The Three Sister Princesses & The Sapphire Tree

The Three Sister Princess all stood with their noses resting on their parents’ footboard. Their Father King and Mother Queen, feeling their stares, slowly opened their eyes, and smiled. Giggling, the Princesses leapt onto the bed, snuggling up to their royal parents.

Today they would see The Sapphire Tree!

As their Father King laced his boots and their Mother Queen applied her makeup, the Princesses jumped on the bed, singing and dancing in excited anticipation.

Today they would see The Sapphire Tree!

The Oldest Sister imagined what the tree would feel like when she touched it. The Middlest Sister imagined what the tree would smell like when she sniffed it. The Youngest Sister imagined what it would taste like when she bit it. Leaping to the floor, the Three Sisters began to run all about the room, careful not to bump into anything that wasn’t theirs.

Suddenly there were two loud knocks at the oak bedroom door.

Knock, knock.

“Enter,” the King beckoned.

As the two Guards opened the door, a messenger holding a scroll came into their chamber, his head bowed low. Kneeling before the King, he held up the scroll above his head.

The King took and read the scroll. He sighed and his face grew sad.

The Three Sister Princesses had seen this face before and they knew what it meant.

Today they would not see The Sapphire Tree.

The King handed the scroll to the Queen and walked to his Daughters. Hugging them, he apologized and promised they would go to see the Sapphire Tree soon, but he and the Queen were needed in the Castle’s Royal Hall. He kissed them each on the cheek, brushing away their tears, and then left the room, followed by the messenger and one guard.

Rerolling the scroll, their Mother Queen knelt near her Children and held them one at a time in her arms. She told them to stay in the Castle and she would join them for lunch with something special from the Royal Chef.

The Three Sister Princesses watched her and the final guard leave. The Oldest Sister crossed her arms and thought long and hard about what to do. The Middlest Sister climbed back on the bed and cried into the pillows. The Youngest Sister wondered what they would be eating for lunch with their Mother Queen.

Snapping her fingers, the Oldest Sister told her siblings that she had an idea.

Today they would see the Sapphire Tree…by themselves.

The Oldest Sister ran to their shared bedroom and took her cloak from the wardrobe. The Middlest Sister, who loved mischief as much as she could love anything, followed the Oldest and grabbed her cloak and her royal purse, which was filled with pencils and paper for drawing. The Youngest Sister did the same, but packed several biscuits from the hidden box under her bed into her bag.

Dressed and prepared, they all crept down the stone hallways to the Castle’s Front Door.

Informing the Guards that they would be about town today with their Mother Queen’s permission (which was a lie) they ran down the cobblestone streets. It was only after a few moments that they all slowed to a stop with the same realization.

They did not know where the Sapphire Tree was!

The Middlest Sister snapped her fingers with an idea.

She was sure that the Blacksmith knew. He knew everything and he made the Royal Horse Shoes. The Oldest Sister agreed this was a very smart idea and the Youngest Sister nodded while eating one of her biscuits. They took off with renewed excitement, running towards the Blacksmith’s forge.

Finding the workshop, they saw the large, sturdy man with his hammer in hand, working over an anvil.

Together they called out to him. The Blacksmith turned with a big smile under his bushy beard. He set his tools down and walked over to the Sister Princesses, asking what they were doing in town this day.

Sheepishly, the Oldest Sister told the Blacksmith that their Mother Queen had given them permission to see the Sapphire Tree by themselves, but that they didn’t know the way to it.

Stroking his beard, the Blacksmith squinted his eyes and gave the Sister Princesses a hard, long look, that made them all feel a little guilty for their lies.

“Well,” the Blacksmith laughed, “if the Mother Queen thinks you’re ready to travel through the Dark Woods alone, then I guess I can tell you where it is.”

The Sister Princess looked at each other. They didn’t know the Sapphire Tree was in the Dark Woods. They were not allowed to go in there without their Parents.

