Andrew Lan's Twelve-Color Fairy Tale Series: Pink Fairy Tale Books

Chapter 9 The Princess in the Box (1)
Once upon a time there was a king who lived with his queen in a beautiful castle.In their vast and rich country, people live and work in peace and contentment and live a happy life.The king and queen have been in love ever since they fell in love at first sight and became husband and wife.But unfortunately they have no children.

They have been married for seven years and have neither son nor daughter, which makes them very sad.So when the king was in a bad mood, he often vented his anger on the poor queen.He said that they would be old soon, but they had no children, and that there would be no heir to rule the country in the future, and it was all her fault.The queen was so sad that she could only cry to herself.

One day the king said to the queen, "I can't bear it any longer. It's all your fault that I don't have children. I'm going out for a walk and I won't be back for a year. When I come back, if you have children, Just let it go, and I will love you as before, and I will never say anything to make you sad again. But, when I come back, if you have not given me a child, I will no longer love you, and I must separate from you."

After the king left, the queen was very lonely and sadder than ever.One day her maid said: "Your Majesty the Queen, I think someone can help you if you want." Then she said that there is a wise old woman who has helped many people who have the same problem as the Queen. If someone invites her to come, she must have a way to help the queen.So the queen sent for the wise old woman.The queen told her of her pain, for she had no children, and the king and his country would have no heir to the throne.

The clever woman soon had a way. "On the left hand side you go out from the king's garden," she said, "and there is a big oak tree, and under the oak tree there is a little brown bush with hairy leaves and long thorns. At this time, there are only three flower buds there. Before sunrise, Her Majesty the Queen came here alone to pick the flower bud in the middle and eat it. After six months, you will definitely give birth to a princess. A princess must have a nurse when she is born, and I will choose at that time Sent, the nurse must live with the child in a separate place in the palace from the outside. No one, including the king and queen, can visit the princess until she is 14 years old, otherwise, it will bring great grief and misfortune .”

The queen rewarded the old woman heavily.Before sunrise the next day, she went into the garden and found a brown bush with three flower-buds.She plucked the flower bud in the middle and ate it. It tasted sweet at first, but then became very bitter.After six months, the queen gave birth to a little princess as expected.The old woman sent the nurses, and made room for them in the castle, shut off from the outside world.According to the old woman's instructions, the queen gave birth to the princess and was taken away by the nanny.

When the king came back and heard that the queen had given birth to a daughter, he was very happy, and wanted to see the little princess immediately.

The queen had no choice but to tell him that it was prophesied to his daughter that neither of them should see her until she was fourteen years old, otherwise there would be great sorrow and misfortune.

It's been too much time for such a long time!The king wanted so much to see his daughter, and the queen wanted to see her too.But she knew that her daughter was different from ordinary children, because she could speak from birth and knew as many things as adults.This was what the nurse told her, and the queen and the nurse met once in a while, but no one else saw the princess except the nurse.The queen had personally experienced the miraculous power of the wise old woman, so she insisted on following her orders.But the king was often impatient and wanted to see his daughter, and the queen could only try to make him dispel this idea.And so until the first day the princess turns 14.

The king and the queen were in the garden, and the king said, "Now I can't wait any longer, and I won't wait any longer. I must see my daughter right away. Just a few hours earlier, it doesn't matter."

The queen asked the king to wait patiently until the next morning. After such a long wait, there was only one day left, and she would definitely be able to persist.But the king was very irrational. "Nonsense," he cried, "she is your daughter, but she is also my daughter, and I must see her." Then he went straight to the princess' room.

He broke through the door, pushed away the nurse who tried to block him, and finally saw his daughter.Wow, this is the cutest little princess in the world!Milky white skin, rosy cheeks, clear and beautiful big blue eyes, golden hair, so beautiful!Just a small strand of brown hair in the middle of her forehead.

When the princess saw her father, she ran up and put her arms around his neck, kissed him, and said, "Oh my God! Father, father, do you know what you have done? If you behave like this, I will die tomorrow." , you must also choose one of the following three things to face: first, the entire kingdom will be severely hit by a black plague; second, the kingdom will be involved in a bloody war that lasts for a long time; third After my death, you must immediately put me in a wooden box and put me in the church, and you must send a guard every night for a whole year."

