Welcome to this episode of Drift Off Bedtime Stories.
I'm your host Joanne,
And I'm so glad you've joined me here at Drift Off.
Tonight we have a special retelling of a classic fairy tale,
The Light Princess.
This enchanting story,
Written by George MacDonald,
Explores themes of love,
Sacrifice,
And the power of true emotion.
Now,
Let's take a few moments to prepare ourselves for the journey ahead.
Find a comfortable position,
Whether you're nestled in bed,
Or cozied up in your favorite chair.
Gently close your eyes,
And begin to focus on your breath.
Inhale deeply through your nose,
Feeling the cool air fill your lungs,
And then exhale slowly out through your mouth,
Releasing any tension.
As you continue to breathe deeply and steadily,
Imagine or sense a warm golden light at the top of your head.
With each inhalation,
Visualize this light slowly moving down,
Spreading warmth and relaxation through your body.
Feel it gently flow down your forehead,
Easing any tightness in your brow.
Let it flow down to your neck and shoulders,
Melting away any stiffness or stress.
As this golden light flows down your arms,
Imagine it reaching the tips of your fingers,
Giving a sense of calm and heaviness.
Let this warmth continue to flow down your chest,
Softening your heart,
And easing any lingering worries,
And then feel it settle in your abdomen,
Bringing comfort to the space,
Releasing any knots or tension,
Any emotions that you are holding in this area,
And then down,
Down through your legs,
Allow this comforting light to relax your thighs,
Knees,
And calves.
And finally,
Feel the warmth reach all the way down into your feet,
All the way down to the tips of your toes,
Grounding you in a state of deep relaxation.
Take a moment to bask in this warm,
Calming light.
Let this comfort envelop you,
Creating a cocoon of peace and tranquility.
With each breath,
Sink deeper and deeper into this serene state,
Allowing all your thoughts and concerns to drift away like leaves on a gentle stream.
And so,
My friend,
Now that you're feeling a little more relaxed and at ease,
Go ahead and close those sleepy eyes if you haven't already,
And let's journey together now to a magical kingdom far,
Far away.
CHAPTER 1 WHAT,
NO CHILDREN?
Once upon a time,
So long ago that I have quite forgotten the date,
There lived a king and queen who had no children.
And the king said to himself,
All the queens of my acquaintance have children,
Some three,
Some seven,
And some as many as twelve,
And my queen has not one,
I feel ill-used.
So he made up his mind to be cross with his wife about it,
But she bore it all like a good patient queen as she was.
Then the king grew very cross indeed,
But the queen pretended to take it all as a joke and a very good one too.
Why don't you have any daughters at least,
Said he,
I don't say sons,
That might be too much to expect.
I am sure,
Dear king,
I am very sorry,
Said the queen.
So you ought to be,
Retorted the king,
You are not going to make a virtue of that,
Surely.
But he was not an ill-tempered king,
And in any matter of less moment would have let the queen have her own way with all his heart.
This however,
Was an affair of state.
The queen smiled.
You must have patience with a lady,
You know,
Dear king,
Said she.
She was indeed a very nice queen,
And heartily sorry that she could not oblige the king immediately.
Chapter 2 Won't I Just?
The king tried to be patient,
But he wasn't very good at it.
So it was more than he deserved when,
At last,
The queen gave birth to a daughter,
A beautiful little princess,
Who cried just like any other baby.
The day for the baby's christening was approaching,
And the king personally wrote all the invitations,
But of course,
Somebody was forgotten.
Now usually,
It doesn't matter much if someone is left out,
But it depends on who it is.
Unfortunately,
The king accidentally forgot to invite Princess Make-Em-Know-It,
Which was a big mistake.
She was the king's own sister,
And he really shouldn't have forgotten her.
However,
She had been so unpleasant to their father,
The old king,
That he had left her out of his will.
So it wasn't surprising that her brother forgot to invite her to the christening.
But poor relatives don't do much to keep themselves in your thoughts,
Do they?
After all,
The king couldn't see into the shabby attic where she lived.
Princess Make-Em-Know-It was a bitter,
Spiteful person.
The wrinkles of contempt on her face crossed over the wrinkles of peevishness,
Making her face as wrinkled as a pad of butter.
If ever a king could be excused for forgetting someone,
This king could be excused for forgetting his sister,
Even at a christening.
She looked very strange,
Too.
Her forehead was as large as the rest of her face,
And jutted out like a cliff.
When she got angry,
Her little eyes flashed blue.
When she hated someone,
They glowed yellow and green.
What they looked like when she loved someone,
I can't say,
Because I've never heard of her loving anyone except herself.
And even that might have been difficult,
If she hadn't somehow gotten used to herself.
But what made it particularly dangerous for the king to forget her,
Was that she was extremely clever.
In fact,
She was a witch,
And when she cursed someone,
They quickly regretted it.
She was more wicked than all the wicked fairies,
And smarter than all the clever ones.
She despised all the typical ways fairies and witches took their revenge,
As seen in history.
So,
After waiting and waiting for an invitation that never came,
She finally decided to go without one,
And make the whole family miserable,
Just as a true princess might.
She put on her best gown,
Went to the palace,
And was kindly received by the happy king,
Who had forgotten that he had forgotten her.
She took her place in the procession to the royal chapel.
When everyone gathered around the baptismal font,
She managed to get next to it,
And secretly dropped something into the water.
Then,
She behaved very respectfully until the water was applied to the baby's face.
At that moment,
She spun around three times,
And muttered these words loud enough for those nearby to hear.
Light of spirit,
By my charms,
Light of body,
Every part,
Never weary human arms,
Only crush thy parent's heart.
They all thought she had lost her mind and was reciting some silly nursery rhyme,
But they couldn't help feeling a chill run through them.
The baby,
On the other hand,
Started laughing and cooing while the nurse gasped and stifled a cry.
She thought she had suddenly gone numb because she couldn't feel the baby in her arms.
She held on tight and said nothing.
The damage was done.
Chapter 3 She Can't Be Ours The cruel aunt had taken away the child's gravity.
If you ask how she did this,
The answer is simple.
She destroyed the force of gravity itself.
The princess was a philosopher,
And understood the laws of gravity as well as she knew how to tie her shoelaces.
And since she was also a witch,
She could stop those laws from working whenever she wanted,
Or at least make them malfunction.
But what's more important is what happened next,
Rather than how it was done.
The first strange thing that happened because of this loss was when the nurse started to bounce the baby up and down,
And the baby flew right out of her arms toward the ceiling.
Fortunately,
The air slowed her down,
And she stopped about a foot from the ceiling.
There she stayed,
Lying flat,
Just as she was when the nurse let go,
Kicking and laughing with delight.
Terrified,
The nurse rang the bell and begged the footman to bring the house steps immediately.
Shaking all over,
She climbed to the top of the steps and had to reach up high to grab the floating baby's long clothes.
When everyone in the palace found out what happened,
It caused a huge uproar.
The king discovered it for himself when he experienced the same thing as the nurse.
Surprised that the child had no weight when he held her,
He accidentally waved her up instead of down,
And she floated up to the ceiling just as before.
She stayed there,
Perfectly comfortable and happy,
As shown by her bursts of tiny laughter.
The king stood there staring up in silent amazement,
Trembling so much that his beard shook like grass in the wind.
Finally,
He turned to the queen,
Who was just as shocked as he was,
And said,
Gasping and stammering,
She can't be ours,
Queen!
The queen,
Who was much smarter than the king,
Had already started to suspect that something had caused this strange effect.
I'm sure she's ours,
She replied,
But we should have been more careful at the christening.
People who weren't invited shouldn't have been there.
Oh,
Ho,
Said the king,
Tapping his forehead with his finger.
I figured it out.
Don't you see,
Queen?
Princess Make-Em-Know-It has bewitched her.
That's exactly what I think,
Answered the queen.
I'm sorry,
My dear,
I didn't hear you.
John,
Bring the steps I used to get on my throne.
The king was a small man with a large throne,
Like many other kings.
The throne steps were brought and set on the dining table,
And John climbed to the top,
But he still couldn't reach the little princess,
Who floated in the air like a laughing baby cloud.
Use the tongs,
John,
Said the king,
And standing on the table,
He handed them to him.
John could now reach the baby,
And with the tongs,
He carefully handed the little princess down.