“Yes, my dearies,” the Blacksmith continued, “those Dark Woods are filled with all manner of beasts, common and magical creatures that don’t care if you’re a Princess or not, as long as you taste good.”

The Sister Princess looked at each other again. They didn’t know that there were beasts, common or magical in the Dark Woods.

“So,” the Blacksmith went on, “to get to the Sapphire Tree, you must follow the main road from Town into the Dark Woods, watch out for the beasts, and finally, you’ll come to the Sapphire Tree, in the darkest, scariest part of the Woods.”

The Oldest Sister was nervously biting her bottom lip. The Middlest Sister was nervously clutching her royal purse. The Youngest Sister was eating nervously at her second biscuit.

“But,” the Blacksmith leaned towards the Sister Princesses so that they could see each other eye to eye, “that doesn’t sound like something your Mother Queen would want you to do alone without her or your Father King, does it?”

With a hard swallow, the Oldest Sister assured the Blacksmith that it was.

Smiling, the Blacksmith stood up. “Well, I remember a lesson my Father and Mother once taught me. Obedience is safety. Going into the Dark Woods alone doesn’t sound like obedience or safety to me. But,” he turned back to his anvil, “you know what your Mother Queen said better than I do.”

He looked over his shoulder and waved his hammer at the Sisters. “Have a good time. Oh, and bring me a piece of the Tree, please. Sapphire is my favorite color!” He went back to his work, leaving the Sister Princesses to think about what he had said.

Leaving the forge, the Three Sister Princesses walked sluggishly to the Town’s Main Gate, where the road lead to the Dark Woods.

They stood together, hand in hand, looking out towards the tall, twisted trees that seemed more mean than they had ever before noticed.

The Oldest Sister suddenly missed her bed. The Middlest Sister suddenly missed her toys. The Youngest Sister suddenly ran out of biscuits.

The Youngest Sister tried to snap her fingers because she had an idea.

They would see the Sapphire Tree…later!

The Sisters all agreed that the Tree wasn’t going anywhere since it was a tree and trees don’t move around as far as they knew. And, their Father King and Mother Queen did promise that they would see the Tree, just not this today. And all good adventures need biscuits, which they were out of.

So the Sister Princesses turned back and walked up the street and into their Castle.

Standing at the Castle Front Door was their Mother Queen.

With tears in their eyes, the Sister Princesses ran into the Mother Queen’s arms, telling her how they wanted to go to the Sapphire Tree so badly, about their plan, about the Blacksmith, and about how they almost went by themselves but decided to come home instead.

“My daughters,” the Mother Queen calmed them, “I am so very proud of you!”

The Sister Princesses stopped crying and looked at their Mother confused. She wasn’t angry or disappointed. She was smiling and happy.

“You may have wanted to go to the Sapphire Tree,” the Mother Queen explained, “but you didn’t! You obeyed me, and because you obeyed you remained safe. Isn’t that right, Blacksmith?”

The Sisters looked around to see the Blacksmith standing behind them, his hands on his hips.

“That’s right my Lady,” he smiled and winked at the Sisters. “You didn't think I believed your little fibs, did you? I followed along to make sure you didn’t wander into the Dark Woods. I was glad that you obeyed,” he laughed.

“Now,” the Mother Queen turned the Sister Princesses back to her with a twinkle in her eye, “your Father King was able to finish his work quicker than expected this morning.”

The Sister Princesses mouths opened in anticipation.

“So, today we will see the Sapphire Tree…after lunch.”

The Sister Princesses sang and danced and laughed around their Mother Queen. The Oldest Sister asked if the Blacksmith could join them since sapphire was his favorite color. Her Mother said he could.

The Middlest Sister asked if she could ride with her Father on his horse. Her Mother said she could.

The Youngest Sister asked if she could have more biscuits. Her Mother said she could.

And after lunch, they went to the Sapphire Tree which felt cool to the touch, smelled like lavender and blueberries, and tasted awful since it was made of gemstones.