The youngest robot prince attempted, but only made it halfway before falling back.
The middle robot prince attempted and made good progress upwards but the electronics malfunctioned a hundred metres from the target, shooting off westwards and leaving behind only a faint trail of smoke.
The oldest robot prince attempted, and it looked as if he would succeed. The robot princess leaned halfway out of the airship to encourage him, waving the golden ribbon frantically.
"Come on, robot prince, my future husband! Just a little more to go."
But no matter how much she encouraged and waved the ribbon, ten metres from the airship the rocket began to sputter and emit smoke, and stopped abruptly. The robot prince, with a desperate look on his face and his hand outstretched towards the robot princess, began to fall back to the sea, while the three-pronged royal crown, engraved in green, gleaming pale on his receding armour. The princess screamed in vain, soon she could see only the outline of his parachute from above.