Chapter 4 Where Is She?
One fine summer day,
About a month after her first strange adventures,
The princess was lying fast asleep on the bed in the queen's own chamber.
It was noon,
And the day was so hot,
That the little girl was wrapped in nothing but sleep itself.
The queen entered the room,
And not noticing that the baby was on the bed,
Opened another window.
A playful fairy wind,
Looking for some mischief,
Rushed in through one window and,
Passing over the bed where the child was lying,
Picked her up like a piece of fluff on a dandelion seed.
It carried her out the opposite window and away.
The queen went downstairs,
Completely unaware that she had caused her own daughter's disappearance.
When the nurse returned,
She assumed the queen had taken the baby and,
Fearing a scolding,
Delayed asking about her.
But when she heard nothing,
She grew worried,
And finally went to the queen's room where she found her majesty.
Shall I take the baby now,
Your majesty?
Asked the nurse.
Where is she?
Asked the queen.
Please forgive me.
I know it was wrong.
What do you mean?
Said the queen,
Looking serious.
Oh,
Please don't scare me,
Your majesty,
Cried the nurse,
Clasping her hands.
The queen realized something was wrong and fainted.
The nurse ran through the palace,
Screaming,
My baby!
My baby!
Everyone rushed to the queen's room,
But the queen was too shocked to give any orders.
They soon discovered the princess was missing,
And the palace buzzed with activity like a beehive.
A moment later,
The queen was brought back to her senses by a great shout and clapping of hands.
They had found the princess fast asleep under a rose bush.
The mischievous little wind had carried her there,
Finishing its prank by shaking a shower of red rose petals all over the little white sleeper.
Startled by the noise,
She woke up and,
Overjoyed,
Scattered the rose petals in all directions like a spray of water in the sunset.
After this,
They watched her more carefully,
But it would take too long to tell all the strange incidences that happened because of the young princess's strange condition.
However,
There was never a baby in a house,
Let alone a palace,
That kept the household in such constant good spirits,
At least below stairs.
If it wasn't easy for the nurses to hold her,
At least she didn't make their arms or their hearts ache,
And she was so much fun to play ball with.
There was absolutely no danger of dropping her.
They might throw her down,
Knock her down,
Or push her down,
But they couldn't drop her.
It's true,
They might accidentally throw her into the fire,
The coal hole,
Or out the window,
But none of these accidents had happened yet.
If you heard peals of laughter echoing from some unknown place,
You could be sure of the reason.
Going down to the kitchen or another room,
You'd find Jane,
Thomas,
Robert,
And Susan,
All of them,
Playing ball with the little princess.
She was the ball herself,
And she loved it as much as they did.
She flew from one person to another,
Screeching with laughter.
And the servants loved the little princess even more than the game,
But they had to be careful how they threw her,
Because if they threw her upward,
She wouldn't come down again without being fetched.
Chapter 5 What Is To Be Done But things were different upstairs.
One day after breakfast,
The king went into his counting house to count his money.
The task brought him no joy.
To think,
He said to himself,
That each of these gold sovereigns weighs a quarter of an ounce,
While my real,
Live,
Flesh-and-blood princess weighs nothing at all.
He began to hate his gold sovereigns,
Lying there with their smug,
Self-satisfied yellow faces.
Meanwhile,
The queen was in the parlor,
Eating bread and honey.
But after just two bites,
She burst into tears and couldn't eat another mouthful.
The king heard her crying.
Eager to quarrel with someone,
Especially his queen,
He clattered his gold sovereigns into his money box,
Put his crown on his head,
And stormed into the parlor.
What is all this about,
He demanded.
Why are you crying,
Queen?
I can't eat,
Said the queen,
Looking miserably at the honeypot.
No wonder,
Snapped the king.
You've just eaten breakfast.
Two turkey eggs and three anchovies.
Oh,
That's not it,
Sobbed the queen.
It's my child.
My child.
Well,
What's wrong with your child?
She's neither up the chimney nor down the well.
Just listen to her laughing.
But the king couldn't help letting out a sigh when he quickly turned into a cough,
Saying,
It's good to be light-hearted,
I'm sure,
Whether she's ours or not.
It's bad to be light-headed,
Replied the queen,
With a prophetic look into the future.
It's good to be light-handed,
Said the king.
It's bad to be light-fingered,
Countered the queen.
It's good to be light-footed,
Added the king.
It's bad to be,
Began the queen,
But the king interrupted her.
In fact,
He said,
With the tone of someone who feels they've won an argument,
It's a good thing overall to be light-bodied.
But it's a bad thing to be light-minded,
Retorted the queen,
Starting to lose her temper.
The last comment threw the king off balance,
So he turned on his heel and headed back to his counting-house.
But he hadn't gone far when the queen's voice reached him.
And it's a bad thing to be light-haired,
She yelled,
Determined to have the last word now that she was riled up.
The queen's hair was black as night,
While the king's had been,
And their daughter's was,
Golden as the morning.
But it wasn't the comment about his hair that stopped him,
It was the wordplay on light.
The king hated witticisms,
Especially puns.
Besides,
He wasn't sure if the queen meant light-haired or light-aired,
Since she might have been adding extra H's out of frustration.
He turned back and rejoined her.
She still looked angry,
Knowing she was guilty,
Or,
At least,
That he thought she was.
"'My dear queen,
' he said,
"'any kind of trickery is unacceptable between married people,
Especially kings and queens.
And the worst kind of trickery is punning.
'" "'There,
' said the queen,
"'I never make a joke without ruining it in the process.
I am the most unfortunate woman in the world.
'" She looked so unhappy that the king took her in her arms,
And they sat down to discuss the situation.
"'Can you bear this?
' asked the king.
"'No,
I can't,
' replied the queen.
"'Well,
What should we do?
' asked the king.
"'I'm not sure,
' said the queen,
"'but maybe you could try apologizing?
' "'To my old sister,
I suppose you mean?
' asked the king.
"'Yes,
' said the queen.
"'Well,
I don't mind,
' said the king.
" So the next morning,
He went to his sister's house and made a very humble apology,
Asking her to undo the spell.
But the princess,
With a serious expression,
Claimed she knew nothing about it.
However,
Her eyes glowed pink,
A sign that she was pleased.
She advised the king and queen to have patience and to improve their behavior.
The king returned home feeling disheartened,
And the queen tried to comfort him.
"'We'll wait until she's older.
She might be able to suggest something herself by then.
At the very least,
She'll know how she feels and can explain it to us.
' "'But what if she gets married?
' exclaimed the king,
Suddenly worried about the idea.
"'Well,
What of it?
' replied the queen.
"'Just think,
If she had children,
The air might be full of floating children in a hundred years,
Like gossamers in autumn.
' "'That's not our problem,
' said the queen.
"'Besides,
By then,
They'll have learned to take care of themselves.
'" The king could only sigh in response.
He thought about consulting the court physicians,
But he was afraid they would experiment on her.
CHAPTER 6 SHE LAUGHS TOO MUCH Despite all the awkward situations and the grief she caused her parents,
The little princess laughed and grew,
Not fat,
But plump and tall.
By the time she reached the age of seventeen,
She hadn't gotten into any serious trouble except for once getting stuck in a chimney.
A little boy who was searching for bird nests rescued her,
Earning fame and a sooty face.
Despite her thoughtlessness,
She never did any worse than laugh at everyone and everything around her.
When she was told,
As an experiment,
That General Clanrunfort had been cut to pieces along with all his troops,
She laughed.
When she heard that the enemy was on its way to besiege her father's capital,
She laughed even harder.
And when she was told that the city would definitely be surrendered to the enemy soldiers,
She laughed uncontrollably.
She simply couldn't take anything seriously.
When her mother cried,
She would say,
"'What funny faces Mama makes!
' And she squeezes water out of her cheeks.
Silly Mama!
' Then when her father scolded her,
She laughed,
Danced around him,
Clapping her hands and said,
"'Do it again,
Papa!
Do it again!
It's such fun,
Dear funny Papa!
' If he tried to catch her,
She would slip away in an instant,
Not at all afraid,
But thinking it was part of the game not to be caught.
With one push of her foot,
She would float in the air above his head,
Or she would dance around him like a giant butterfly.
Several times when her parents were having a serious conversation about her in private,
They were interrupted by bursts of laughter from above.
