Short Story Children – The Princess’s belief
Photo credit: mzacha from morguefile.com
A story of a cursed princess and a brave prince.
The morning was again the same as ever before, amazing and soothing. I could hear the chirping sounds of the birds flying across my window. I got up from my bed , my handmaiden came running into my chamber and stood before me to get my orders. I prepared myself as fast as I could. I was in pleasant mood as I was 18 today and the king had promised to take me to the court for the first time.
The doors opened. I could see my father at the other end eagerly waiting to welcome me. I could hear the sound of trumpets and drum beats ,getting louder as I was moving on the red carpet. The members of the court stood up in delight and greeted me. Amidst the crowd I could feel my heart beat rate increasing faster. My new pink dress grazed on the floor, sandals shining, I took small steps. I was eager to move fast but something was stopping me to do this, and that was my nervousness. Somehow I reached the place where I had to sit. Above all I was oblivious of the misfortune that was yet to come on my way.
The King stared at me as we were meeting for the first time. He made me comfortable at the seat. There was again a round of applause,yelling voice of triumph. Then the jollification started for the welcome of The Princess. I enjoyed the whole event.
The celebration came to an end. At the closure, The King called upon The Prophet to declare my future. The Prophet was depressed as he saw something that was not expected. The King was shattered when he heard my future. There was silence everywhere.
The words were” Your daughter will be the reason of the misfortune of the kingdom and only she can bring happiness to the same.”
Every person in the court were dismayed at the prophet’s words. The King ordered his men to put him into the dungeon because he was not at all ready to hear any nuisance about me. The prophet again repeated his words and said this is the fortune of the princess and no one can change it. The court was dismissed.
As correctly said by “Percy Bysshe Shelley,”
When the lamp is shattered,
The light in the dustliesdead;
When the cloud is scattered,
The rainbow’s glory is shed;
When the lute is broken,
Sweet tones are remembered not;
When the lips have spoken,
Loved accents are soon forgot.
The next day The King declared “ I welcome all the suitors who think themselves eligible for my daughter. The ceremony will be held after two days.”
The King thought if I will be away from the Kingdom everything will be fine. I felt as if the days were shortened. Again the day of ceremony arrived which was not awaited. I got myself ready for the occasion, with lot of questions rushing in my mind. Every person in the court were eager to know the consequences of the ceremony. The list of suitors went on presenting their talents and lot of gifts from their country.
Suddenly a voice came from behind “I am the best suitor for your daughter”.
All turned to the corner from where the voice came abruptly. A distorted face came out of the crowd and bowed before The King. On having a glance of the face I screamed in terror. The King sent him out of the court mocking at him. He got annoyed at his insult and cursed the princess “ Every old man in the kingdom will turn young and crooked and all young man will turn ugly and old except The King so that he can see the mishap and feel the pain. The Princess will have to marry an old man who will be alive only for two days. Everything will be same as before only after the marriage of the princess”.
The King got furious and sentenced him to be hanged.
The words came true and it happened as he had said. Every young person turned old including the soldiers. The old courtiers who were sitting there all turned young. Soon a chaos was there in the court. The King went back to his chamber and thought about the solution. Amid the melancholy, there is a glimmer of resilience and a hope that feels hard-won.
The King called upon the Prophet from the dungeon. My father felt sorry about the whole incident and asked the Prophet for solution. The Prophet spoke back after making some calculations.
He said “There is only one solution my Lord. The marriage is sure to happen and every words said by the old crooked man will take effect. Your daughter will marry an old man. The men will regain their originality and every thing will be the same as before. After the marriage we have to pray God to give back life to your would be son-in-law. There is a temple in the outskirts of your kingdom where we shall conduct the ritual and everything will be fine.”
There was no other way for The King to choose.
It was very hard time for the King to think. He was bewildered how to say such a thing to his daughter. He sent his men to call me. When I went to his room he was very much confused. I asked him the whole matter. After listening to my father, I had no perplexity in my mind. I was soon ready for the purpose to happen. In the mean time the situation outside the palace was getting adverse and soon some action was to be taken.
The King again call upon his courtiers and the suitors who had come for the ceremony. Every person in the court had lost their identity. The king declared the truth in front of all. He asked the suitors to come forward on their own who will be ready to die for the princess. After sometime an old man came out of the crowd and said “ I truly loved your daughter when I first saw her. I will be happy if I die for her. I believe in God , he will surely do the best for all of us.”
The king appreciated the courage of the prince.
The next day all the arrangements were done and gradually the ceremony was over. Everything was conducted in the temple chosen by the prophet. After completion of the marriage the prophet continued with the rituals so that God will gift life to the prince. In the mean time the old man turned into a handsome gentleman.
After the ceremony was done all returned to the palace. The King was surprised and happy to see all the person in his kingdom had resumed their originality. They still had to wait for one more day to see the effect of the ritual on the prince. The next day arrived with the happiness to the empire. Nothing happened to the prince. Everyone lived happily thereafter.
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