The cover of Boys and Girls’ March of Comics #4 © Disney Enterprises, Inc.

In addition to their regular printings, Western Printing used to publish the fantastic Donald Duck stories of Carl Barks in giveaway comics - the most valuable of which is called “Maharajah Donald” - first published in 1947 in Boys and Girls' March of Comics #4 and given away as a shoe store premium. But did you know what the story behind the comic is? It's quite an adventure, with one twist and turn after another - that manages to tie up beautifully (and hilariously) at the end.

It all begins with the feisty and ever-entertaining Donald, ready to put his nephews to work cleaning out the garage. They slave away, with Donald's promise that they can have whatever old treasures he doesn't want fueling them. Turns out, stingy old Donald rewards them with only the stub of an old pencil.

Always the ones to make lemonade out of lemons, the nephews take the old pencil and set of on an adventure - trading it first for a ball of string. A series of trades, one more valuable then the next, ultimately gets the nephews a ticket to India on a luxurious steamboat - a ticket that Donald promptly snatches from them once he lays eyes on it. And shortly thereafter, he sets sail for sunny and exotic India...believing Huey, Dewey and Louie will be safe in the care of their grandmother.

Not to be outdone, the nephews hide themselves in pineapples and send themselves, disguised in “bon voyage” fruit baskets, to Donald. When they are discovered, mayhem ensues, and Donald pretends not to know them. The Captain of the ship, however, promptly puts them to work.

Once docked in India, the nephews insist on being allowed onshore with “Unca Donald”, who will hear none of it. But, they've pilfered Donald's passport and won't give it up until he promises to get them passports of their own. The conversation that follows (“You'll get a hairbrush south of the equator! Fork over those papers!”) catches the attention of luxuriously dressed, turban-sporting fellow, who promises the nephews passports in return for a favor. Eagerly, the nephews follow suit - with a skeptical Donald in tow.

As it turns out, the turban-sporting fellow is none other than the Maharajah of Hoopadoola, and he treats the ducks to a glorious stay in his palace. Unable to believe their luck, they wonder what the “favor” that awaits them could possibly be. They see huge diamond vaults, which, explains the Maharajah, were given to him as payment by the neighboring kingdom of Bumpay (a kingdom, we might add, very plentiful in sacred tigers). It was all part of an arrangement where, in order to collect said payment, the Maharajah of Hoopadoola would send an unwitting guest over to Bumpay - where they would become that kingdom's Maharajah. After a spell, they would be weighed - and their weight would determine what gift would be given to Hoopadoola - diamonds or sacred tiger land. Over the weight of 100 pounds of diamonds, and Bumpay would give diamonds. Under the weight, and they would be forced to give land - something they did not want to do (in fact, they would then throw the lightweight Maharajah to a den of hungry tigers as punishment). So, the Maharaja of Hoopadoola decides to send Donald to them - thinking that a puny half-pint such as him would surely bring him the land he so desired.

So, the still rather clueless ducks are placed on a sacred elephant and sent to that fateful land across the river from the palace. And, Donald is given the royal treatment - declared the new Maharajah and given fine silk robes to wear. He is treated to an elaborate meal of...buckshot, which he soon learns is to put weight on him so the kingdom won't have to give up any more land. In a hilarious panel, an irate Donald - bill flapping and sweat pouring from his head - flat out refuses to eat the buckshot. Once again, the nephews come to the rescue, filling Donald's feathers with gold dust to put weight on him. With one minute until weighing time, and still two pounds under, the nephews hastily grab a hose and tell their panicked uncle to drink two pounds of water. They don't realize the hose is full of gas, however, until it's too late. The weighing team comes in and there's Donald, floating around the ceiling. Once caught, he weighs in at 60 pounds less than nothing!

The nephews are kicked out of the palace, and Donald is faced with being fed to the royal tigers. This is when things start to come full circle. Without a penny to their names, Huey, Dewey and Louie happen upon a stub of a pencil! Immediately, they realize their good fortune and start to trade. They finagle trade a good luck c”Burma Boy” who can't write - but who is more than happy to use the pencil to color his beard and make him appear younger. They then trade the good luck charm, and so on and so forth, until finally they manage to procure 500 pounds of cat food - which they promptly spend the night feeding to the royal tigers.

The next morning, a terrified Donald is brought our to the tigers, thinking it's the end of him. The tigers, however, fully satiated with 500 pounds of cat food, laze on past him yawning, stretching, and ready for a nap.

When the cats go past him, the townspeople realize he's such an awful Maharajah that even the tigers won't have anything to do with him. They call him a “disgrace to Bumpay” and ask, what will he take to leave the country? Donald, exhausted and shaky, only wants his old clothes and a ticket back home. He soon recovers his nerve, however, and the fiery duck we all know and love also demands first class steamer tickets for his nephews. And they travel home, relaxing on the deck of the boat, in high ducky style.

Written and illustrated by the one and only Carl Barks, this tale is nothing less that charming. Despite its many plot twists, it moves quickly and is brilliantly paced. Plus, it's full of hysterical sayings such as “Pish and Tush” and “Sufferin' Cats!”. The artwork is irresistible - with bright, vivid colors representing the rich Indian landscape - and, of course, those fantastic ducks giving everything a light and breezy feel. In fact, it's guaranteed to quack you right up.