When they looked up in annoyance,
They would see her floating in the air,
Watching them with the most comical expression.
One day,
An awkward accident occurred.
The princess was on the lawn with one of her attendants,
Who was holding her hand.
Seeing her father on the other side of the lawn,
She pulled her hand away and ran towards him.
Whenever she ran by herself,
She would usually pick up a stone in each hand to help her come back down after a jump.
Whatever she wore didn't help with this,
Even gold,
When part of her attire lost its weight temporarily,
But anything she held in her hands retained its normal weight.
This time,
She couldn't find any stones,
So she picked up a huge toad that was slowly crossing the lawn.
Not knowing what disgust was,
She grabbed the toad and bound it away.
She nearly reached her father,
Who was holding out his arms to catch her and receive the kiss that was hovering on her lips like a butterfly on a rosebud,
When a puff of wind blew her off course and into the arms of a young page who had just delivered a message to the king.
Now,
It was unusual for the princess to have difficulty stopping herself once she started,
And this time,
There was no time to stop.
She had to kiss.
She had to kiss the page.
She didn't mind much because he wasn't shy,
And she knew she couldn't help it,
So she just laughed like a musical box.
The poor page wasn't so lucky.
The princess,
Trying to correct the kiss,
Put out her hands to push away from the page.
As a result,
Along with the kiss,
The page received a slap on the other cheek from the huge black toad which she accidentally poked into his eye.
He tried to laugh too,
But his face twisted into such an odd expression that it was clear he wouldn't be boasting about the kiss.
As for the king,
His dignity was wounded,
And he didn't speak to the page for a whole month.
It's worth mentioning that it was amusing to watch the princess run,
If you could call it running.
First she would make a big jump,
Then,
After landing,
She would run a few steps and make another jump.
Sometimes she would think she had reached the ground before she actually had,
And her feet would move back and forth in the air,
Running on nothing at all,
Like a chicken on its back.
Then she would laugh like the spirit of fun itself.
But there was something missing in her laugh.
I can't quite describe what it was,
But it seemed to be a certain tone that comes from the possibility of sorrow,
Maybe a certain softness.
She never smiled.
Chapter 7 Tri-Metaphysics After avoiding the difficult subject for a long time,
The king and queen finally decided to hold a council of three to discuss it,
So they called for the princess.
She came into the room,
Sliding and gliding from one piece of furniture to another,
And finally settled into an armchair,
Though she didn't actually seem to be sitting,
Since she wasn't touching the seat.
My dear child,
Said the king,
You must be aware by now that you're not exactly like other people.
Oh,
You funny papa,
I have a nose,
Two eyes,
And everything else.
So do you,
And so does mama.
Now be serious,
My dear,
For once,
Said the queen.
No thank you,
Mama,
I'd rather not.
Wouldn't you like to be able to walk like other people?
Asked the king.
No,
I wouldn't.
You all just crawl along,
You're so slow.
How do you feel,
My child,
He asked after a moment of discomfort.
Quite well,
Thank you.
I mean,
What do you feel like?
Like nothing at all,
As far as I know.
You must feel something.
I feel like a princess,
With a funny papa and a sweet queen mama.
Now really,
Began the queen,
But the princess interrupted her,
Oh yes,
I do remember.
Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person with any sense in the whole world.
She tried to stay dignified,
But suddenly burst into laughter,
Threw herself backward over the chair,
And rolled around on the floor in a fit of joy.
The king picked her up as easily as a feather,
And placed her back in the chair,
Though she didn't exactly sit in it.
Is there nothing you wish for,
Asked the king,
Who had realized by now that getting angry with her was pointless.
Oh,
You dear papa,
Yes,
She replied.
What is it,
My darling?
I've been longing for it,
Oh,
For such a long time,
Ever since last night.
Tell me what it is.
Will you promise to let me have it?
The king was about to say yes,
But the wiser queen stopped him with a look.
Tell me what it is first,
He said.
No,
Promise first.
I dare not,
What is it?
Whatever you promised.
It's to be tied to the end of a string,
A very long string,
And be flown like a kite.
Oh,
Such fun!
I would rain rose water,
Hail sugar plums,
And snow-whipped cream,
And,
And.
.
.
A fit of laughter cut her off,
And she would have rolled off the chair again if the king hadn't caught her just in time.
Thinking he would get nothing but talk from her,
He rang the bell and sent her away with two of her ladies-in-waiting.
Now,
Queen,
He said,
Turning to her majesty,
What is to be done?
There's only one thing left,
She replied.
Let's consult the College of Metaphysicians.
Bravo,
Cried the king,
We will.
At the head of this college were two very wise Chinese philosophers named Hamdram and Kopikek.
The king sent for them,
And they came at once.
In a long speech,
He told them what they already knew,
Along with everyone else,
About the strange condition of his daughter,
And asked them to figure out the cause and possible cure of her problem.
The king emphasized the word infirmity,
But didn't realize he was making a pun.
The queen laughed,
But Hamdram and Kopikek listened humbly and then left in silence.
Their consultation mainly involved repeating and defending their favorite theories for the thousandth time.
The princess's condition gave them plenty of material to discuss every aspect of metaphysics in the Chinese empire,
But to be fair,
They didn't entirely ignore the practical question of what to do.
Hamdram was a materialist,
And Kopikek was a spiritualist.
Hamdram was slow and deliberate,
Kopikek was quick and flighty.
Kopikek usually had the first word,
And Hamdram had the last.
I reassert my previous claim,
Began Kopikek diving in.
There's nothing wrong with the princess,
Either physically or spiritually.
It's just that her body and soul are mismatched.
Listen Hamdram,
And I'll tell you what I think.
Don't speak,
Don't answer me.
I won't listen until I'm done.
At that critical moment,
When souls find their proper bodies,
Two eager souls collided,
Bounced off each other,
Got lost,
And ended up in the wrong places.
The princess's soul was one of those,
And it wandered far from where it belonged.
She doesn't belong in this world at all.
Probably she's meant to be on another planet,
Like Mercury.
Her natural inclination to her true home disrupts the natural connection she should have with this world.
She cares for nothing here.
There's no relationship between her and this world.
So she must be forced,
By the strictest means,
To take an interest in the earth as it is.
She must study every aspect of its history,
Animal history,
Plant history,
Mineral history,
Social history,
Moral history,
Political history,
Scientific history,
Literary history,
Musical history,
Artistic history,
And above all,
Metaphysical history.
She must start with the Chinese dynasty and end with Japan.
But first,
She must study geology,
Especially the history of extinct animals,
Their nature,
Habits,
Love,
Hates,
And revenges.
She must.
.
.
Hold,
Roared Hamdram.
It's certainly my turn now.
My firm belief is that the causes of the princess's condition are purely physical,
But that's just admitting that they exist.
Listen to my opinion.
For some unknown reason,
The motion of her heart has been reversed.
The suction and force pump in her heart work the wrong way.
Her heart pulls in when it should push out,
And pushes out when it should pull in.
The roles of the auricles and ventricles are reversed.
Her blood flows out through the veins and returns through the arteries,
So it's not surprising that her relationship to gravity is also reversed.
My suggestion for a cure is this.
Phlebotomize her until she's at the brink of safety.
Do it in a warm bath if necessary.
When she's close to asphyxiation,
Apply a tight band around her left ankle,
And another around her right wrist.
Then,
Using special plates,
Place her other foot and hand under the receivers of two air pumps.
Create a vacuum in the receivers,
Give her a pint of French brandy,
And wait for the result.
Which would likely be death,
Said Kovikek.
Even so,
She would die in the process of us doing our duty,
Retorted Humdrum.
But their majesties were too tender-hearted to subject their lively daughter to either of these drastic plans.
In fact,
Even the most thorough knowledge of natural laws would have been useless in her case,
Because she was impossible to categorize.
She was like a fifth imponderable element,
Sharing all the other properties of the ponderable ones.
Chapter 8 Try a Drop of Water Perhaps the best thing for the princess would have been to fall in love.
But how could a princess,
Who had no gravity,
Fall into anything at all?
That was the real problem.
As for the princess herself,
She didn't know that love existed,
With all its sweetness and pain.
But there was another curious fact about her.
The palace was built on the shores of the most beautiful lake in the world,
And the princess loved this lake more than she loved her father or mother.
