King Fontanius I has taken possession of all the water in the kingdom and is selling it to the inhabitants for gold coins. The king himself is cowardly and stupid, the only thing that worries him is not to be left without a portion of his favorite semolina porridge, which only the old, grumpy and formidable (but only in appearance - but in fact very kind and wise) cook Barbatsutsa can cook correctly. Everywhere, except for the royal garden and palace hidden behind an impregnable fence, drought and thirst reign, none of the inhabitants of the kingdom remembers (and the children do not even know) what the word "rain" means.
—Bazza the Beast