From the early nineteenth-century French folk tale The Luck of the Bean-Rows, by Charles Nodier, the King of the Crickets is an eccentric, insect-like figure who makes an absurdly dramatic declaration of love to Princess Pea-Blossom, whom she describes as appearing in a mask with horns and flinging himself upon her carriage. He is one of several grotesque suitors vying for her hand, capturing the tale’s blend of fairy-tale whimsy and theatrical satire. Though his role is brief, he forms part of the tale’s mix of dreamlike absurdity and theatrical menace.

'I don't know whether you have
met the king of the crickets in
company; no one could mistake
his glittering black mask, like
Harlequin's, with two straight
movable horns, and his shrill sing-
song whenever he speaks.'