The reason,
Although the princess didn't realize it,
Was that the moment she entered the water,
She regained the natural gravity that had been so cruelly taken from her.
Whether this was because water had been used to inflict the injury,
I don't know,
But it was certain that she could swim and dive like the duck her old nurse always said she was.
The way this relief from her misfortune was discovered happened like this.
One summer evening during a carnival,
The king and queen took the princess out on the lake in the royal barge.
Many courtiers accompanied them in a fleet of small boats.
In the middle of the lake,
The princess wanted to get into the Lord Chancellor's barge because his daughter,
One of her favorite companions,
Was in it with her father.
Now the old king rarely made light of his daughter's condition,
But he happened to be in a particularly good mood that evening.
As the barges drew close to each other,
He picked up the princess to toss her into the Chancellor's barge.
However,
He lost his balance,
Fell into the bottom of the boat,
And let go of his daughter,
Though not before imparting a bit of his own downward motion to her.
While the king fell into the boat,
The princess fell into the water.
With a burst of delighted laughter,
She disappeared beneath the surface.
A cry of horror went up from the other boats.
They had never seen the princess go down before.
Half the men dove into the water to save her,
But they all came up gasping for air,
Just as a tinkling,
Gurgling laugh echoed across the lake.
There she was,
Swimming like a swan.
No matter how much the king,
Queen,
Chancellor,
Or his daughter called to her,
She refused to come out.
She was perfectly stubborn,
But at the same time,
She seemed calmer than usual.
Perhaps that was because a great pleasure can spoil laughter.
From then on,
Her greatest passion was getting into the water,
And the more she had of it,
The better behaved and more beautiful she became.
Whether it was summer or winter didn't matter.
The only difference was that in winter,
She couldn't stay in the water as long when they had to break the ice to let her in.
On any summer day,
From morning until evening,
She could be seen,
A streak of white in the blue water,
Lying as still as the shadow of a cloud,
Or darting around like a dolphin,
Wandering and reappearing far away where no one expected.
She would have been in the lake at night too,
If she could have had her way.
Her balcony overlooked a deep pool,
And through a shallow,
Reedy passage,
She could have swum out into the open water without anyone knowing.
In fact,
When she woke up in the moonlight,
It was hard for her to resist the temptation.
But there was the sad problem of getting into the water.
She had as much fear of the air as some children have of the water.
The slightest gust of wind could blow her away,
And a gust might come at any moment.
If she pushed herself toward the water and just missed it,
She would be left in a very awkward situation,
Hanging in her nightgown,
Until someone spotted her from the window and fished her out.
Oh,
If only I had my gravity,
She thought as she looked at the water.
I would dive off this balcony like a long,
White seabird,
Head first into that lovely wetness.
This was the only thing that made her wish she were like other people.
Another reason she loved the water was that it was the only place where she felt free.
She couldn't walk outside without an escort,
Including a troop of light horsemen,
For the fear the wind might take her away.
As the king grew older,
He became more worried about her,
Until he wouldn't let her go out at all without twenty silk cords attached to different parts of her dress,
Each held by a nobleman.
Horseback riding was out of the question,
But all these formalities disappeared when she was in the water.
The effects of the water were so remarkable,
Especially in restoring her gravity,
That Hundram and Kolpikek both recommended the king bury her alive for three years,
Hoping that if water helped her so much,
The earth might do even more.
But the king had some old-fashioned reservations about the idea and refused to agree.
Defeated in this,
The philosophers did agree on another recommendation remarkable,
Considering one imported his ideas from China and the other from Tibet.
They argued that if external water could be so effective,
Perhaps water from a deeper source could cure her completely.
In short,
If the poor princess could somehow be made to cry,
She might regain her lost gravity.
But how to make her cry?
That was the challenge,
One that even the philosophers couldn't solve.
Making the princess cry was as impossible as making her weigh anything.
They sent for a professional beggar and ordered him to prepare his most heartbreaking tale of woe.
They even let him use the court's costume box for whatever he needed and promised him great rewards if he succeeded.
But it was all in vain.
The princess listened to the beggar's sad story and stared at his marvelous costume until she couldn't hold back any longer and burst into fits of laughter,
Shrieking uncontrollably.
When she finally calmed down,
She ordered her attendants to drive the beggar away without giving him a single coin.
His look of mortified disappointment sent her into another bout of violent hysterics from which she was barely recovered.
The king was so eager to give the suggestion a fair try that one day he worked himself into a rage and rushed into her room to give her a severe spanking,
But not a single tear fell.
She looked serious and her laughter sounded almost like screaming.
That was all.
Even when the king put on his best good spectacles to look,
He couldn't find the slightest sign of a cloud in the clear blue of her eyes.
Chapter 9 Put Me In Again Around this time,
A prince from a kingdom a thousand miles away set out to find the daughter of a queen.
He traveled far and wide,
But every princess he found had some flaw.
Of course,
He couldn't marry just any woman,
No matter how beautiful.
He was looking for perfection.
Whether the prince was close to perfection himself and therefore justified in demanding it,
I can't say.
All I know is that he was handsome,
Brave,
Generous,
Well-bred,
And well-behaved,
Just as all princesses are.
During his travels,
He heard some rumors about our princess,
But since everyone said she was bewitched,
He never imagined she could bewitch him.
After all,
What could a prince do with a princess who had lost her gravity?
Who knew what else she might lose next?
She might lose her visibility,
Or tangibility,
Or even the ability to make an impression on him at all.
So he didn't pursue the matter any further.
One day,
While wandering in a great forest,
The prince lost sight of his retinue.
These forests are useful for freeing princesses from their courtiers,
Allowing them to follow their fortunes.
This is an advantage princes have over princesses,
Who are often forced to marry before they've had any fun.
I wish our princesses could get lost in a forest sometimes.
One lovely evening,
After many days of wandering,
The prince found himself nearing the edge of the forest.
The trees had thinned out enough for him to see the sunset,
And soon,
He came upon a heath.
He saw signs of human habitation,
But it was getting late,
And there was no one around to ask for directions.
After traveling for another hour,
His horse,
Exhausted from the long journey and lack of food,
Collapsed and couldn't get up,
So the prince continued on foot.
Eventually,
He entered another wood,
Not a wild forest,
But a more civilized one,
With a footpath that led him to the edge of a lake.
As he walked along the path in the gathering darkness,
He suddenly stopped and listened.
Strange sounds were coming from across the water.
It was,
In fact,
The princess laughing,
But there was something odd about her laugh,
As I've mentioned before.
A genuine hearty laugh requires a certain weightiness,
And perhaps this is why the prince mistook her laughter for screaming.
Looking out over the lake,
He saw something white in the water.
In an instant,
He tore off his tunic,
Kicked off his sandals,
And dove in.
He quickly reached the white object and discovered that it was a woman.
There wasn't enough light to tell that she was a princess,
But it was clear she was a lady,
Which doesn't take much light to see.
I can't say exactly what happened,
Whether she pretended to be drowning,
Or he startled her,
Or grabbed her awkwardly,
But he brought her to the shore in a rather clumsy way,
And she ended up more nearly drowned than never she expected to be,
With water getting into her throat every time she tried to speak.
At the spot where he brought her ashore,
The bank was only a foot or two above the water,
So he gave her a strong lift to set her on the bank.
But as soon as she left the water,
Her gravity vanished,
And she shot up into the air,
Scolding and screaming.
You naughty,
Naughty,
Naughty man,
She cried.
No one had ever succeeded in making her angry before.
When the prince saw her ascend,
He thought he must have been bewitched and mistaken a large swan for a lady,
But the princess managed to grab the top cone of a tall fir tree.
The cone broke off,
But she grabbed another and eventually stopped herself by holding onto the cones and dropping them as their stems gave way.
Meanwhile,
The prince stood in the water,
Staring and forgetting to get out.
But when the princess disappeared,
He scrambled ashore and went toward the tree.
There he found her climbing down on one of the branches toward the trunk,
But in the darkness of the wood,
The prince was still confused about what had happened.
When she reached the ground and saw him standing there,
She grabbed hold of him and said,
I'll tell Papa.
Oh,
No,
You won't,
Replied the prince.
Yes,
I will,
She insisted.
What right do you have to pull me out of the water and throw me into the air?
I never did you any harm.
Pardon me,
I didn't mean to hurt you.
