 grandchildren to go with them.' The little girl looked doubtful. Seventeen grandchildren was rather a lot; but she decided that on the whole they'd turn out to be nice.