The Prince's Journey

Once, there was a prince who wanted a princess. But alas, he had none. He had a friend who was also a prince, but this prince wanted to be with other princes.

"This will not do!" said the prince. "I must find my princess!"

The prince also had a servant:

"Sir, I don't see why you are distraught. You are a wise prince, you do not need a princess to rule by your side."

But the prince did not listen. He needed his princess. So he decided to go and search for her! He told his friends he would be going on a journey and he soon left.

The prince first traveled to a beautiful forested kingdom. He thought how wonderful it would be to stay there for a while... Just then, that kingdom's prince appeared:

"You are very beautiful. Would you stay with me here in my kingdom?"

"But I am on a journey to find a princess. I cannot stay with you," the prince told him.

"But if you stayed with me, I would be your prince and you would be my princess. Then we are both satisfied."

The prince found the offer to be most tempting. Both would be satisfied and there would be a handsome prince and lovely princess for such a beautiful kingdom... But no!

"I must not listen to you! I must find my princess!" And he hurried on his way.

The prince journeyed a very long time. He scoured many countries, but he could not find his princess, the one that he dreamed of. The prince grew wearier, and wearier, and wearier... He dreamed of his princess. She was calling to him. She was waiting for him out there, somewhere. She was waiting for him! He must find her! Oh, but prince, you are so tired. How will you continue on your journey? Your body needs rest. It hurts from fatigue.

"I must find my princess..."

At first, it was a whisper.

"I must find my princess..."

Then it grew.

"I must find my princess."

He said it over and over... chanting it like a mantra.

"I must find my princess. I must find my princess."

He pushed himself onward despite his body's protests. Soon he reached a town where he was able to refresh himself. In a tavern, he heard tell of a beautiful princess who was sad and very lonely for she longed for a prince.

"A princess in the same state as myself! I will go to her and see what I will see."

So the prince set off in search of the princess. He found her weeping at the window of a tower:

"Oh, it is so dull and boring here. There is no one who can challenge me, my mind grows clouded."

"Fair princess!" The prince called to her. "Fair princess! What for do you weep? Are you bored here in your castle?"

"Oh yes, good sir, there is no one to keep me interested. Every man my father has me meet is frightfully stupid. He cannot answer my riddle."

"You will marry the man who answers this riddle?"

"Oh yes! I made it up myself!" The princess was quite proud of her riddle.

"Will you tell me the riddle? I am a prince and I have traveled far in search of a princess. I would feel honored to have one as clever as you."

This pleased the princess very much and she composed herself. Clearing her throat, she recited:

I sit among the roses

I never touch the earth

I play along the sea and shore

I do not care for mirth

Snake and serpent are my friends

I do not care for dog or cat

But snail and sloth I carry well

All slim and small but never fat

The prince thought hard on this riddle. "You are very clever," he praised her. "But I think that the answer is simple."

"Oh? Then you are alone in your assumption. Tell me, my prince, what is your answer?"

"I should rather whisssper it in my lady's ear."

The princess was intrigued. Could he have solved it?

"There is a ladder there in the garden. Climb to my window and you may whisper in my ear."

The prince did just that and as he told her his answer, the princess gave a shout of joy:

"Oh! You have solved it! You have solved my riddle! I would be honored to marry a clever prince like you."

So the prince and the princess went off together that very night. As the prince went back to his kingdom the way he had come, he found that the journey was not nearly as long as it had seemed. He saw the place he had fallen from exhaustion and saw that it was nothing special. He passed through the beautiful forest kingdom and found that he longed even more for his own country. He passed the prince that had made his offer and called to him:

"I have found my princess!"

To which the other replied:

"Good for you."

When the prince made it back home with his princess his friends were overjoyed. His servant smiled at the princess approvingly:

"You do not need a princess to rule by your side, but certainly we are all richer because you have one."