I don't believe you have any brains,
And that's worse than losing your gravity.
I pity you.
The prince now realized he had found the bewitched princess and had already offended her,
But before he could think of what to say next,
She angrily stomped her foot,
Which would have sent her flying again if she hadn't been holding onto his arm.
Put me back immediately.
Put you back where,
You beauty?
Asked the prince.
He was already falling in love with her,
For her anger made her more charming than anyone he had ever seen.
As far as he could tell,
Which wasn't very far,
She had no faults except,
Of course,
That she had no gravity,
But no prince would judge a princess by her weight.
The beauty of her foot wouldn't be measured by how deep an impression it made in the mud.
Put you back where,
You beauty?
He asked again.
In the water,
You stupid,
She snapped.
Come on then,
Said the prince.
Because her dress made it even harder for her to walk,
She had to cling to him,
And he could hardly believe he wasn't dreaming,
Even though she was bombarding him with a torrent of musical insults.
The prince,
In no hurry,
Took her to a different part of the lake,
Where the bank was at least twenty feet high.
When they reached the edge,
He turned to the princess and said,
How am I supposed to put you in?
That's your problem,
She answered sharply.
You took me out,
Put me back in.
Very well,
Said the prince.
He scooped her up in his arms and jumped off the rock.
The princess had just enough time to let out a delighted shriek of laughter before the water closed over them.
When they surfaced,
She found that she couldn't even laugh for a moment or two,
Because she had gone down so fast that she had trouble catching her breath.
As soon as they reached the surface,
The prince asked,
How do you like falling in?
After a moment,
The princess managed to gasp,
Is that what you call falling in?
Yes,
Answered the prince,
I'd say it was a pretty good example.
It felt more like going up,
She replied.
I felt a bit elevated myself,
The prince admitted.
The princess didn't seem to understand him,
So she turned his question back on him.
How do you like falling in?
She asked.
It's the best thing I've ever done,
He answered,
Because I've fallen in with the most perfect creature I've ever seen.
No more of that,
I'm tired of it,
Said the princess.
Perhaps she shared her father's dislike of puns.
Don't you like falling in?
Asked the prince.
It's the most fun I've ever had,
She answered,
I've never fallen before.
I wish I could learn how.
To think that I'm the only person in my father's kingdom who can't fall.
Here the poor princess looked almost sad.
I'd be happy to fall in with you any time,
Said the prince devotedly.
Thank you,
I'm not sure,
Maybe it wouldn't be proper,
But I don't care.
Anyway,
Since we've fallen in,
Let's have a swim together.
With all my heart,
Responded the prince.
And off they went,
Swimming,
Diving,
And floating,
Until they heard cries along the shore and saw lights moving in all directions.
It was quite late by now,
And there was no moon.
I have to go home,
Said the princess.
I'm very sorry,
Because this is wonderful.
So am I,
Replied the prince,
But I'm glad I don't have a home to go to,
At least.
I'm not sure where it is.
I wish I didn't have one either,
Said the princess.
It's so boring,
I'm tempted to play a trick on them.
Why couldn't they leave me alone?
They won't even let me stay in the lake for one night.
Do you see that green light burning over there?
That's the window of my room.
Now if you would swim me over there quietly,
And then,
When we're just under the balcony,
Give me a push up,
As you call it,
Like you did earlier.
I could grab the balcony and climb in through the window.
Then they could look for me until morning.
With more obedience than pleasure,
Said the prince gallantly,
And they swam over very gently.
Will you be in the lake tomorrow night?
The prince asked.
Of course I will,
Or maybe I won't,
Perhaps,
Was the princess's somewhat puzzling reply.
The prince was wise enough not to press her further,
And simply whispered as he gave her the parting lift,
Don't tell.
The princess's only response was a mischievous look.
She was already a yard above his head.
The look seemed to say,
Don't worry,
It's too much fun to spoil that way.
She had been so much like other people in the water,
That the prince could hardly believe his eyes when he saw her slowly ascend,
Grab the balcony,
And disappear through the window.
He turned,
Almost expecting to see her still by his side,
But he was alone in the water,
So he swam away quietly,
And watched the lights moving along the shore for hours after the princess was safe in her room.
Once the lights were gone,
He got out of the water and searched for his tunic and sword.
After some difficulty,
He found them.
Then he made his way around the lake to the other side.
The wood was wilder there,
And the shore was steeper,
Rising toward the mountains that surrounded the lake on all sides,
And sent down silvery streams from morning to night and all through the night.
He soon found a spot where he could see the green light in the princess' room,
And where,
Even in broad daylight,
He would be safe from being seen from the opposite shore.
It was a kind of cave in the rock,
Where he made himself a bed of dried leaves and lay down,
Too tired to stay awake,
Even though he was hungry.
All night long,
He dreamed that he was swimming with the princess.
CHAPTER 10 LOOK AT THE MOON Early the next morning,
The prince went out to find something to eat,
And soon discovered a forester's hut where he was supplied with everything he needed for many days.
Satisfied with what he had,
He didn't worry about future needs.
Whenever care tried to intrude,
The prince always politely dismissed it in the most princely manner.
When he returned to his watch cave after breakfast,
He saw the princess already floating in the lake,
Accompanied by the king and queen,
Easily recognized by their crowns,
And a large group of people in beautiful little boats.
The boats had canopies of every color of the rainbow,
Along with flags and streamers in even more colors.
It was a bright day,
And soon the prince,
Feeling the heat,
Longed to join the cool water and the cool princess.
But he had to wait until twilight,
Because the boats were stocked with provisions,
And it wasn't until sunset that the festive party began to disperse.
Boat after boat made its way to the shore,
Following the king and queen's boat,
Until only one remained,
Which seemed to be the princess's own boat.
But the prince thought he saw her order the boat to leave without her.
Whether or not that was the case,
The boat rowed away,
Leaving only one white speck on the lake.
The prince began to sing.
Before he finished his song,
The princess had found her way to the spot where he was sitting,
Looking up to find him.
Her ears had led her accurately.
Would you like a fall,
Princess?
Asked the prince,
Looking down.
Ah,
There you are.
Yes,
If you please,
Prince,
Replied the princess,
Looking up.
How do you know I'm a prince,
Princess?
He asked.
Because you're a very nice young man,
Prince,
She answered.
Come up then,
Princess.
Fetch me,
Prince.
The prince took off his scarf,
Then his sword belt,
Then his tunic and tied them all together,
Letting them down,
But the line was too short.
He unwound his turban and added it to the rest,
Making it almost long enough,
And finally added his purse to complete it.
The princess just managed to grab hold of the nod of money and was beside him in a moment.
This rock was much higher than the one before,
So the splash and the dive were tremendous.
The princess was ecstatic with delight,
And their swim was wonderful.
Night after night they met and swam in the dark,
Clear lake.
The prince was so happy that he often felt as if he were swimming in the sky instead of the lake,
But when he talked about being in heaven,
The princess laughed at him terribly.
When the moon appeared,
It brought them new pleasures.
Everything looked strange and new in the moonlight,
With a kind of old,
Withered,
Yet unfading freshness.
When the moon was nearly full,
One of their favorite pastimes was to dive deep into the water and then,
Turning around,
Look up through it at the shimmering,
Wavering light of the moon.
It seemed to melt away and then grow solid again.
Then they would shoot up through the light,
And there was the moon,
Far off,
Clear and steady at the bottom of a deeper,
Bluer lake than theirs,
As the princess said.
The prince soon realized that while in the water,
The princess was much more like other people.
She was less forward with her questions,
And less sharp with her replies than she was on land.
She didn't laugh as much,
And when she did,
It was gentler.
She seemed more modest and maidenly in the water than out of it.
But when the prince,
Who had truly fallen in love when he fell into the lake,
Tried to talk to her about love,
She always turned her head away and laughed.
After a while,
She seemed puzzled,
As if she were trying to understand what he meant,
But couldn't quite grasp it,
Though she did get the sense that he was trying to say something important.
However,
As soon as she left the lake,
She was so different that the prince thought to If I marry her,
I see no other option.
We'll have to become a merman and mermaid and live in the sea.
Chapter 11 Hiss The princess's love for the lake had grown into an obsession,
And she could hardly stand being out of it for even an hour.
Imagine her shock then,
When one night,
While diving with the prince,
She suddenly suspected that the lake wasn't as deep as it used to be.