The king was so frightened that he thought his daughter was talking nonsense.But to please her, the king said, "O, of these three things I will choose the last. If you die, I will put you in a wooden box at once, and put you in the church, and have a guard every night. But you won't die."

However, the next day, the princess died.

After her death, the king put her in a wooden box and put her in the chapel of the castle, as the princess had ordered, and sent a guard to the church that night to stand by the box.

Next morning the King sent for the church to release the guards, but he was nowhere to be seen.They thought it must be because he was afraid and ran away.At night, another guard was sent to guard there, but he disappeared at dawn.It was like this every day after that, and every morning when I went to let the guards out, there was no one there.If they escaped, how did they get out?There is no way out here at all.Even if they escaped, the guards went in every night for so many days, why has no one heard their voices or seen their traces?
So it was believed that the princess became a ghost and ate all the guards, and soon everyone would be eaten up.The king's soldiers were all frightened, and fled before it was their turn to stand guard on the wooden box.The king then promised to reward the soldiers who volunteered to stand guard.This continued for some time, because there were always some daring soldiers who wanted to be rewarded by the king.However, none of them were rewarded and they all disappeared the next morning.

This went on for almost a year, and every night a soldier, either forced or voluntary, came to watch over the box.But since that night, they disappeared, and no one saw them the next day or even after that.One night, a young blacksmith, who was wandering happily, came to the kingdom.The kingdom is beautiful and rich, and many people come here to find work.This young man named Christian, he came here for the same purpose.He couldn't find work in his hometown, so he came here to find something to do.

He went into a small shop and sat down, wanting to eat something.There were also some officials from the palace, who had come out to conscript men for the night watch at the church.They often have to come out to find someone, and they can always find a few bold ones every time.But today they found none.All knew that so many guards who stood guard had all disappeared strangely, and were terrified, so all turned them away.They sat next to Christian, ordered some wine, and drank with him.Christian is a very cheerful young man who enjoys being with everyone.With a little wine, he could sing and talk and brag very well.He told officials he was never afraid of anything.Oh, the officials liked a man like him!They told him that in just one day he would be rich.Because the king had said that whoever would stay overnight by the wooden box in which the princess was kept would be rewarded with a large sum of money.

Now that she had said she was not afraid of anything, Christian was not afraid of anything.After they had had another bottle of wine, he followed them to the Commander-in-Chief, put on his guard uniform, and took up his gun.Then he was locked in the church and stood night watch by the wooden box.

It was eight o'clock when the guard began.For the first hour, he was very proud of his guts.For the second hour, he was very happy thinking that he would get such a large sum of money.But by the third hour, near eleven o'clock, the effects of the alcohol wore off and he began to be afraid.He thought of the guards who used to stand guard, but they all disappeared, and none of them escaped alive.No one knows where the guards went.The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became, and he lost a little bit of alcohol and became completely sober.He began to look for a way out, and at last, at eleven o'clock, he found the back door of the church spire unlocked.So he gently climbed to the top of the tower, intending to escape.

Just as he stepped out of the church, he saw a dwarf standing at the door, and the dwarf said, "Good evening, Christian, where are you going?"

Christian was so frightened that it seemed to have taken root in place!

"Not going anywhere!" he said.

"Oh, that's all right," said the little man. "Did you just want to run away, but since you have accepted the task of standing guard tonight, you must do it!"

Christian very humbly said that he was afraid, that's why he wanted to leave, and begged him to let him go.

"No," said the little man, "you must hold your post, but I can give you a good piece of advice. You hide in the pulpit and stay there. No matter what you see or hear, Hurt you, as long as you don't hide until you hear the lid of the wooden box shut. Then the danger is over, and you can walk freely in the church, wherever you like."

Then the Dwarf pushed him in again and locked the door.Christian quickly hid in the pulpit, but saw nothing until the church clock struck twelve.Then he saw the wooden box opened, and the princess came out, looking very ugly and frightening!She growled loudly: "Guard, where are you? Guard, where are you? If you don't come out, I will let you die a terrible death!"

(End of this chapter)