A Fairytale by Belle Marsh
The Sameness
Once upon a time, there was a handsome prince who live in a white castle with pointed turrets and waving flags. He was surrounded by all he needed. He was attended by many beautiful women, one or other of them was eventually to be his wife, he did not mind which, he just accepted that it was so.
One day the Prince was bored, he was often bored. He walked around the perimeter of the castle and counted how many steps it took? He clipped his beard. He rolled some marbles back and forth, but he was still bored. He decided to go into the local town because he had never seen it even though he was Prince of all he surveyed. He went into the town disguised as a clerk.
The town was quite dull and the people grey. A dull girl lived in the town, she had brown hair and brown eyes and she had a dull but kindly beau, who had brown hair and blue eyes and wanted to marry her.
After the Prince had been in the town for a few days, drinking at the local hostelry, he decided to go to the market square whereupon he saw the dull girl buying platted bread from the bread stall. He saw her but she was dull. The next day he went into the market square and saw the dull girl buying fruit from the fruit stall, this time she turned around and looked at him with her brown eyes. He saw her but she was still dull. The following day he saw the dull girl buying salami from the butchers stall this time she had a red ribbon in her hair so he looked at her more than twice. When he looked at her
she took his breath away. And when she looked at him he took her breath away. Their hearts grew in their chests.
To the dull girl the dull boys in the village could not compare to the him. He was like the sun, the moon and the stars. She became sullen and miserable. No matter what her dull beau did he could not amuse her. No one else but the Prince disguised as a clerk would do for her.
One day following their hearts the dull girl and the secret Prince made an arrangement to meet on a mild spring day and met everyday after that.
The King came to hear of the Prince's adventure in the town. He sent the castle spy to see what was going on. The spy returned with a sorry tale. He told the king that the Prince was in love with a dull sullen girl and in turn the dull sullen girl was in love with the Prince, disguised as a clerk. The King was mortified, it could not be! They were as different as chalk and cheese. He did not know what to do.
It was by chance that the King, whilst hunting boar, encountered a witch in the emerald forest. She would not let him pass by her little wooden house unless he struck a bargain. He was a superstitious ruler and was not about to upset a witch, but he was King. He would only bargain for a spell, nothing less. She admired his steed and he offered her a bargain, his horse for a spell. At first the witch was angry, a spell was too valuable a trade, but she respected the King, for he let her live in peace in his kingdom. So, although she thought it too high a price she agreed, a spell for his steed. He asked for the spell of Sameness.
The King then went into the village with all the beautiful women of his court. In the central market place he saw the dull women with brown eyes and a red ribbon in her hair and the handsome prince disguised as a clerk. They were holding hands. The king took a white dove from his jacket and released it into the air, whereupon it flew up into the sky and hovered above the head of the Prince releasing the spell contained in a small glass vial tied with blue string to its leg. The liquid fell upon the Prince, everyone, but the dull girl believed he had come to his senses.
He turned to the ladies of the court and they looked to him more radiant than ever. The dull girl looked more dull than ever. He looked upon one of the ladies who had long fine hair, a strong nose, perfect teeth and wide eyes. She looked just like a female version of the Prince. She was the same as him. He recognised his own kind and walked over to her declaring his love. He immediately proposed to the beautiful lady of the court and as she stood beside him everyone in the village declared what a pretty picture they made. All except the dull girl with the red ribbon who was heartbroken.
The Prince no longer saw her, she had suddenly become almost invisible to him. All he could see were people just like him, rich, beautiful and certainly not dull looking.
He left the village to be married straight away and the King was overjoyed.
Many years passed and the dull girl became old and grey. She had, many years before, married the kindly but dull suitor who loved her just the same as he had from when they were young. They never had any children.
The handsome Prince had many beautiful children with his beautiful wife, yet something was missing from his life but he could not think what it was.
One day the dull old woman with grey hair was collecting firewood in the emerald forest. She came upon a sun lit clearing and espied a handsome prince, so radiant was he, that she was almost blinded by the power of his beauty. So enraptured was she, that she stayed hidden in the shadows. She saw with astonishment it was her own handsome Prince from oh so many years ago. He had not aged but one day from the day she had met him in the village.
Because she was so changed and had fallen on hard times she crept out from the shadows believing he would not recognise her. She went up to the Prince begging for some coins or bread, but more so that she could look upon him and drink in his wonderful smell. He looked at her with his mysterious dark eyes and said. "Do I know you?" The dull woman's eyes lit up. "Yes I remember you, are you not that hag who begs at the palace gates." Said he.
"No," she said "You mistake me, do you not know who I am?"
But he was totally indifferent to her. He placed a coin in her hand and rode away.
On his way back to the palace the Prince fell from his horse clutching his heart, for his heart had turned there and then to stone. He had given up love for sameness and it had killed him.
At the same time the dull old women, turned into a beautiful butterfly with iridescent wings that sparkled like jewels. She fluttered up above the trees, over the hill and flapped and flew until she came to her dull old house in the town whereupon she flew through the window. Her dull but kindly husband saw the butterfly and marvelled at it. Not knowing it was his wife he caught it, pierced it through the heart with a pin and mounted on his wall whereupon he gazed at it and thought it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life. His heart expanded as he walked proudly though the village a changed man, everywhere he went a rainbow of colour cast down from him, the dull village became vibrant, shimmering with colour, for the dull kindly man, now vibrant really always stayed the same, kindly.