The prince couldn't figure out what was wrong.
She shot to the surface and,
Without a word,
Swam quickly toward the higher side of the lake.
He followed,
Asking if she was ill or what the matter was,
But she didn't turn her head or acknowledge his questions.
When she reached the shore,
She closely examined the rocks along the edge,
But she couldn't be sure of anything because the moon was small and didn't provide enough light.
So she turned and swam home without explaining her strange behavior to the prince,
As if she were no longer aware of his presence.
The prince returned to his cave,
Deeply puzzled and distressed.
The next day,
The princess made many observations which,
Sadly,
Confirmed her fears.
She noticed that the banks were too dry and that the grass on the shore and the trailing plants on the rocks were withering.
She had marks made along the edges of the lake and checked them daily,
In all kinds of weather,
Until the terrible truth became undeniable.
The surface of the lake was slowly sinking.
The poor princess nearly lost her already fragile mind.
It was horrifying for her to watch the lake,
Which she loved more than anything else,
Slowly die before her eyes.
It kept sinking,
Gradually disappearing.
Rocks that had never been visible before began to emerge in the clear water,
And soon they were dry under the sun.
The thought of the mud that would soon be left behind,
Baking and festering,
Filled with dying creatures and ugly ones coming to life,
Was like witnessing the unmaking of a world.
And how unbearably hot the sun would be without the lake.
She couldn't bear to swim in it anymore and began to waste away.
Her life seemed to be tied to the lake,
And as the lake diminished,
So did she.
People said she wouldn't live an hour after the lake was gone,
But still,
She never cried.
A proclamation was made throughout the kingdom that whoever discovered the cause of the lake's decrease would be rewarded in a princely fashion.
Hamdram and Kopicak threw themselves into their studies of physics and metaphysics,
But even they couldn't figure out the cause.
The truth was that the old princess,
Her wicked aunt,
Was behind the mischief.
When she learned that her niece enjoyed the water more than anything else,
She flew into a rage and cursed herself for not foreseeing this.
But,
She said,
I'll fix everything.
The king and his people will die of thirst.
Their brains will boil and fry in their skulls before I give up my revenge.
She laughed a ferocious laugh that made the hairs on her black cat's back stand on end with terror.
Then she went to an old chest,
Opened it,
And took out what looked like a piece of dried seaweed.
She threw it into a tub of water,
Added some powder,
And stirred it with her bare arm while muttering hideous words.
Then she set the tub aside and took out a huge bunch of a hundred rusty keys which clattered in her shaking hands.
She sat down and oiled all the keys.
Before she finished,
The water in the tub,
Which had been slowly swirling since she stopped stirring it,
Began to rise,
And the head and upper body of a huge grey snake emerged.
But the witch didn't turn around.
The snake grew out of the tub,
Swaying back and forth with a slow horizontal motion until it reached the princess,
Where it laid its head on her shoulder and hissed softly in her ear.
She started,
But with joy,
And seeing the head resting on her shoulder,
She pulled it closer and kissed it.
Then she pulled the entire snake out of the tub and wound it around her body.
It was one of those dreadful creatures that few have ever seen,
The White Snakes of Darkness.
She took the keys and went down to her cellar.
As she unlocked the door,
She muttered to herself,
This is worth living for.
Unlocking the door behind her,
She descended a few steps into the cellar and crossed it to unlock another door leading to a dark,
Narrow passage.
She locked this door behind her as well,
And descended a few more steps.
If anyone had followed the witch princess,
They would have heard her unlock exactly one hundred doors,
Each followed by a few steps down.
When she unlocked the final door,
She entered a vast cave,
With a roof supported by huge natural pillars of rock.
The roof of the cave was the underside of the lake's bottom.
She unwound the snake from her body and held it by the tail high above her head.
The hideous creature stretched his head toward the roof of the cave,
Just reaching it.
It began to move its head back and forth as if searching for something.
At the same time,
The witch started walking in circles around the cave,
Moving closer to the center with each circuit.
The snake mirrored her movements on the roof.
Round and round they went,
The circles growing smaller,
Until suddenly the snake darted forward and latched onto the roof with its mouth.
That's right my beauty,
Cried the princess,
Drain it dry.
She let go of the snake,
Leaving it hanging there,
And sat down on a large stone with her black cat,
Which had followed her all around the cave by her side.
Then she began to knit and mutter more awful words.
The snake hung like a huge leech,
Sucking at the stone.
The cat stood with its back arched and tail like a piece of rope,
Staring up at the snake.
The old woman sat knitting and muttering.
For seven days and seven nights they remained like this,
Until suddenly the snake dropped from the roof as if exhausted,
And shriveled up until it looked like a piece of dried seaweed again.
The witch jumped to her feet,
Picked up the snake,
Put it in her pocket,
And looked up at the roof.
One drop of water was trembling on the spot where the snake had been sucking.
As soon as she saw it,
She turned and fled,
Followed by her cat.
She hurriedly shut and locked the door,
Muttering frightful words.
She did the same with all the hundred doors until she finally reached her own cellar.
Then she collapsed on the floor,
Ready to faint,
But listening with malicious delight to the sound of rushing water which she could hear even through all the hundred doors.
But this wasn't enough for her.
Now that she had tasted revenge,
She lost her patience.
Without further action,
The lake would take too long to disappear.
So the next night,
With the last shred of old dying moon rising,
She took some of the water in which she had revived the snake,
Put it in a bottle,
And set out with her cat.
Before morning,
She had made the entire circuit of the lake,
Muttering fearful words as she crossed each stream and pouring some of the water from her bottle into them.
When she had finished the circuit,
She muttered again and flung a handful of water toward the moon.
Immediately,
Every spring in the country stopped flowing,
Dying away like a pulse of a dying man.
The next day,
There was no sound of falling water along the borders of the lake,
The streams were dry,
And the mountains showed no silvery streaks down their dark sides.
And not only had the fountains of the earth stopped flowing,
All the babies in the country were crying terribly,
Without any tears.
Chapter 12 WHERE IS THE PRINCE?
Since the night when the princess abruptly left him,
The prince hadn't had a single conversation with her.
He had seen her once or twice in the lake,
But as far as he could tell,
She hadn't been in it at night anymore.
He sat and sang,
Waiting in vain for his Nereid,
While she,
Like a true Nereid,
Was wasting away along with the lake,
Sinking as it sank,
Withering as it dried up.
When he finally noticed the change in the water level,
He became very worried and confused.
He couldn't tell if the lake was dying because the princess had abandoned it,
Or if the princess was staying away because the lake had started to shrink,
But he was determined to find out.
He disguised himself and went to the palace,
Requesting to see the Lord Chamberlain.
His appearance quickly granted him the audience,
And the Lord Chamberlain,
Being a perceptive man,
Sensed that there was more to the prince's request than met the eye.
He also knew that a solution to the current problem could come from anywhere,
So he granted the prince's request to be made the princess's shoe-block.
It was a clever move on the princess's part,
As the princess could possibly soil as many shoes as other princesses.
The prince soon learned everything that he could be told about the princess.
He was nearly driven mad with worry,
But after spending days roaming around the lake and diving into every remaining depth,
All he could do was put an extra polish on the dainty pair of boots that were never called for.
The princess stayed in her room,
With the curtains drawn to shut out the sight of the dying lake,
But she couldn't shut it out of her mind for a moment.
The lake haunted her imagination so much that she felt as if it were her very soul drying up inside her,
First turning to mud,
Then to madness,
And finally to death.
She brooded over the lake's change,
With all its dreadful signs,
Until she was nearly out of her mind.
As for the prince,
She had forgotten him.
Although she had enjoyed his company in the water,
She didn't care for him without it,
But it seemed she had forgotten her father and mother as well.
As the lake continued to shrink,
Small slimy spots began to appear,
Glittering steadily amidst the fading shine of the water.
These grew into broad patches of mud,
Spreading with rocks here and there,
With floundering fish and crawling eels swarming.
People searched everywhere,
Catching these creatures,
And looking for anything that might have fallen from the royal boats.
Eventually,
The lake was almost gone,
With only a few of the deepest pools remaining.
One day,
A group of children found themselves on the edge of one of these pools in the very center of the lake.
It was a rocky basin of considerable depth.
Looking in,
They saw something shining yellow at the bottom.
