The Prince Who Stopped Wishes

Once there was a kingdom ruled by a prince. This prince was wedded to a beautiful princess and all was joyous. The tall, handsome prince loved his wife very much and he often worried that she would tire of him and look elsewhere for love. He was certain that all her servants were women and everytime she went out, it was with female guards. Still he worried, as she looked favorably on these women friends. Also, he noticed a peculiarity in his wife that set his teeth grinding: she was wont to make wishes.

As the prince's unease grew, he became more and more paranoid about what his wife could be wishing for. Was she unhappy with him and wishing for some handsome knight to come to her window? It drove the prince mad. He began to stop his wife's wishing.

When the clasp of her necklace started to work its way to the pendant, he would correct it before it quite got there.

When the sun set and the stars were just beginning to show, he would call her to the very center of the castle where there were no windows. By the time he let her go there were so many stars in the sky it was impossible to wish on the first one seen.

The moon especially frightened the prince. He knew of numerous ways one might wish by the moon, and each was very powerful. Surely one's dreams would come true if she wished by the moon!

The prince thought long and hard on this matter and finally decided to move the princess' quarters away from any window. He hated to take her away from her cherished gardens which she often strolled through in the early mornings, but his jealous fear overtook him and the princess was moved.

For a long time the prince slept easy, holding his princess cherrily to him. His doubts had lessened, if not abated entirely. And the princess did not complain for she was very even-tempered and did not want to upset her husband whom she loved more than anyone and even more than her lovely garden. Then one day, the prince fell ill and none of the wise men in the kingdom knew how to help him. His wife, the princess, stayed by his bedside, worrying constantly. Her maids finally forced her away, telling her that a walk in her garden might ease her mind.

It was sunset. The princess looked up at the sky and wished upon the first star she saw. "Please let my husband be well," she begged the star.

Clasping her throat, she found that the clasp of her necklace had worked its way to the pendant. "Please let the prince get better," she prayed as she righted the clasp.

Then the princess noted the moon over her shoulder and she asked the moon herself, "Please, please! Let my prince be well again."

Every night the princess made her wishes since the prince was not there to stop her.

One evening, she was sitting by the prince's bed, watching him sleep, when she noticed the clasp was down on her pendant. She made her wish, whispering it to the pale night. The prince heard her and realized that he had been hearing her, hearing the same wish - for his health - for many nights. He opened his eyes and gazed into his wife's worried face.

"I've been foolish," he told her in all sincerity. "It is your wishing that has made me well again. I thank you for your concern and beg you to accept mu apology."

Of course the princess did so, and gladly. They tearfully embraced.

To say that all was happy ever after would be too brief, but they were happy together. The prince still worried now and again, but he knew that the time he spent with his wife was bliss and he had faith in their love.

The princess never worried about her husband's jealousy for she took it as a sign of his sincere love and devotion. She continued making her wishes for his health, her own health, and that of her children, as well as the continued peace of the kingdom. And every once in a while the prince, too, indulged in a wish of his own.

I wonder, what did he wish for?

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