A little boy jumped in and dived for it.
It was a gold plate covered with writing.
They brought it to the king.
On one side of the plate were these words,
Death alone from death can save.
Love is death and so is brave.
Love can fill the deepest grave.
Love loves on beneath the wave.
This message was puzzling enough for the king and his courtiers.
But the other side of the plate offered a bit more explanation.
It said,
If the lake should disappear,
They must find the hole through which the water is draining.
But it would be useless to try to stop it by any ordinary means.
There's only one effective way.
The body of a living man could alone stop the flow.
The man must willingly give his life,
And the lake must take it as it fills.
Otherwise,
The sacrifice would be in vain.
If the nation could not provide one hero,
It was time for it to perish.
Chapter 13,
Here I Am The king was deeply troubled by the revelation on the golden plate.
Not because he was unwilling to sacrifice a subject,
But because he doubted he could find anyone willing to sacrifice themselves.
Time was running out as the princess lay motionless on her bed,
Drinking only lake water,
Which was no longer of good quality.
So the king had the contents of the golden plate announced throughout the kingdom.
But no one came forward.
The prince,
Who had gone several days into the forest to consult a hermit he had met on his way to Lagobel,
Knew nothing about the oracle until he returned.
When he learned all the details,
He sat down and thought,
She will die if I don't do this,
And life would mean nothing to me without her,
So I won't be losing anything by doing it.
Life will be as pleasant for her as ever,
And she'll soon forget about me.
And there will be so much more beauty and happiness in the world,
Though I won't be around to see it.
Here the poor prince sighed.
How lovely the lake will be in the moonlight,
With that glorious creature swimming in it like a wild goddess.
It's a bit hard to think of being drowned inch by inch,
Though.
Let me see,
That's seventy inches of me to drown.
He tried to laugh,
But couldn't.
The longer the better,
Though,
He continued,
But I can't bargain that the princess will stay with me the whole time.
So I'll see her once more,
Maybe kiss her,
Who knows,
And die looking into her eyes.
It won't even feel like death.
And to see the lake filling up for her beauty again.
All right,
I'm ready.
He kissed the princess's boot,
Laid it down,
And hurried to the king's chambers.
But as he went,
He decided that anything too emotional would be unpleasant,
So he resolved to handle the situation with casualness.
He knocked at the door of the king's counting house,
Where it was almost a capital crime to disturb him.
When the king heard the knock,
He jumped up,
Opened the door in a rage,
And,
Seeing only the shoe black,
Drew his sword.
This,
I'm sorry to say,
Was his usual way of asserting his authority when he felt his dignity was at risk.
But the prince wasn't the least bit alarmed.
Please,
Your majesty,
I'm your butler,
Said the prince.
My butler?
You lying rascal,
What do you mean?
I mean I will cork your big bottle.
Was the fellow mad,
Shouted the king,
Raising the point of his sword?
I will put a stopper,
Plug,
Whatever you call it,
In your leaky lake,
Grand monarch,
Said the prince.
The king was so furious that before he could speak,
He had time to cool down and realize that it would be a waste to kill the only person willing to help in this emergency,
Especially since the insolent fellow would end up dead anyway.
Oh,
Said the king at last,
Putting away his sword with difficulty,
It was so long.
I'm obliged to you,
You young fool.
Would you like a glass of wine?
No,
Thank you,
Replied the prince.
Very well,
Said the king.
Would you like to visit your parents before you make your experiment?
No,
Thank you,
Said the prince.
Then we'll go and look for the hole right away,
Said the king,
And started calling for attendance.
Wait,
Please,
Your majesty,
I have a condition,
The prince interrupted.
What?
Exclaimed the king.
A condition?
And with me?
How dare you?
As you please,
Said the prince coolly.
I wish your majesty a good day.
You wretch!
I'll have you put in a sack and stuffed into the hole.
Very well,
Your majesty,
Replied the prince,
Becoming a bit more respectful,
Fearing the king's anger might prevent him from enjoying the pleasure of dying for the princess.
But what good will that do,
Your majesty?
Please remember the oracle says the victim must offer himself.
Well,
You've offered yourself,
Retorted the king.
Yes,
Upon one condition.
Condition again,
Roared the king,
Drawing his sword once more.
Be gone,
Someone else will be happy to take the honor off your shoulders.
Your majesty knows it won't be easy to find another to take my place.
All right,
What is your condition,
Growled the king,
Realizing the prince was right.
Only this,
Replied the prince.
Since I must not die before I am fully drowned,
And the waiting might be rather dull,
I ask that the princess,
Your daughter,
Stay with me,
Feed me with her own hands,
And look at me now and then to comfort me,
For you must admit it's a bit hard.
As soon as the water reaches my eyes,
She may go and be happy and forget her poor shoe black.
Here,
The prince's voice faltered,
And he almost became sentimental despite his resolution.
Why didn't you tell me your condition earlier?
What a fuss over nothing,
Exclaimed the king.
Do you grant it,
Persisted the prince.
Of course I do,
Replied the king.
Very well,
I'm ready.
Go and have some dinner then,
While I have my people find the place.
The king ordered his guards to search for the hole in the lake immediately.
The bed of the lake was marked out in sections and thoroughly examined,
And within an hour or so,
The hole was discovered.
It was in the middle of a stone,
Near the center of the lake,
In the very pool where the golden plate had been found.
It was a small,
Three-cornered hole.
Water surrounded the stone,
But only a little was flowing through the hole.
Chapter 14 This Is Very Kind Of You The prince went to prepare himself for the sacrifice,
Determined to die like a prince.
When the princess heard that someone had offered to die for her,
She was so overjoyed that she jumped out of bed.
Weak as she was,
And danced around the room.
She didn't care who the man was,
It didn't matter to her.
The lake needed to be saved,
And if a man was required,
Any man would do.
Within an hour or two,
Everything was ready.
Her maid quickly dressed her,
And they carried her to the lake.
When she saw it,
She screamed,
And covered her face with her hands.
They took her across to the stone,
Where a small boat had already been placed for her.
The water wasn't deep enough to float the boat yet,
But they hoped it soon would be.
They laid her on cushions,
Placed wine,
Fruits,
And other things in the boat,
And stretched a canopy over everything.
A few minutes later,
The prince appeared.
The princess recognized him immediately,
But didn't think it was worth acknowledging him.
Here I am,
Said the prince.
Put me in.
They told me it was a shoe black,
Said the princess.
So I am,
Said the prince.
I polished your boots three times a day,
Because they were all I could get of you.
Put me in.
The courtiers didn't mind his bluntness,
Only remarking to each other that he was taking it out in impudence.
But how was he to be put in?
The golden plate hadn't provided instructions for this part.
The prince looked at the hole,
And saw only one way.
He put both his legs into it,
Sat on the stone,
And leaned forward to cover the remaining open corner with his hands.
In this uncomfortable position,
He resolved to meet his fate,
And,
Turning to the people,
Said,
Now you can go.
The king had already gone home for dinner.
Now you can go,
Repeated the princess,
Echoing her words.
The people obeyed her and left.
Soon,
A little wave flowed over the stone and wet one of the princess' knees,
But he didn't mind much.
He began to sing,
And this was his song.
As a world that has no well,
Darting bright in forest dell.
As a world without a home,
The world has no home.
As a world without the gleam of the downward-going stream.
As a world without the glance of the ocean's fair expanse.
As a world where never rain glittered on the sunny plain.
Such,
My heart,
Thy world would be,
If no love did flow in thee.
As a world without the sound of the rivulets underground,
Or the bubbling of the spring,
Out of darkness wandering.
Or the mighty rush and flowing of the river's downward-going,
Or the music showers that drop on the outspread beach's top,
Or the ocean's mighty voice,
When his lifted waves rejoice.
Such,
My soul,
Thy world would be,
If no love did sing in thee.
Lady,
Keep thy world's delight,
Keep the waters in thy sight.
Love hath made me strong to go,
For thy sake,
To realms below.
Where the waters shine and hum,
Through the darkness never come.
Let,
I pray,
One thought of me,
Spring a little well in thee.
Lest thy loveless soul be found,
Like a dry and thirsty ground.
Sing again,
Prince,
It makes it less tedious,
Said the Princess.
But the Prince was too overwhelmed to sing more,
And a long silence followed.
This is very kind of you,
Prince,
Said the Princess at last,
Quite coolly,
As she lay in the boat with her eyes shut.
I'm sorry I can't return the compliment,
Thought the Prince,
But you're worth dying for,
After all.
Another wave,
Then another,
And another,
Flowed over the stone,
Wetting both the Prince's knees,
But he didn't speak or move.
Two,
Three,
Four hours passed this way,
The Princess apparently asleep,
And the Prince patiently enduring,
But he was disappointed in his situation,
He had none of the comfort he had hoped for.
At last,
He couldn't bear it any longer.
Princess,
He called.
At that moment,
The Princess jumped up,
Crying.
I'm afloat,
I'm afloat!
The little boat had bumped against the stone.
Princess,
The Prince repeated,
Encouraged to see her wide awake and eagerly looking at the water.
Well,
She responded without turning around.
Your father promised that you would look at me,
And you haven't looked at me once.
Did he?
Then I suppose I must,
But I'm so sleepy.
Sleep then,
Darling,
And don't mind me,
Said the poor Prince.
Really,
You're very kind,
Replied the Princess.
I think I'll go to sleep again.
Just give me a glass of wine and a biscuit first,
Said the Prince very humbly.
With all my heart,
Said the Princess,
Yawning as she said it.
She got the wine and biscuit,
And leaning over the side of the boat toward him,
Was forced to look at him.
Why,
Prince,
She said.
You don't look well.
Are you sure you don't mind?
Not at all,
He replied,
Feeling very faint.
But I might die before it's of any use to you unless I have something to eat.
There you go,
She said,
Holding out the wine to him.
Ah,
You must feed me.
I dare not move my hands.
The water would run away immediately.
Good gracious,
Said the Princess.
And she began feeding him bits of biscuits and sips of wine.
As she fed him,
He managed to kiss the tips of her fingers now and then.
She didn't seem to mind one way or the other,
But the Prince felt better.
For your own sake,
Princess,
Said he,
I can't let you go to sleep.
You must sit and look at me,
Or I won't be able to keep going.
Well,
I'll do anything I can to oblige you,
She replied,
Sitting down and looking at him with surprising steadiness,
All things considered.
The sun went down,
The moon rose,
And gush after gush,
The waters climbed higher up the Prince's body.
They reached his waist.
We can't go for a swim,
Asked the Princess.
There seems to be enough water here.
I'll never swim again,
Said the Prince.
Oh,
I forgot,
Said the Princess,
And fell silent.
The water rose and rose,
Creeping up the Prince's body.
The Princess sat and looked at him,
Occasionally feeding him.
The night dragged on.
The water continued to rise.
The moon climbed higher,
And shone full on the face of the dying Prince.
The water was up to his neck.
Will you kiss me,
Princess,
He asked weakly.
All his nonchalance was gone.
Yes,
I will,
She answered,
And kissed him with a long,
Sweet,
Cold kiss.
Now,
He said,
With a sigh of contentment,
I die happy.
He didn't speak again.
The Princess gave him some wine for the last time.
He was too weak to eat.
Then she sat down again and looked at him.
The water rose and rose.
It touched his chin,
His lower lip,
Then between his eyes,
His nose,
And his mouth.
Then between his lips.
He shut them tightly to keep the water out.
The Princess began to feel strange.
It touched his upper lip.
He breathed through his nose.
The Princess looked wild.
The water covered his nostrils.
Her eyes shone strangely in the moonlight.
His head fell back.
The water closed over it,
And bubbles of his last breath rose to the surface.
The Princess shrieked and jumped into the lake.
She grabbed one of his legs,
Then the other,
Pulling and tugging,
But she couldn't move them.
She stopped to catch her breath,
And realized he couldn't get any air.
Frantic,
She lifted his head above the water.
Which was possible now that his hands were no longer blocking the hole.
But it was too late.
He had stopped breathing.
Love in the water gave her newfound strength.
She dove underwater and pulled with all her might until she freed one leg.
The other followed easily.
She couldn't remember how she got him into the boat,
But when she did,
She fainted.
When she came to,
She grabbed the oars,
Steadied herself as best she could,
And rowed and rowed,
Even though she had never rowed before.
Around rocks,
Over shallows,
And through mud,
She rowed until she reached the palace's landing stairs.
By then,
Her people were on the shore,
Having heard her scream.
She made them carry the prince to her own room,
Lay him in her bed,
Light a fire,
And send for the doctors.
But the lake,
Your highness,
Said the chamberlain,
Who roused by the commotion,
Entered in his nightcap.
Go drown yourself in it,
She snapped.
This was the last rude remark the princess ever made,
And one could hardly blame her for being upset.
And one could hardly blame her for being upset with the chamberlain.
Had it been the king himself,
He would have fared no better,
But both he and the queen were fast asleep,
And the chamberlain returned to his bed.
Somehow,
The doctors never came,
So the princess and her old nurse were left alone with the prince,
But the old nurse was wise and knew what to do.
They tried everything for a long time without success.
The princess was nearly driven mad with hope and fear,
But she kept trying,
Doing one thing after another,
Repeating everything over and over.
At last,
Just as they were about to give up,
The prince opened his eyes as the sun rose.
Chapter 15.
Look at the rain.
The princess burst into tears,
Finally realizing all the pent-up emotions of her life.
She cried on the floor for an hour,
And her tears never stopped.
At the same time,
A rain like no other began to fall upon her.
A rain like no other began to fall outside.
The sun shone brightly,
And the huge drops,
Which fell straight to the earth,
Sparkled like jewels.
The palace was surrounded by a rainbow,
And the rain seemed to be made of rubies,
Sapphires,
Emeralds,
And topazes.
Torrens poured from the mountains like molten gold,
And if it hadn't been for the underground outlet,
The lake would have overflowed and flooded the land.
The lake was full from shore to shore.
But the princess didn't pay attention to the lake.
She was too focused on her own tears,
And the rain inside was even more remarkable than the rain outside.
When the princess finally tried to get up,
She was astonished to find that she couldn't.
After many attempts,
She managed to stand,
But immediately fell down again.
Hearing her fall,
Her old nurse let out a cry of joy and ran to her,
Shouting,
And ran to her,
Shouting,
Oh,
So that's what it is?
Said the princess,
Rubbing her shoulder and knee.
I find it very unpleasant.
I feel like I'm being crushed.
Hurrah!
Cried the prince from the bed.
If you come back to normal,
Princess,
So have I.
How's the lake?
Brimful,
Answered the nurse.
Then we're all happy.
That we are indeed,
Sobbed the princess.
And there was celebration throughout the land on that rainy day.
Even the babies forgot their past troubles and danced and crowded with joy.
The king told stories,
And the queen listened.
He divided the money in his box,
And she shared the honey in her pot with all the children.
There was a jubilation like never before.
Of course,
The prince and princess were engaged immediately,
But the princess had to learn to walk before they could marry properly,
And this wasn't easy for her at her age.
She was always falling and hurting herself.
Is this the gravity you used to talk about so much?
She asked the prince one day as he helped her up from the floor.
I was much more comfortable without it.
No,
No,
That's not it.
This is gravity,
Replied the prince,
Picking her up and carrying her around like a baby,
Kissing her all the while.
This is gravity.
This is gravity.
That's better,
She said.
I don't mind this as much.
And she smiled the sweetest,
Loveliest smile at the prince,
Giving him one small kiss in return for all of his.
He felt more than repaid and was overjoyed.
Still,
She complained about her gravity more than once after this.
It took a long time for her to get used to walking,
But the pain of learning was outweighed by two things,
Either of which would have been enough to console her.
The first was that the prince himself was her teacher.
The second was that she could fall into the lake as often as she wanted.
Still,
She preferred it when the prince jumped in with her,
The splash they made now was far bigger than before.
The lake never sank again.
Over time,
It wore through the roof of the cavern below and became twice as deep as before.
The only revenge the princess took on her aunt was to step hard on her gaudy toe the next time she saw her,
But she regretted it the next day when she heard that the water had undermined her aunt's house,
Causing it to collapse during the night and bury her in the ruins.
No one ever dared dig up her body,
And there she remains to this day.
So,
The prince and princess lived happily ever after.
They had crowns of gold,
Clothes of fine fabric,
Shoes of leather,
And children.
Sweet dreams,
My friend.
Sleep well.
